On Monday, The Walt Disney Company chose to let a court handle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by a widower in Florida. Previously, Disney claimed that the case should be resolved through arbitration, citing a 2019 agreement related to a trial of their streaming service, Disney+.

The lawsuit was initiated by the husband of a woman who passed away last year due to an allergic reaction from a meal at a restaurant located in the Disney Springs shopping area in Orlando.

“We feel that this situation requires a careful approach to ensure a swift resolution for the family experiencing such deep sorrow,” stated Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Experiences, in a comment sent to Reuters. “Therefore, we have opted to give up our right to arbitration and allow the case to move forward in court.”

The incident occurred when Jeffrey Piccolo, his wife Kanokporn Tangsuan, and her mother dined at Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant on October 5, 2023. The family chose the restaurant based on advertisements that suggested a high priority on accommodating guests with food allergies.

Despite the waiter assuring that Tangsuan’s meal was safe for her allergies, the lawsuit claims that she suffered a serious allergic reaction and died from anaphylaxis due to high levels of nuts and dairy in her system.

Initially, in response to the lawsuit in April, Disney did not mention arbitration but contended it wasn’t responsible since it does not oversee the operations or management of Raglan and simply leases the space.

In a different response in late May, Disney presented a new argument: that the case should go through arbitration due to Piccolo’s Disney+ subscription and his online purchase of theme park tickets in 2023.

Reporting by Harshita Meenaktshi in Bengaluru; editing by Lincoln Feast.