Widower of doctor who suffered fatal allergic reaction rips Disney+ subscription defense: ‘Borders on absurd’
Disney’s attempt to weasel its way out of a $50,000 wrongful death suit using a widower’s Disney+ subscription “borders on absurd,” the grieving husband argued in court papers.
The entertainment empire hit back at Jeffrey Piccolo’s suit over the death of his wife Kanokporn “Amy” Tangsuan — who suffered a fatal allergic reaction after eating at a Disney Springs restaurant — claiming the case must be arbitrated because of the small print in the widower’s Disney+ plan.
But Piccolo’s lawyer Brian Denney called the argument “fatally flawed,” according to court papers first reported by Law & Crime.
“There is simply no reading of the Disney+ subscriber agreement … which would support the notion that [Piccolo] was agreeing on behalf of his wife or her estate, to arbitrate injuries sustained by his wife at a restaurant located on premises owned by a Disney theme park or resort from which she died,” Denney wrote.
“Frankly, any such suggestion borders on the absurd.”
Disney argued that Piccolo agreed to arbitrate — rather than publicly fight in court — any disputes with the juggernaut when he signed up for a one-month trial of its streaming platform Disney+ in 2019 and because he bought tickets to Epcot in September using the “My Disney Experience” app.
Disney claimed that the agreements in both apps forced Piccolo to authorize to the arbitration language before he made any purchases.
But Denney claimed any agreement made when Piccolo signed up to the streaming platform is strictly between Piccolo and Disney+ and doesn’t involve Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.
He said the My Disney Experience terms can’t be applied to Piccolo’s case because it doesn’t include an arbitration provision.
Piccolo filed suit in Orange County, Fla., court in February after Tangsuan’s Oct. 5 death following a meal at Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant with her husband.
Tangsuan, 42 — a physician at NYU Langone hospital — had repeatedly notified the restaurant staff of her severe nut and dairy allergies when ordering scallops, onion rings, broccoli and corn fritters, Piccolo’s suit claimed.
But after leaving the establishment she started having difficulty breathing and collapsed and was unable to be saved by the EpiPen she was immediately given.
Tangsuan died at a nearby hospital of anaphylaxis — or a severe allergic reaction.
A Disney spokesperson said the company is “deeply saddened by the family’s loss.”
But the company maintained it shouldn’t be included in the suit.
“Given that this restaurant is neither owned nor operated by Disney, we are merely defending ourselves against the plaintiff’s attorney’s attempt to include us in their lawsuit against the restaurant,”
