Disney Class Action Lawsuit Says Pass Holders Charged For Months Closed Due To COVID-19

UPDATE: On Dec. 11, 2020, Disney asked a Florida federal court to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed by annual ticket holders who seek a refund due to COVID-19 closures.

A group of Disney annual pass holders have filed a class action lawsuit against Disney Destinations LLC, saying that they were wrongly charged for months during which the company’s theme parks were closed.

The Disney closure fee class action lawsuit was filed by annual pass holders Ramon Santiago, Melissa Marlene Sanabira Rodriguez, Matthew Paul Schweri, Duria R. Rodriguez Schweri, and Leonard Leon. These five Florida residents say that, though they had not been charged for the months during which the park was closed due to COVID-19, they were shocked to find that they had been retroactively charged for the previous months when the parks reopened.

The pass holders have taken to the courts to protest this practice, saying that they and many other Disney fans were financially injured by it. They call this practice a violation of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act and a breach of contract with pass holders. They seek damages on behalf of themselves and all similarly affected consumers.

The pass holders provide background to their Disney pass class action lawsuit, explaining that Disney Destinations LLC operates theme parks all around the world, including in Florida. The company gives its customers the option to purchase annual passes, and allows them to pay for these passes via credit card, debit card, or bank account information, explain the consumers.

Allegedly, Disney represented to consumers that this pass would give them “broad and guaranteed access” to Disney parks, imposing only specified restrictions on the freedoms of the pass, like pre-disclosed blackout dates.

The pass holders also note that consumers can either pay annually for this pass, or can pay in monthly installments. If a pass holder chooses to pay in monthly installments, Disney then takes out a monthly installment from the consumer’s card or bank account every month. Consumers authorize Disney to perform this transaction, state the pass holders. They then go on to stress that this authorization does not allow Disney to withdraw money beyond the amount laid out in the agreement between Disney and the customers.

The Disney theme park COVID-19 closures class action lawsuit recounts that, in April 2020, Disney closed its parks in an effort to help slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Because of this closure, the company reportedly suspended monthly auto-payments taken from annual pass holders paying in monthly installments.

The pass holders say that these payments were purportedly suspended until the parks were able to reopen.

They note that the company determined that the parks could reopen in July 2020, and at this point, resumed charging auto payments.

According to the pass holders, they and many other customers were shocked to discover that the company did not just charge them for the month of July, but instead charged them for the months during which the park was closed.

They argue that this charge represents a violation of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act because the company’s choice to charge an amount that “far exceeded any authority given” to the company. Because the charge was unauthorized, the customers say this also represented a breach of contract between Disney and pass holders.

The pass holders state that they and others were financially injured by this practice, because they were charged money for a service that they could not access due to the COVID-19 closures.

The Disney park closures class action lawsuit goes on to say that Disney has further violated its contract in offering a limited number or services going forward, now that the parks are open again. They explain that many pass holders bought their annual passes on the understanding that they would have broad and unrestricted access to the parks. However, this type of access is no longer given, because Disney is now imposing a range of restrictions that were not previously disclosed. For instance, they note that pass holders now have to make reservations.

In the eyes of the customers, this decreases the value of the pass, and had they known that such restrictions would be imposed, they might not have agreed to purchase the pass or pay as much for it. In addition to this legal news, CNN reports on the change to the Disney experience brought on by COVID-19.

Have you been charged for a service that was canceled as a result of COVID-19 closures? Share your experiences in the comments below.

The Disney annual pass holders are represented by Katherine Erle Yanes and Gus M. Centrone of Kynes, Markman, & Felman PA; Brian L. Schrader of Shrader Law PLLC; and by Christine D. Arkovich of Christine D. Arkovich PA.

The Disney Park Closure Annual Charges Class Action Lawsuit is Leonard Leon, et al. v. Disney Destinations LLC, Case No. 6:20-cv01227, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division.

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