A lawsuit against Disney+ could lead to dismissal of a wrongful death suit

Disney is attempting to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit by arguing that the plaintiff agreed not to file a lawsuit against the media conglomerate when he signed up for a free trial of Disney+.

The lawsuit was originally filed in February in a district court in Florida by Jeffrey Piccolo. In the lawsuit, Piccolo claims that his wife, Kanokporn Tangsuan, died on October 5, 2023, of a severe allergic reaction after eating at a restaurant at Disney Springs — a Disney-owned outdoor shopping mall near Orlando.

Piccolo claims he and his wife informed a waiter at the Raglan Road Irish Pub several times about Tangsuan's allergies to nuts and dairy products. According to the lawsuit, the waiter assured them that Tangsuan's order would be allergen-free.

About 45 minutes after they finished their dinner, Tangsuan collapsed and later died in a hospital.

The lawsuit states that a medical examiner's investigation found that Tangsuan died of “anaphylaxis due to elevated amounts of dairy and nuts in her body.”

Piccolo is now demanding $50,000 in damages.

However, Disney's lawyers are now asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that Piccolo agreed to settle any disputes with Disney through arbitration when he signed up for a month-long trial against the company. Streaming platform Disney+ in 2019, AP reported.

“The terms of service provided with the subscriber agreement contain a binding arbitration clause,” the company wrote in a court filing. “The first page of the subscriber agreement states in all capital letters that '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.'”

A court hearing in this case is scheduled for October 2.