thewayne: (Default)
The Wayne ([personal profile] thewayne) wrote2024-08-15 10:05 am
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Disney files to move wrongful death suit to binding arbitration: man had subscribed to Disney+!

*SMH*

This is a tragedy and Disney is making it worse and worse. A man and his wife are at Disneyworld and have dinner at one of their restaurants. The woman, Dr. Kanokporn Tangsuan, had severe dairy and nut allergies. She expressed this problem to their waiter in detailed terms and was told that their kitchen was quite capable of handling this matter.

She died hours later of anaphylaxis. She administered an epi-pen to herself that she kept on-hand, but it wasn't enough. Sounds to me like she was given a standard dish of whatever it was she was having, rather than a custom one made special.

Her husband, Jeffrey Piccolo, is suing on behalf of the estate. And Disney is saying that because he had a trial subscription to Disney+ streaming service for one month, four years prior, that he is bound by said TOS that any legal matters have to be decided in binding arbitration. Likewise, the TOS for the Disney smartphone app has similar binding arbitration clauses.

While it is not referenced in this article, the amount Disney is fighting over? Piccolo was suing for $50,000. Basically to cover funeral costs and such.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/08/disney-fighting-restaurant-death-suit-with-disney-terms-absurd-lawyer-says/
frith: Cartoon horse glares and says no (Horse no)

[personal profile] frith 2024-08-16 01:58 pm (UTC)(link)
It's worse than that. Disney states that the restaurant in question is run by an independent entity, that they just rent out the space and are not responsible for the actions of the tenant. So, not only has Piccolo "agreed" to not sue Disney, they will probably say he can't sue them as they weren't the negligent party.

The take away lesson is: define all your employees and modular parts as "independent contractors" and "tenants" and avoid any liability. The streaming service fine-print is just an extra layer of legal protection just in case.
frith: Grumpy cartoon horse gets hugged by pink alpaca-taur (Horse hug)

[personal profile] frith 2024-08-16 11:48 pm (UTC)(link)
You're welcome. ^_^ This whole employees-as-subcontractors thing peeves Cory Doctorow a lot, so I latched onto that detail.