[ad_1]
A man from Suffolk County is suing Walt Disney World, claiming that he had been falsely arrested as a result of a dispute in 2015 with a park employee about his marriage plans.
Marc Rubin, 57, testified in court that he was hoping to present documents to his future wife in front of Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom Park after a parade by a Disney employee who had asked him to leave.
Rubin said in the lawsuit that he had been falsely accused of battery by park staff and arrested by the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Rubin is claiming at least $ 15,000 in damages and other costs. The complaint was filed on September 27 in the Orange County County Court.
"The safety of the people who work and visit our parks is very important to us," said a spokeswoman for Disney in a statement. "We will respond to the allegations, if any, in court."
Rubin's lawyer John W. Zielinski of Orlando did not respond to a request for comment.
According to Rubin's complaint, the July 8, 2015 proposal was "an event that was meant to be one of the most important" of his life. After the nocturnal parade of the amusement park, Rubin said that he had stood in front of the castle while his girlfriend and other family members, including two teenagers, were visiting a concession trolley.
Rubin stated that he was then approached by a park employee who had asked him to leave the premises. According to the court documents, Rubin was willing to relocate, but asked to stay until his family returned.
A discussion followed, with Rubin and the park offering different stories of what happened. Rubin stated that he had never touched the employee and that he had continued to insist that he move out "regardless of legitimate safety concerns" about Rubin's separation from his family.
According to an arrest report from the Sheriff's Office obtained by Disney, the park employee reportedly asked Rubin to leave the parade route at a distance of about 3 feet, which he refused to do, anger. The employee told the police that Rubin had threatened to have her fired and that she had grabbed her shirt when she had gone back to get away.
The employee then called security. His manager told the police that he had arrived to find Rubin screaming at the employee. He added that Rubin was also disputed with him and also seized his shirt, although he refused to file a complaint.
A sheriff's representative was not available to comment.
According to the court records, Rubin was arrested and charged with battery for misdemeanor. He did not argue against a charge of disorderly conduct and paid a $ 100 fine, plus court costs, in 2015.
Rubin states in the court documents that Disney World did not provide a surveillance video, which would have exempted him and did not conduct an internal investigation before reporting the incident to the sheriff's office, among others.
He stated that he suffered "injuries and suffering, mental anguish, loss of ability to enjoy life, embarrassment and humiliation, loss of income and loss of earning capacity" following his arrest.
Laura Blasey covers trend stories and the latest news for the Long Island office. She has been at Newsday since 2015 and is an alumna of the University of Maryland.
Source link
