Disney Agrees to Let Raglan Road Wrongful Death Case Continue — “We Strive to Put Humanity Above All Other Considerations”
Disney was in the news for all the wrong reasons last week when it was reported that the company attempted to have a wrongful death lawsuit moved to arbitration because the plaintiff had agreed to the Disney+ terms and conditions. Making matters worse, he had agreed to the terms when signing up for a free trial of the streaming service five years ago.
While the narrative made for juicy headlines, with a multi-billion dollar company seemingly trying to get out of a customer’s death on a technicality, the actual story was a little more nuanced.


Photo: Disney
Let’s start at the beginning.
A Tragic Story
The wrongful death lawsuit was initially filed in February by Jeffrey Piccolo, who alleges that his wife died after being served allergens that she was assured would not be present in her meal at Disney Springs’s Raglan Road.


Jeffrey Piccolo and Kanokporn Tangsuan. Photo: NY Times
The story is an unthinkable tragedy.
Disney’s Lawyers Wanted the Case Settled Through Arbitration
Though the lawsuit was initially filed months ago, the story was back in the limelight last week when it was revealed that Disney had asked the court to halt the proceedings and have the parties settle their dispute through arbitration.


Photo: Disney
The company’s lawyers argued that Piccolo had agreed to Disney’s terms and conditions when signing up for a free trial of Disney+ in 2019 and again when he bought Walt Disney World theme park tickets last year.
Disney said those terms required any disputes to be settled via arbitration, not a civil trial.
A PR Nightmare
After the story came to light, headlines worldwide blasted Disney for trying to get off on a technicality.
The company, however, later released a statement clarifying that Raglan Road was not owned or operated by Disney and that they were simply trying to exclude themselves from the proceedings.


Photo: Raglan Road
“We are deeply saddened by the family’s loss and understand their grief. 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,” a Disney spokesperson said.
According to court records, Disney was included in the lawsuit because Raglan Road has a page on Walt Disney World’s website. There, the restaurant is listed as having “allergen-free food.”


Disney’s Raglan Road website.
This explains why Piccolo’s lawyers included Disney in the lawsuit. It also gives an explanation of why Disney withheld its terms and services to get out of the suit.
In the end, however, Disney was in a no-win situation. The company had been painted as a heartless corporation trying to pull a fast one on a grieving widower.
That brings us to today.
“At Disney, We Strive to Put Humanity First”
In a new statement on the wrongful death lawsuit, Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro announced that the company will waive its rights to arbitration, and allow the case to proceed.


Photo: The Walt Disney Company. Josh D’Amaro (Chairman; Disney Parks, Experiences and Products)
“At Disney, we strive to put humanity above all other considerations,” D’Amaro said.
“With such unique circumstances as the ones in this case, we believe the 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.”


Walt Disney Company
Regardless of the legal technicalities, Disney has made the correct decision. Now, the case will move forward, and hopefully, justice will be served.
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