In December 2020, Disney travel agent, Jessica Straub, took a Christmas trip to The Most Magical Place on Earth. She was ready to see the decorations, indulge in delicious food, and have a truly great time. Sadly, while on her trip, Jessica was at Walt Disney World’s Caribbean Beach Resort, and she slipped and fell. She hit her head on the ground, which ended up being a fatal injury. According to the District Nine Medical Examiner’s Office, Jessica died due to blunt force trauma suffered from the fall.
More than a year later, in June 2021, it was reported that a lawsuit had been filed against Disney by Jessica’s cousin, Justin Morrison. The lawsuit — which was filed by the large firm Morgan & Morgan — claims that Walt Disney World Resort was negligent and accused Caribbean Beach of having unsafe conditions.
While Disney has not commented publicly on the lawsuit, the company has responded to the lawsuit itself, by filing a response and asking for a dismissal. In the dismissal request — which was obtained by Florida Politics — Disney claimed that the lawsuit was missing several facts and called it “vague and scattershot”. Disney also said that the lawsuit was unclear as to what exactly happened to Ms. Straub, and said that there was no proof listed to point to the fall being a result of Disney’s negligence.
In its dismissal request, Disney said the following:
“Even after a thorough consideration of all six pages of the Complaint, the reader is left wondering what allegedly happened to Ms. Straub and how it was supposedly Walt Disney Parks and Resorts’ fault,” Disney said in court documents filed July 19….
Noticeably absent are: any description or allegation explaining what or whom allegedly inflicted the ‘bodily injury’ on Ms. Straub; what the specific nature of the ‘bodily injury’ was; where in the roughly 200 acres that comprise Walt Disney Parks and Resorts’ Caribbean Beach Resort the injury allegedly occurred; or when in the four-day time-period referenced in the Complaint Ms. Straub’s injury occurred,” Disney said in the motion. “The lack of such details makes it … impossible for (Disney) to decipher how Plaintiff claims it is liable and mandates the dismissal of the Complaint.”
In addition to claiming that there was not enough information given to place the blame on Disney, the company also questioned the validity of Morrison being able to file the claim at all. Disney asked for Morrison and his attorney’s to present proof that Morrison is the representative of Ms. Straub’s estate — which is the only way he would legally be able to file the suit.
