Disney+ terms prevent Disney World food allergy wrongful death lawsuit, attorneys claim
PLAINVIEW, N.Y. -- The Walt Disney Company's response to a grieving Long Island family's lawsuit has them vowing to fight on.
CBS News New York on Wednesday spoke with loved ones of the woman who suffered a fatal allergy attack after eating at a Disney Springs restaurant. The company asked a Florida court to throw out the family's suit because of the fine print on its Disney+ app.
Amy Tangsuan, an NYU Langone doctor from Plainview, was vigilant when she dined out, said Sabrina Martini, her best friend. Martini added Tangsuan's severe dairy and nut allergy was always communicated.
"It would not only be her who would make the staff aware, but it would be whoever was with her and we would reiterate," Martini said.
According to her husband's lawsuit, at the Disney Springs restaurant Raglan Road in October, "The waiter guaranteed certain foods could be made allergen-free and confirmed several more times."
Tangsuan died soon after from "anaphylaxis due to elevated levels of dairy and nuts in her system."
Her cousin, attorney Peter Giattino, calls Disney's response shocking and absurd. Because Tangsuan's husband, Jeffrey Piccolo, signed up for Disney+ years earlier, he signed away his rights to sue. Disney cites fine print in the agreement, which requires users to arbitrate all disputes with the company.
"She was stolen from him, and now, in effect, what Disney is doing is trying to steal his day in court and it's a fundamental right we all have," Giattino said.
Disney claims Piccolo also okayed a similar agreement when he bought Epcot tickets online.
"This would create a horrific and horrible precedent, if you open your phone and look down at all the services and things you subscribe to," Giattino said.
Case could have implications for anyone who has ever signed a user agreement
Legal experts say we sign consumer arbitration agreements all the time and courts have ruled them enforceable.
Arbitration must be fair and can be cheaper than a jury trial, but Joan Stearns Johnsen, a professor at the University of Florida's Levin College of Law, said, "You are less likely to get those big punitive damages that you hear about. You're less likely to get the sympathy factor."
The case could have implications for anyone who has ever signed a user agreement. Martini said Tangsuan's family members need their day in court to get answers.
"So the process can be amended and this will not happen to anyone else again," Martini said. "I lost my best friend. I wouldn't want anyone else to lose theirs."
"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.
