April Magolon, of Upper Darby, said she was touched by Disney character at Epcot Center in Florida, but not in a good way.
She settled a lawsuit seeking punitive damages from Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in federal court on Friday, the Philadelphia Daily News reported.
Magolon claimed that she was groped by a Disney employee dressed in a Donald Duck costume while on vacation in 2008. Magolon accused Donald, who has an on-screen relationship with Disney character Daisy Duck, of fondling her breast.
The incident was described in a court-filed complaint: "Defendant dressed as Donald Duck proceeded to grab plaintiff, April Magolon's breast and molest her and then made gestures making a joke indicating he had done something wrong."
Magolon's attorney claimed in the complaint that this alleged groping incident left her with a number of chronic ailments. In the court filing, Magolon said that after the character Donald Duck touched his wing to her breast, she suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, muscle contraction,headaches, acute anxiety, headaches, nausea, cold sweats, insomnia, nightmares, flashbacks, and digestive problems. The complaint states that due to this pain and suffering, described in the court papers as a "severe shock to her entire nervous system," Magolon has been kept her from her job duties, causing her to loss money.
The complaint also said that Magolon's vacation was ruined.
The lawsuit charged Walt Disney Parks and Resorst of negligence, mentioning a 2004 trial in which another Disney employee was accused of inappropriate touching, this time dressed as Tigger. In that case, Michael Chartrand, the accused, was acquitted of wrongdoing by a jury. During the trial, his attorney donned a Tigger uniform in the court room, to demonstrate how difficult it was to see our grab anything while wearing such an outfit.
No details of the settlement have been released by either party.
