| BY DAVID CHURCHILL | | The family claimed more | |
 | | crowds at the afternoon |
| | than $1 million in damages, | | | parades had traumatised |
| DISNEYLAND is the la- | | and Disney eventually | | | his family, while another |
| test victim of the growing | | agreed an out-of-court | | | parent alleged that the |
| American hobby of suing | | settlement, largely because | | | Winnie-the-Pooh character |
| for alleged injuries or other | | the family had initially been | | | had hit her nine-year-old |
| claims. | | taken backstage after | | | daughter in the face. |
| A Californian judge last | | having been [id:11849] accu- | | | [id:11854], the full-time |
| week gave the go-ahead for | | sed of shoplifting. | | | Disney legal team success- |
| a legal action by a grand- | | The Disneyland park at | | | fully proved - by bringing |
| mother who claims that her | | Anaheim, California, is | | | the character into court - |
| grandchildren were trau- | | estimated to receive one | | | that the costume’s arms |
| matised when they were | | big lawsuit a week, with | | Most legal actions invol- | | were too close to the |
| taken behind the scenes | | about 100 cases active at | | ve allegations of [id:11851], | | ground to have caused the |
| and saw Mickey Mouse and | | any one time. [id:11850] | | with the Autopia car ride | | injury. |
| Donald Duck without their | | David Koenig, a former | | and Matterhorn Bobsled | | One legal action that |
| costume heads. | | Disneyland employee who | | rollercoaster rides the sou- | | [id:11856] was initiated by |
| This came after a similar | | monitors the court cases, | | rce of the highest number of | | two men,Andrew Exler, 19, |
| lawsuit in which a family | | says fewer than one in 20 | | claims. | | and Shawn Elliott, 17, who |
| claimed damages for the | | has a chance of reaching | | “Many ‘victims’ orche- | | accused Disney of sexual |
| trauma suffered by their | | court and winning damages. | | strate their own accident,” | | discrimination when they |
| four-year-old, who when | | “It’s difficult to beat | | Mr Koenig says. “They’ll | | were prevented from |
| taken backstage, was said to | | Disney in court,” he said. | | stage a fall, or deliberately | | dancing together in the |
| have been [id:11848] seeing | | “Unlike many other large | | step in front of a streetcar.” | | Videopolis arena. Even- |
| the characters without their | | corporations, it won’t settle | | But American visitors | | tually, Disneyland was |
| heads because the breat- | | suits just to make them go | | seem willing to sue for any | | forced to end any sexual |
| hing and cooling devices | | away, no matter how | | reason, however unlikely | | discrimination. |
| made them look like skel | | Mickey Mouse the claims | | their chances of success. | | |
| etons. | | may be.” | | One man claimed that the | | |
