Jibreel Tramboo comments on the recent high-profile Disney Plus allergy death lawsuit in BBC News

Jibreel Tramboo has provided comment in BBC News on a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Jeffrey Piccolo against Disney, following the death of his wife in 2023 from a severe allergic reaction after eating at a restaurant at Disney World.

Disney is arguing that its terms of use, which Piccolo agreed to in 2019 when he created his Disney Plus account, mean they should settle out of court due to a ‘Binding Arbitration and Class Action Waiver’, applying to “all disputes” involving “The Walt Disney Company or its affiliates”.

“It is important to discern Disney’s case here. The clause they rely on is comparable to their Terms and Conditions to when Mr Piccolo purchased tickets to Epcot in 2023. It would be a weak argument for Disney to rely on the clause within signing up to Disney+ on a trial period in 2019. They could not rely on that to stay the case.

“They may, however, rely on the clause when Piccolo purchased tickets to Epcot as there is a similar arbitration clause. That may permit Disney to stay the case for arbitration, although there are many other threads that may prevent them going to arbitration given the delicate circumstances in this case.”

Jibreel’s comments were published in BBC News, 14 August 2024.