ORLANDO, Fla. — Disney World is claiming that a man can't sue over his wife's deadly allergic reaction at the park because of terms he agreed to years ago in a free trial of Disney+.
Jeffrey Piccolo filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Disney claiming that his wife, NYU medical doctor Kanokporn Tangsuan, died in 2023 from a severe allergic reaction after eating at a restaurant in the park.
Disney, however, claims that its terms of use — which Piccolo agreed to when signing up for a one-month free trial of its Disney+ streaming service in 2019 — mean both parties have to settle the issue out of court.
Wrongful death lawsuit against Disney
According to the lawsuit, Kanokporn Tangsuan was "highly allergic to dairy and nuts," so her husband checked Disney World's website to confirm its advertised "commitment to providing allergen-free food."
On Oct. 5, 2023, the couple went to eat at Raglan Road, an Irish restaurant and pub in Disney Springs. The lawsuit claims they notified their waiter of Tangsuan's allergies and confirmed multiple times that their menu selections could be prepared allergen-free.
"The waiter unequivocally assured them" that the order, which included two vegan dishes, scallops and onion rings, could be prepared without dairy and nuts, the complaint says.
After the couple left the restaurant at 8 p.m., Tangsuan went shopping while Piccolo returned to the hotel room. But at 8:45 p.m., Tangsuan reportedly entered Planet Hollywood while suffering from a severe acute allergic reaction.
"Kanokporn Tangsuan began having severe difficulty breathing and collapsed to the floor," the lawsuit says.
According to the court document, Tangsuan self-administered an epi-pen while someone called 911 at 8:46 p.m. She was rushed to the hospital where she later died.
"The medical examiner's investigation determined that Kanokporn Tangsuan's cause of death was as a result of anaphylaxis due to elevated levels of dairy and nut in her system," the lawsuit reads.
Piccolo is suing Disney for a sum in excess of $50,000 plus legal costs.
Disney says 'all disputes' must be settled out of court
In response to the wrongful death lawsuit, Disney filed a stay, a court order that halts legal proceedings, against Piccolo.
According to Disney, Piccolo agreed that "all disputes" against the company would be settled out of court when he signed up for his Disney+ trial, and again in September 2023 when he logged into his Disney account to buy park tickets.
As the lawsuit explains, the first page of Disney's subscriber agreement states, “Any dispute between You and Us, Except for Small Claims, is subject to a class action waiver and must be resolved by individual binding arbitration."
Arbitration is a procedure where a dispute is overseen by a neutral third party so that it can be settled privately instead of going to court.
The case will be on hold until October when a Florida judge will hear Disney's motion to settle the case out of court.
