After Kanokporn Tangsuan, who had severe nut allergies, died from anaphylaxis at a Disney Springs restaurant, her husband, Jeffrey Piccolo, initiated a wrongful death suit. This May, Disney attempted to dismiss the suit by arguing Piccolo's previous subscription to Disney+ entailed agreement to terms mandating private arbitration for all disputes involving Disney or its affiliates.
A lawyer for Tangsuan's estate, Brian Denney, criticized this legal strategy, stating it was "explicitly seeking to bar its 150 million Disney+ subscribers from prosecuting wrongful death cases unrelated to Disney+." Denney further argued that Disney's motion, including arbitration provisions buried in Disney+ terms from 2019, as well as conflicting terms from Piccolo's 2023 My Disney Experience purchase, was legally flawed. Full details can be found in this document on the case.
Denney characterized Disney's argument as "outrageously unreasonable and unfair," maintaining that Florida courts have repeatedly held that a resident's estate cannot be bound by an arbitration agreement signed only by a family member. He accused Disney of attempting to "deprive the Estate of Kanokporn Tangsuan of its right to a jury trial," while also suggesting Disney was clinging to outdated terms that no longer accurately reflected its own service agreements. Additional context on the case is available here.
Disney countered, asserting that the litigation against Great Irish Pubs, the company operating Raglan Road Irish Pub, which was named in the lawsuit, should also be stayed pending arbitration. Disney argued that inconsistent rulings from different tribunals would complicate proceedings. Disney also indicated it would not oppose Great Irish Pubs joining the arbitration.
Denney remains resolute that Disney's efforts to compel arbitration are "fatally flawed for numerous independent reasons" and challenged the validity of associating a Disney+ trial subscription with an unrelated wrongful death suit.