Disney is reportedly trying to block a wrongful death lawsuit through its Disney+ terms and conditions

Disney is going full Black Mirror in a new lawsuit that’s bizarre and distressing on a global scale, but also just really sad. The suit comes from a former Disney World guest named Jeffrey Piccolo, who alleges that his wife, an NYU doctor named Kanokporn Tangsuan, died as a result of a severe allergic reaction she suffered shortly after at a restaurant on the property last October. According to the New York Post, Piccolo is suing for $50,000 in damages under Florida’s wrongful death act, in addition to mental pain and suffering, loss of income, and funeral expenses.

Disney is trying to get the suit thrown out, however, because of a clause in the user agreement for the month-long Disney+ free trial Piccolo signed up for on his Playstation in 2019. Yes, really. Apparently, there’s a section in the fine print (that we’ve likely all agreed to) stating that any dispute with the company—with the exception of small claims—will be “resolved by individual binding arbitration.” According to court filings viewed by NYP, the company also pointed out that Piccolo signed off on similar language when he downloaded the “My Disney Experience” app in September to purchase tickets to Epcot for his trip. Disney is using both of these agreements to insist that Piccolo settle out of court.

Piccolo’s lawyers, of course, are arguing that Disney’s position is “preposterous” and “fatally flawed.” “The notion that terms agreed to by a consumer when creating a Disney+ free trial account would forever bar that consumer’s right to a jury trial in any dispute with any Disney affiliate or subsidiary, is so outrageously unreasonable and unfair as to shock the judicial conscience, and this court should not enforce such an agreement,” they wrote in an August 2 motion. Even though they shouldn’t have to point this out in the first place, the lawyers have also argued that Piccolo originally filed his wrongful death suit as the “personal representative of the estate of Kanokporn Tangsuan,” and not on behalf of himself; therefore, the terms and conditions he signed shouldn’t apply. 

The real kicker here is that all of this is happening over $50,000. Disney just reported $23.2 billion in revenue from its third quarter earnings. Surely, the happiest place on earth could have spared what’s essentially pennies from that amount for a grieving widower without going full Cruella de Vil.