Disney backpedals in effort to dismiss wrongful death case citing streaming service agreement

[Northy]

Assuming Disney actually looses, I see everything being tossed out on appeal. As is often the case in such trials.
Also assuming disney doesn’t just toss some sealed settlement at the estate.

Could well be that.
Disney has legal insurance no doubt and those lawyers are gonna want to fight it all the way to out of court, no fault, settlement.

 

[hwertz]

You misunderstand. The $50K figure is simply a placeholder; they intend to ask the jury for punitive damages in the tens of millions of dollars. That's the entire reason the husband is suing Disney; the amount he wishes far exceeds the ability of the restaurant to pay.

True, I didn't pick up on that at all. I thought it sounded a bit low...

 

[stewi0001]

Well I don't see it as clear cut. Disney had Disney brochures talking up these restaurants. I will say, I think their lawyers did also raise this point, and it is a valid point. This is a slippery slope though -- could they just have shell companies operate the rides, the hotels,lease the common areas to another shell company, just have them declare bankruptcy and shift the assets to another shell company any time a lawsuit happens, and effectively just have no liability no matter what happens in the park? On the other hand, it's also not that unusual in a case like this for (in this case) Disney to be sued, then they get to file their own suit to recover damages from the restaurant owner/operator. It's also not uncommon for a judge to agree "You are suing the wrong person" and have them sue the owner/operator directly instead.

The arbitration clause for a 1 month trial of Disney+ applying to going to the Disney resort years later? I do think this is a silly argument and they deserve all the bad PR they get for it. It's good that they dropped it.

Plus, they're doing all this over a request for $50,000? That's low for a accidental death and another reason they are getting (deserved) bad PR. Honestly they should just settle for some amount and be done with it. Then they can recover damages from the restaurant.

This restaurant is NOT inside the parks. Disney Springs is literally a shopping plaza open to the public. There are loads of shops and restaurants there that are not owned by Disney. Disney, in this situation, is nothing more than the land lord. Thus why I stated, it would be like suing the outlet mall where you ate at.

 

[hwertz]

This restaurant is NOT inside the parks. Disney Springs is literally a shopping plaza open to the public. There are loads of shops and restaurants there that are not owned by Disney. Disney, in this situation, is nothing more than the land lord. Thus why I stated, it would be like suing the outlet mall where you ate at.

Oh no s**t. Yeah I thought it was some area in the park, that does make a big difference. Honestly Disney should have had some (light) PR so this was more clearly known from the press coverage.

The Disney+ argument was bull, and I'm glad they've dropped it.

Hate to say it, it's hard to side with the "big bad ol' Disney". But now knowing this is just a public shopping area, yeah that's just a mall (as opposed to being in a park, on a cruise ship, etc. where one might expect the park/cruise ship owner to be keeping a tight reign on things and share responsibility for what happens on site.) That does change my mind on that, it's a fair argument for sure.

 

[Gezzer]

In some cases, the amount of an allergen consumed is so great that it would take multiple remedies and a single or even double dose of Epipens could still not work. Sadly, those with allergies cannot simply take the risk of assuming allergens will not contaminate their food but some people do put their lives in others' hands.

I hear you. But I've worked as a cook in the past and understand the conditions in a normal busy kitchen. Unless a menu item is designated as allergen free it's virtually impossible to guarantee that it won't come into contact with an allergen. So a person that's that reactive should never rely on a server's knowledge. Most servers have a passing knowledge of the ingredients of a dish and are often so overworked that they simply can't take the time to make absolutely sure that a dish is safe.

 

[ZedRM]

Disney ain't the company Walt founded.

Soooo true! Walt would be fuming angry over things like this.