Most Americans have signed away their right to take a company to court

Catch up fast: Jeffrey Piccolo's wife died after dining at a restaurant at Disney World last year, he asserted in a lawsuit this year. She'd told her server at the restaurant about her allergies to dairy and nuts. But after dinner, she had a severe allergic reaction and died, per the suit.

• The wrongful death lawsuit against the restaurant and Disney claimed, among other things, that the company's website had noted its commitment to accommodating customers with food allergies.
• Disney denied any wrongdoing and argued that Piccolo had waived his right to sue twice when he signed up for a Disney+ streaming account in 2019 and when he used the Disney World website in 2023, according to a court filing from the company.
• "This argument borders on the surreal," per Piccolo's court filing.

Zoom out: Like millions of people, when Piccolo signed up for these services he clicked the boxes on the Terms of Service, attesting he read them and agreed to them.

• Buried there was a clause agreeing to take any complaints against the company to arbitration.
• In arbitration, cases are heard outside the U.S. public court system, often in secret. The system is run by private companies, and cases are heard by retired judges or lawyers. Defendants don't have the same kinds of rights they do in the public system.

The intrigue: Piccolo's case went viral, and faced with public outcry, Disney backed off its arbitration demand. "At Disney, we strive to put humanity above all other considerations," Josh D'Amaro, chairman, Disney Experiences, said in a statement.

• "[W]e believe this situation warrants a sensitive approach to expedite a resolution for the family who have experienced such a painful loss."
• On Tuesday, Disney filed a motion waiving its right to arbitrate, meaning the case can proceed in court.

The big picture: Most U.S. consumers have clicked these boxes or signed these agreements.

• Exact numbers are hard to come by. According to one estimate more than 826 million forced arbitration clauses affecting consumers were in force in 2018. (The U.S. adult population is about 260 million.)

• Given the explosion of streaming since then, it's a good bet the number has gone up.
• The Supreme Court has long upheld these practices, with lower courts typically ruling in favor of these contracts.

There are few areas of life untouched by these agreements.

• Wells Fargo customers who'd had fake accounts opened in their name were subject to arbitration agreements because of terms they agreed to for their actual accounts.
• Workers who want to file race or age discrimination claims — key parts of the civil rights law — often find they can't take a case before a jury.
• That makes it harder to put a stop to bad actors; an accusation leveled against Tesla.
• The families of nursing home residents, accusing companies of gross negligence, have also been blocked from jury trials.

One exception: A law barring sexual harassment cases from forced arbitration passed in 2022.

The other side: Proponents of arbitration argue that it's a faster and more efficient way of litigating claims and can be less costly for consumers.

The bottom line: Back in the 1990s, a woman sued McDonald's over burns from a scalding hot cup of coffee — jokes about litigation-mad Americans were everywhere.

• Filing suits against big companies in the 2020s turns out to be a lot harder than you'd think.