Disney waives arbitration after allergy death in Orlando Park restaurant

Disney is waiving arbitration in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the husband of a woman who died last year after dining at a restaurant at the Disney Springs Resort in Orlando.

Jeffrey Piccolo is suing the company for $50,000 because his wife, Dr. Kanokporn Tangsuan, suffered an allergic reaction after eating food at the privately owned Raglan Road Irish Pub in October and later died at a local hospital. Disney's lawyers had requested that the lawsuit be dismissed and settled out of court.

Raglan Road is a restaurant tenant at Disney Springs that is not owned or operated by Disney.

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts had argued that by signing up for a free 30-day trial of Disney+ in 2019 and again when purchasing theme park tickets in 2023 through his Disney+ account, Piccolo had agreed to the streamer's terms of service, which include that “all disputes” with “The Walt Disney Company or its affiliates” will be settled out of court through arbitration. Now the company has waived that arbitration and will “let the matter be heard in court.”

Disney said it is in the process of filing a motion to revoke the waiver with the court.

“At Disney, we strive to put humanity above all other considerations,” Josh D'Amaro, chairman of Disney Experiences, said in a statement. “Given the unique circumstances of this case, we believe this situation requires a sensitive approach to expedite a resolution for the family who suffered such a painful loss. For this reason, we have decided to waive our right to arbitration and take the matter to court.”

Piccolo's lawyers have stated that Disney's terms of service argument “border[s]on the surreal” and “is so egregiously unreasonable and unfair that it shocks the legal conscience.”

“In fact,” his lawyers said, “Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is expressly seeking to prevent its 150 million Disney+ subscribers from ever bringing a wrongful death suit against the company before a jury, even if the facts of the case have nothing to do with Disney+.”

The complaint states that the family repeatedly told their waiter about Tangsuan's food allergies, but was assured that everything was fine.