This was the question Jeffrey Piccolo faced after losing his wife Kanokpron Tangsuan to a fatal allergic reaction to food she ate at a restaurant in Disney World last year, in the fall of 2023. Tangsuan had a severe nut and dairy allergy which she let her server know about. She was assured by both their server and Disney’s website that the restaurant would provide her with allergen-free food [2]. When the doctor determined Tangsuan’s cause of death to be the presence of nuts and dairy in her food [3], Piccolo filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Disney and the restaurant. 

Disney’s response? They tried to dismiss the lawsuit entirely, arguing that Piccolo had given up his right to a day in court when he signed up for a free trial of Disney+ streaming service. Years earlier when setting up his Playstation 4 game console, Piccolo had agreed to Disney+'s online terms of service which included a mandatory arbitration clause. 

Arbitration clauses require people to waive their 7th Amendment right to a jury trial and force all legal disputes to be settled outside of public court, in secretive private systems that favor companies over people [4]. Arbitration tilts the scales heavily in favor of big corporations, preventing consumers, workers, and small businesses from getting the justice they deserve [5]. 

You wouldn't willingly agree to such a deal, right?

The hard truth is that you probably already have. Forced arbitration clauses are everywhere. Companies bury them in the fine print of long contracts with the hope that most people will not understand or question them. Mandatory arbitration clauses pop up in everything from job contracts to the "Terms and Conditions" that you must agree to in order to use an online service or app, making negotiating such terms almost impossible. In as little as one click, your right to hold companies accountable can be taken away.  

At Oregon Consumer Justice, we work to end practices that undermine consumer rights and fairness. Forced arbitration clauses are a prime example of such practices, and we refuse to accept these unjust provisions that erode your right to access justice through our courts. Forced arbitration is not just a technicality—it’s a tool that corporations use to exploit all of us as consumers and that particularly targets workers and communities of color. These groups are most strongly impacted by predatory corporate practices, reinforcing systemic discrimination and deepening disparities.

The FAIR Act can change the landscape.

The Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act is a potential game-changer. If passed, this federal bill would ban the use of forced arbitration clauses in employment, consumer, antitrust, and civil rights disputes across the nation [6]. For workers, the FAIR Act means a fair shot at fighting wage theft and discrimination. For consumers, it's the ability to hold companies accountable for fraudulent practices and dangerous products. For Jeffery Piccolo, it would have prevented adding insult to injury during such a tough time (Disney did ultimately waive the requirement to arbitrate, allowing Piccolo to pursue justice for his wife's death in court).

We stand with advocates fighting for change and call on lawmakers to support the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act. The FAIR Act of 2023 currently has over 100 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives, including Oregon's very own Representative Bonamici, Salinas, and Blumernauer, and 39 co-sponsors in the Senate, including Oregon Senators Merkley and Wyden. The FAIR Act however, needs more support in order to pass. Lawmakers and legislators need to hear that ending forced arbitration matters to voters—YOUR voice can make a difference. Please contact your congressional representatives and ask them to support the FAIR Act or thank them for their support of the FAIR Act.

The article was written by Felix Knoebel (he/him), an OCJ policy intern and third-year law student at Lewis and Clark Law School. 

[1] Piccolo v. Great Irish Pubs Florida Inc. & Walt Disney Parks And Resorts US. 

[2] Id. at 2,5,15.

[3] Id. at 2

[4]  Americans for Financial Reform, Tell Congress: Support the FAIR Act to End Forced Arbitration, https://actionnetwork.org/letters/pass-the-fair-act-2/?link_id=2&can_id=974b4331d912d3f0380d11ff7a093742&source=email-tell-congress-support-the-fair-act-to-end-forced-arbitration&email_referrer=email_2447479&email_subject=tell-congress-support-the-fair-act-to-end-forced-arbitration (accessed Sept.13, 2024); Forced Arbitration Wall of Shame, Public Citizen, https://www.citizen.org/article/forced-arbitration-wall-of-shame/ (accessed Sept.13, 2024).

[5] Americans for Financial Reform, supra note 4. 

[6]  H.R.963 - FAIR Act of 2022, 117th Congress (2021-2022)