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Posted: 2024-08-15 04:51:56

In short:

Jeffrey Piccolo has claimed his wife Kanokpom Tangsguan's death was due to an allergic reaction to a dish at a Disney theme park.

However, Disney has argued his streaming subscription means he must settle the suit through arbitration.

What's next?

A hearing is scheduled for October 2 in the county court in Orlando, Florida to hear Disney's motion in the case.

Disney has challenged a wrongful death lawsuit after a 42-year-old New York doctor died in one of its theme parks — arguing signing up for its streaming service means giving up the right to sue it.

The family of Kanokpom Tangsguan allege that an allergic reaction to a dish at a Disney theme park led to her death last year.

The media giant asked a court in the US state of Florida to throw out the case brought by Jeffrey Piccolo, Ms Tangsguan's husband, because he had agreed to not sue the company when he signed up for a Disney+ subscription.

Mr Piccolo is seeking more than $75,525 in damages in the lawsuit.

What happened, according to the widower

Mr Piccolo filed this lawsuit in February, setting out his claims.

It stated his wife had eaten at the Raglan Road Irish Pub in Disney Springs, in October 2023.

Ms Tangsuan ordered the vegan fritter, scallops, onion rings and a vegan shepherd's pie.

But before the food was served, Mr Piccolo had informed the waitstaff about his wife's severe allergy to nuts and dairy products, and had required "allergen-free food," the lawsuit said. 

The waiter had "guaranteed" that the food was allergen-free despite some items not having "allergen-free flags".

Ms Tangsuan later died in hospital despite self-administering an EpiPen during the allergic reaction.

A medical examiner determined she had died because of "anaphylaxis due to elevated levels of dairy and nut in her system," the lawsuit said.

What are the arguments in the case?

Disney has said in court Mr Piccolo had agreed to settle any lawsuits against the company outside of court, and through an arbitration process after he signed up for a one-month trial of Disney+ in 2019.

"The Terms of Use, which were provided with the Subscriber Agreement, include a binding arbitration clause," the company wrote in its motion.

"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.'"

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