Disney Declassified by Aaron Goldberg

Author:Aaron Goldberg [Goldberg, Aaron H.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: XXXXXXXXXX
Publisher: Aaron Goldberg
Published: 2016-09-03T04:00:00+00:00

5

C H A P T E R

Making a Mint Off the Mouse

In February of 1985, Disney and the video-rental chain the Wherehouse paid two toddlers a combined $10,000 after the boys watched the Disney video Silly Simplicities and hardcore pornography had been spliced into the video.

One of the responsibilities of being a homeowner is accountability. If someone slips at your house or your dog bites them, there’s a good chance you’re going to be sued. Mickey’s house is no different. Theme-park owners have a tremendous amount of liability and responsibility. Inviting the public onto private property that can be the setting for thrills and spills is also an invitation for lawsuits. Naturally, Disney has seen their share of spills, as much of this book has outlined. Spills usually lead to the courtroom, and no one has been there in respect to theme parks and entertainment, more than Disney.

Some of the lawsuits over the years have been more than justified as seen in chapter 2. Others have been quite frivolous, and Disney has experienced them all. There was once a lawsuit at Disneyland in 1959 by a woman who sued the park over her traumatic experience riding the Matterhorn. The woman claimed she would have never gone on the ride if she knew it was a roller coaster, as roller coasters scare her. There was another lawsuit filed in the 1970s when a person taking a seat on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride got wet. Then there was the case from 2004 when someone sued Disneyland for discrimination because they offered cheaper tickets to nearby residents (the Resident Salute Program gave locals an eight- to ten-dollar discount).

As you can well imagine, these lawsuits didn’t get very far in the legal system. In fact, many lawsuits against Disney don’t advance to the courtroom, and when they do, Disney is usually victorious. Disney’s high winning percentage has to do with many factors. Sometimes they win because they aren’t negligent, and other times it’s because Disney is detailed, efficient, and diligent with their cases. And here and there, well, it’s because some jurors love Disney. There was one case where a juror commented that her fellow jurors were very pro-Disney. During their deliberations, her fellow jurors commented that it would be terrible to ruin the park’s pristine safety record, despite a man losing his finger.

Disney apparently feels they need to be proactive and diligent legally. Our society can be quite litigious and they need to protect Mickey’s deep pockets. The diligence and attention to detail the company has mastered in providing entertainment to billions of people for nearly eighty years is also seen with their legal team. Disney has admitted they do maintain accountability for their incidents and accidents, under certain situations. “When a complaint has merit, the Walt Disney Company often settles the case but the company will very assertively fight cases it views as frivolous,” said Disney spokesman, Ray Gomez.

Sometimes those settlements have been as cheap as a few theme-park tickets or Mickey memorabilia.

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