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A hearing to discuss Disney’s motion to compel arbitration and stay the wrongful death lawsuit brought by the estate of Dr. Kanokporn Tangsuan has been canceled, court records show.
The company issued the following statement to Daily Voice:
“At Disney, we strive to put humanity above all other considerations. With such unique circumstances as the ones in this case, we believe this situation warrants a sensitive approach to expedite a resolution for the family who have experienced such a painful loss."
Tangsuan, who grew up on Long Island in Bellerose and practiced family medicine at NYU Langone Hospital in Mineola, died in October 2023 after a severe allergic reaction from eating at Disney World’s Raglan Road Irish Pub.
An autopsy concluded that she died from anaphylaxis after consuming elevated levels of dairy and nuts.
A lawsuit filed in February 2024 accuses Disney of negligence, arguing the family “relied upon the Disney and/or Raglan Road’s employees’… guarantee that the food served to Tangsuan… was allergen free.”
The company argued that the case should be dismissed and handled out of court because Tangsuan’s husband, Jeffrey Piccolo, signed up for a Disney+ streaming account in 2019.
Under its terms of service, Disney+ users agree to settle any lawsuits against the company out of court, through arbitration.
Piccolo’s attorneys blasted Disney's argument as “fatally flawed” and “preposterous,” urging the judge to deny the motion. They pointed out that the lawsuit is being brought by Tangsuan’s estate, not Piccolo himself.
Asked whether the terms and conditions of Disney+ give the company the right to require all disputes be handled by arbitration, regardless of where in the company they occur, a Disney spokesperson told Daily Voice:
"This is a unique set of legal circumstances driven by the plaintiffs’ allegations, and not in any way a blanket approach by the Company toward litigation, as has been erroneously suggested.
"The reason we cited the terms and conditions of our websites in our motion is specifically because the plaintiff’s attorney has hinged his case on the plaintiff’s use of our website, which contains terms and conditions for arbitration that are commonplace across a variety of industries."
The suit, which names both The Walt Disney Company and the restaurant, seeks more than $50,000 in damages under Florida's Wrongful Death Act.
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