Disney moves to dismiss wrongful death suit by a grieving NYU doctor’s husband, cites past Disney+ subscription

Disney is involved in a public legal battle with one of its customers, Jeffrey Piccolo, who filed a lawsuit against the company in October 2023. Piccolo is the husband of the late Kanokporn Tangsuan, who suffered a fatal allergic reaction to the food at a Disney Springs restaurant in Florida.

The company is now appealing for the lawsuit to be dismissed based on a Disney+ subscription the couple had in 2019. The terms and conditions of using the service state that the user will arbitrate all disputes with the company.

The company's lawyers filed a motion on May 31, 2024. Piccolo's lawyers responded strongly in a statement in August 2024, stating that this argument is flawed and justice should be delivered.

---

What happened to Kanokporn Tangsuan? Diving into the facts of the lawsuit

Kanokporn Tangsuan, a doctor from New York University, had a fatal allergic reaction at a Disney Springs restaurant in Florida. She worked at NYU Langone Hospital and had gone to have a meal with her husband, Jeffrey Piccolo, in Florida in October 2023.

The incident occurred at the Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant, where Tangsuan ordered scallops, onion rings, and fritters from the menu. Her husband states that she repeatedly told servers about her dairy and nut allergies, which they assured her were taken care of.

After exiting the restaurant, Tangsuan experienced difficulty breathing and felt sick. She collapsed and was administered an Epipen. However, she passed away at the nearby local hospital. As per her court inquest report, she died due to anaphylaxis, commonly known as choking. This was an allergy response triggered by high levels of dairy and nuts in her system after her meal.

---

What is Disney's stand on the matter? Current court proceedings explored

The late doctor's husband, Jeffrey Piccolo, filed a case after his wife's demise. He cited negligence on behalf of the restaurant and the staff and sued the company for 50,000 USD while seeking damages.

An important claim in his case is that the company claims to accommodate food allergies and their customers into the menu. The company's policy emphasizes that food restrictions are taken strictly into account, yet Tangsuan reportedly succumbed to poorly prepared food. The suit aims to hold the company liable for not giving its employees proper training to ensure the food on their menu is free from allergens.

The case has been ongoing since then, but the company is now appealing to the courts to toss the lawsuit. The company's claim is based on the terms and conditions of the Disney+ streaming service.

According to the company, Piccolo had taken up a free trial of the platform in 2019 and agreed to the terms and conditions. One of them stated that the user would arbitrate all disputes with the company. These legal terms were violated when Piccolo filed his lawsuit.

Piccolo's legal team responded to this development and slammed the motion as unreasonable. They have contested the notion that the usage of one service bars the consumer from seeking legal justice against another wing of the company's enterprises.

“The notion that terms agreed to by a consumer when creating a Disney+ free trial account would forever bar that consumer’s right to a jury trial in any dispute with any Disney affiliate or subsidiary, is so outrageously unreasonable and unfair as to shock the judicial conscience, and this court should not enforce such an agreement,” Piccolo's lawyers wrote.

The legal system has yet to pronounce a decision on the matter.