It’s a frequently reported myth that nobody dies at Disney World. Unfortunately, the worst does happen, even at the most magical place on earth. Walt Disney World is currently involved in a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from a woman who died after eating at a Disney Springs restaurant, but Disney is trying to get removed from the lawsuit due to the terms of service of the Disney World app, as well as the terms of service of, surprisingly, Disney+.
Apparently, the current Terms of Service for Disney+ state that any dispute between the parties must be dealt with via arbitration, not through a lawsuit. Since Disney owns both Disney+ and Walt Disney World this means, according to the motion reported by Florida Politics, that having a Disney+ subscription means you agreed to terms of service that say you can’t sue over something that happens when you go on vacation to Walt Disney World.
Attorney Brian Denney who is representing the family of Kanokporn Tangsuan is quoted by Florida Politics as saying that they will vigorously fight the “novel motion.” Tangsuan died in October of anaphylaxis. She and her family had been dining at Raglan Road Pub and Irish Restaurant located at Disney Springs. The family told the restaurant of her severe food allergies and had checked the menu for allergens in advance, however, she collapsed and died shortly after the meal.
It’s certainly an interesting strategy by Disney, to use the TOS for their streaming service as a lawsuit defense for something that happened in the parks. Many theme parks are owned by massive companies that cross into multiple entertainment disciplines, so it makes one wonder what we’ve all agreed to when signing up to use any digital service or app.
Disney as a company has been making moves more broadly to shift any of its legal disputes toward arbitration rather than lawsuits. After Disneyland and Walt Disney World were both sued over changes to their annual pass systems following the pandemic, Disney changed its fine print for buying or renewing passes to require any disputes over the passes to go through arbitration. Disneyland agreed to pay over $9 million in a class action suit over the issue.
If the court agrees with Disney and the lawsuit is dismissed against the Mouse House in favor of arbitration, we can expect that will likely be the result of many future legal questions between Disney and those that use its various products. Even if Disney is successful in getting itself removed from the lawsuit it will still move forward. Disney doesn’t own the Raglan Road Pub so the lawsuit against the establishment itself would still move forward.
