We have an update on the wrongful death lawsuit filed against The Walt Disney Company, and it seems Disney may be ready to change their initial thoughts on how they wish to proceed.

©Disney | Walt Disney Company Headquarters

Just days ago Disney was making a motion to move this lawsuit to arbitration citing terms and conditions that the plaintiff had agreed to when signing up for a Disney+ streaming service trial years ago, but now it seems that they’re looking to move things along within a courtroom instead.

According to an article by Deadline, it seems that Disney may be heading to the courtroom over an important outstanding case soon. In the article, Deadline confirms that Disney is “waiving arbitration” for a case involving the wrongful-death suit filed by the husband of a doctor who died after dining at one of the restaurants in Disney Springs last October.

Disney Springs

If you’re not familiar with the case, the plaintiffs allege that when they placed their order at Raglan Road Irish Pub they made allergies known to their server, and the restaurant staff assured them the plates they were served would be compatible with the allergy requests. Shortly after dining, the wife, Dr. Kanokporn Tangsuan, fell ill and later passed away after receiving medical attention when her family noticed something was wrong. Her husband, Jeffrey Piccolo, and the family’s attorneys have since filed a wrongful-death suit asking for $50,000 from The Walt Disney Company claiming Dr. Tangsuan’s passing was caused as a result of suffering an allergic reaction to the food she was served at Raglan Road Irish Pub. It’s important to note that this restaurant is privately owned and operated at Disney Springs within Disney World.

Raglan Road Irish Pub

In their initial stance, Disney requested the case be dismissed and settled out of court and pointed to terms and conditions that Piccolo had agreed to when he signed up for a trial of the company’s streaming service, Disney+ in 2019 and a second time when purchasing theme park admission through the Disney World website in 2023. In those terms and conditions, Disney’s attorneys argued that these conditions outlined that by proceeding with the services, the user agrees to have “all disputes” with “The Walt Disney Company or its affiliates” settled out of court in arbitration.

Upon the news of Disney initially motioning to move the suit to arbitration, Picollo’s lawyers argued that Disney’s term of service agreements were “explicitly seeking to bar its 150 million Disney+ subscribers from ever prosecuting a wrongful death case against it in front of a jury even if the case facts have nothing to with Disney+.” However, it now seems that Disney is willing to change their stance on this.

The Walt Disney Company headquarters in California

The latest update in the case is that Disney has now waived its right to arbitration and is willing to “have the matter proceed in court.” In a statement given by Josh D’Amaro (chairman of Disney Experiences), he explained the decision to proceed this way by stating, “We believe this situation warrants a sensitive approach to expedite a resolution for the family who have experienced such a painful loss.” Disney is reported to be in the middle of submitting a waiver-withdrawal filing with the court.

©Disney

At this time, no further court dates have been announced as for how and when this case plans to proceed. We’ll be following how this case plays out and updating as we have new information. Be sure to stay tuned with us at Disney Food Blog for all the latest.