Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Disney World lawsuit: A brawl at Epcot’s Candlelight Processional led to a 4-year court fight
The Orlando Sentinel ^ | November 22, 2019 | Gabrielle Russon

Posted on 11/22/2019 7:04:49 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks

The Baldwin family was feeling the Christmas spirit at the Epcot’s Candlelight Processional as the choir sang and celebrity guest soap star Susan Lucci read the nativity story.

“I turned to my husband [Claude] and I said, 'Aren’t you glad you came? And he said, ‘I just had a really great time,’" said Emma Jean Baldwin, according to court transcripts. “And that is when ... all hell just broke loose.”

Claude Baldwin, then 74, said he was attacked by a teenage boy and injured at the end of the show on Dec. 22, 2011. However, the boy’s family argued it was Claude Baldwin and his adult son who were the instigators.

The Baldwins, who come from a family with deep ties to Disney World, in 2015 sued the boy, his parents and Disney for more than $15,000 in Orange Circuit Court. The civil lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed in late October, although court filings did not say if a settlement had been reached. Each side was responsible for their own court costs.

Lawyers for both families and Disney declined to comment on the outcome of the case.

Included in the court case are hundreds of pages of transcripts from the family members that detail the fight that night during the holiday show that’s been a tradition at Disney World since 1971.

It doesn’t appear criminal charges were filed after Orange County Sheriff’s Office investigated and filed a report in 2011.

The boy, whom the Orlando Sentinel is not naming because he was 15 at the time, had been diagnosed with Asperger’s, a mild form of autism. His family said he didn’t have a history of violence, according to court documents.

(Excerpt) Read more at orlandosentinel.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; US: Florida
KEYWORDS: aspergers; autism; brawl; claudebaldwin; disneyworld; epcot; families; fight; florida; history; lawsuit; orangecounty; orlando; teenageboy
Awful.
1 posted on 11/22/2019 7:04:49 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

It’s a brawl world afff-ter all


2 posted on 11/22/2019 7:07:35 PM PST by digger48
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: digger48

LOL...groan!


3 posted on 11/22/2019 7:15:36 PM PST by ProtectOurFreedom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Little botard attacked a man in his mid-70s.


4 posted on 11/22/2019 7:25:48 PM PST by DesertRhino (Dog is man's best friend, and moslems hate dogs. Add that up. ....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Aspergers, ie. anti-social asshole.


5 posted on 11/22/2019 7:38:05 PM PST by Trailerpark Badass (There should be a whole lot more going no than throwing bleach, said one w)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: digger48

OK, that was better than what I was about to post. Hats off to ya.


6 posted on 11/22/2019 7:39:53 PM PST by OrangeHoof (The Democrats - Unafraid to burn in Hell.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

“According to the Baldwins, the fracas began when the boy told Claude, “’Get the hell out of the way, old man!” as the boy tried to leave.

Claude Baldwin said he told the boy to be patient and go back to his iPod.”

Sounds like that kid is rude!


7 posted on 11/22/2019 7:50:16 PM PST by Morgana ( Always a bit of truth in dark humor.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
“I remember pushing off Mr. Baldwin, saying, 'Back off. Leave him alone. He’s a kid,’” Ruggiero said.

Let's see. 15 year old "boy" vs 74 year old man. Yeah, that does seem to be something of a mismatch. Poor kid.

Uninterested in the holiday music and not a fan of loud noises, the boy blocked out the show with his iPod and earbuds.

So why did the father bring this 15 year old to this if he knew, as clearly indicated he did, that the kid was not well adjusted to such situations.

Without provocation the old man ripped out his ear buds and chest bumped the "kid". Yeah, I'm skeptical of that.

There's a lot left out - as there always is. How big was this 15 year old? How big was the 74 year old? The parents say the kid had no history of violence. I wonder how they define violence. How many people have you met with nasty little monster children who swear their kids are angels? I have had the ill pleasure of being subjected to many of them. At airports, public events, theme parks, in stores, and one of my favorites, at restaurants. And they never do diddly about their kids. You ask the kid to settle down and the parents go postal on you.

I bet on the odds, which in this case is the kid and his father are at fault.

BTW, he is no longer a "teenager". It is interesting that his identity is still confidential. Although they give us his father's name. Shouldn't take much sleuthing to find it out.

8 posted on 11/22/2019 7:52:17 PM PST by ChildOfThe60s (If you can remember the 60s........you weren't really there)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DesertRhino
OK, I'll play your silly game: what's a 'botard'? LOL 😁
9 posted on 11/22/2019 8:06:17 PM PST by Viking2002 (..........and Epstein didn't kill himself. Yeah, I went there.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: digger48

Very nice. Quick too.


10 posted on 11/22/2019 8:06:30 PM PST by Getready (Wisdom is more valuable than gold and diamonds, and harder to find.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Trailerpark Badass

I suppose having epilepsy makes me a tweaker?


11 posted on 11/22/2019 8:25:19 PM PST by wastedyears (The left would kill every single one of us and our families if they knew they could get away with it)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
the fight that night during the holiday show that’s been a tradition at Disney World since 1971.

I for one think it's time to jettison that tradition. Maybe try doing the show without the fight.

12 posted on 11/22/2019 8:28:46 PM PST by Jeff Chandler (BLACK LIVES MAGA)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wastedyears

I’m sure that made sense to you when you were typing it. Perhaps that’s a new “personality disorder?”


13 posted on 11/22/2019 8:38:48 PM PST by Trailerpark Badass (There should be a whole lot more going no than throwing bleach, said one w)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Trailerpark Badass

Quick with the perp / victims excuse


14 posted on 11/23/2019 2:54:52 AM PST by ronnie raygun (nic dip.com)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Trailerpark Badass

It really is hard to live in a world with mean spirited and arrogant people when you’re one of the “slow” kids. No need for it now though, as we are adults yes?


15 posted on 11/23/2019 3:29:14 AM PST by kelly4c
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
"How many times I done tol you, there weren't no Red Roof Inns when da baby Jesus was born!"


16 posted on 11/23/2019 6:24:16 AM PST by moovova
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Jeff Chandler

the fight that night during the holiday show that’s been a tradition at Disney World since 1971.

I for one think it’s time to jettison that tradition. Maybe try doing the show without the fight.
*************************************************

That’s not very festive of you.
Maybe the Christmas Spirit hasn’t HIT you yet.


17 posted on 11/23/2019 6:53:47 AM PST by Eagles Field
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Trailerpark Badass

There’s no need to insult someone for something that cannot be fixed.


18 posted on 11/23/2019 10:22:18 AM PST by wastedyears (The left would kill every single one of us and our families if they knew they could get away with it)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: wastedyears

What in the world are you talking about? Your analogy between a legitimate medical condition like epilepsy and an over-used phony “personality disorder” like Asberger’s, about which there is plenty of debate whether it is even real, is stupid.


19 posted on 11/23/2019 11:38:15 AM PST by Trailerpark Badass (There should be a whole lot more going no than throwing bleach, said one w)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: Trailerpark Badass

Aspergers, ie. anti-social asshole.


Not so much anti-social as asocial. They really don’t connect very well, if at all with other people and have little or no social skills. They can be reasonably high functioning as long as they don’t interact with other people.

They are oblivious to non-verbal cues. I was helping a young man with Aspergers unload his TV from my pickup. I was on the truck and he was on the ground. I made the mistake of nodding to him to grab his end as I was pushing the TV box towards him. He simply stood there and let it hit the ground.


20 posted on 11/23/2019 2:18:50 PM PST by hanamizu
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson