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Disney drops arbitration bid in allergy death after backlash

August 20, 2024

The media giant has withdrawn a controversial attempt to settle a wrongful death case in arbitration. It had previously argued a one-month Disney+ subscription was a waiver against suing the company.

https://p.dw.com/p/4jho9
The Walt Disney Co. logo appears on a screen above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange
The Walt Disney Co. came under scrutiny after their motion to have the lawsuit dismissed became publicImage: Richard Drew/File//AP

The Walt Disney Co. has dropped a controversial motion seeking to have a wrongful death case thrown out of court following a large online backlash.

The company is facing a lawsuit after a woman died from an allergic reaction at a Disney shopping complex in Orlando, Florida.

The entertainment giant had argued that the plaintiff, the woman's husband, had agreed to settle all legal issues in arbitration, rather than in court, by signing up for a monthlong trial membership of Disney+, the company's streaming service, in 2019.

But following widespread criticism of the decision, the company's lawyers filed a notice with the court to withdraw the initial motion on Tuesday.

What did Disney say?

"At Disney, we strive to put humanity above all other considerations," Josh D'Amaro, chairperson of Disney's theme park division, said in the Monday night statement.

"With such unique circumstances as the ones in this case, we believe this situation warrants a sensitive approach to expedite a resolution for the family who have experienced such a painful loss."

"As such, we've decided to waive our right to arbitration and have the matter proceed in court," D'Amaro added.

Disney's first line of defense had been to argue that it was not liable since it was not in control of the restaurant that the family ate at, for which it merely acted as a landlord.

The Raglan Road Irish Pub in Disney Springs, Orlando
The Raglan Road Irish Pub had advertised itself as being especially accommodating for speical dietary needsImage: Dreamstime/Wickedgood/IMAGO

But a second motion, originally filed in May, argued that the case must be settled in arbitration. As well as the one-time subscription, the company's lawyers said a similar agreement was agreed to upon the purchase of the tickets to the Disney park.

Why is Disney being sued?

The lawsuit revolves around the death of Kanokporn Tangsuan, a doctor from New York, who ate with her husband and mother at the Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant on October 5, 2023.

They had chosen the location because it was advertised by both the restaurant and Disney as being particularly accommodating with food allergies.

However, despite seeking assurances from the wait staff, Tangsuan suffered an acute allergic reaction and died of anaphylaxis from elevated levels of nut and dairy in her system.

In its response to Disney's argument that the plaintiff was bound to arbitration, lawyers for Tangsuan's husband said it was "absurd" to say that the company's 150 million subscribers had waived their rights to sue the company over conditions written in the fine print of unrelated agreements signed years beforehand.

ab/lo (Reuters, AP)