Disney has urged a Florida court to keep the results of a food test secret, amid a lawsuit over the death of a woman who visited one of the company’s restaurants.
Dr Amy Tangsuan died on October 5, 2023, shortly after visiting the Raglan Road restaurant in Disney Springs. Court documents revealed that she passed away from an “anaphylactic reaction to dairy.”
Tangsuan visited the restaurant with her husband, Jeff Piccolo, and “repeatedly notified” staff about her “deathy allergy to dairy,” according to court documents.
She ordered broccoli, corn fritters, scallops, vegan Shepherd’s pie, and onion rings at the Irish-themed restaurant bar, with her husband keeping the leftovers in their freezer shortly before her death.
Now, Disney is allegedly attempting to keep the results of a food test carried out on the leftovers by InBio Lab “confidential.”
Piccolo’s lawyer, Brian Denney, alleges that Tangsuan’s food was "advertised to be dairy-free, when it actually contained dairy.”
Denney also alleged that five other people had “improperly received meals containing allergens” at Raglan Road in the three years preceding Tangsuan’s death.
“It is unclear what good faith basis Disney has to designate the results of the food testing as confidential, which would keep the results shrouded in secrecy,” Denney wrote.
He also stated that the results of the test will be Exhibit One at the upcoming trial, urging the courts to make InBio Lab’s probe public.
Previously, Denney filed another court motion, which claimed that Disney was trying to designate “almost every document produced as ‘confidential.’”
“Another example involves the designation of Raglan Road’s menu as ‘confidential,’ even though it is publicly available to anyone who chooses to dine at Raglan Road,” he claimed.
Disney had previously tried to dismiss the lawsuit because of the fine print on the Disney+ app, which users agree to when signing up for the streaming service. It also pointed to the fine print agreed to by Piccolo when he bought tickets for Epcot before his wife’s death.
The brand’s Experiences Chairman, Josh D’Amaro, claimed that the company is still trying to take a “sensitive approach” to the lawsuit.
"At Disney, we strive to put humanity above all other considerations,” he told CBS News. “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.
“As such, we've decided to waive our right to arbitration and have the matter proceed in court.”
One of Tangsuan’s friends, Sabrina Martini, told CBS News that she is relieved by Disney’s decision to go to court.
"I couldn't even believe it, but I'm just glad that they changed their mind," Martini said. "I was relieved ... because I wanted to see exactly what the process was, what the process is that they follow."
The Independent has contacted the Walt Disney Company and Raglan Road for comment.
