Are you signed up for Disney+? Well, according to a now-withdrawn lawsuit defense, if you are a subscriber, you’ve signed away your rights to sue the company for anything regardless of what happened and where.
Does this make you mad? Or think a little differently about Disney? You wouldn’t be alone.
Here are the facts: the widower of a woman who passed away after suffering a fatal allergic reaction at an allergy-friendly Disney World restaurant last year sued Disney for wrongful death.
The entertainment giant’s initial defense was to push to move the suit into (less expensive, private) arbitration, citing that the plaintiff had signed away his option to pursue litigation against the company when subscribing to the Disney+ streaming service years prior.
Public outrage followed. Critics assailed Disney’s insensitivity about a death on its property and, though unintentionally, at the hands of its employees. A $169B company trying to squash a $50K lawsuit from a grieving customer on a fine-print technicality unrelated to visiting Disney’s parks seemed especially callous. Since then, Disney has sheepishly backed off and agreed to allow the suit to proceed to trial, but the court of public opinion has essentially already made its verdict.
This is a classic clash between brand and legal strategy. Or rather a complete disregard for reputation by the legal team. This is not unusual.
Attorneys protect their clients from legal liability in part by trying novel approaches like Disney’s attorneys did here. It may have been a sound legal strategy – or at least a worthy attempt – but the potential avoidance of financial damages was not worth the damage caused to Disney’s reputation. If your legal team gives even a thought to the brand ramifications, you are a step ahead. Clear Disney’s did not.
When releasing notice that they were backing away from fighting to move the suit into arbitration they said, “At Disney, we strive to put humanity above all other considerations. With such unique circumstances as the ones in this case, we believe this situation warrants a sensitive approach to expedite a resolution for the family who have experienced such a painful loss.” It’s a good and humble message. An ethically responsible one. It’s also too late.
This should have been the philosophy from the beginning. Not only because the company faced criticism for being called out for trying to push the suit to arbitration, but because it reflects the values the company says it stands for.
One of our cardinal rules is know your values and then live by them. These values are the touchstone of your organization; they guide your message, who you do business with and how you execute a legal strategy. If you don’t want corporate values to guide you, that is a strategic decision. Espousing corporate values and then not living them is the recipe for a reputational crisis. It’s also avoidable.
Values discussions should involve every aspect of your business and it should be made clear that these are the values you live by, that everyone lives by. When decisions are made, like in the case of Disney, there needs to be a values check done.
The underpinning of any reputation is trust, trust given to you by your stakeholders. They are the ones that hold your reputation. When that trust is broken, by betraying your values for instance, it’s hard to get back and your license to operate has been revoked. Your legal team can’t get you out of that.
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Kith facilitates crisis preparedness workshops that will help your company attain the clarity, trust, and speed you need to respond confidently – no dithering! – to any crisis. We’d be happy to have a conversation about how we can help your company be ready to chart an effective course to reputation protection.
