Judge OKs Donald Duck molestation suit against Disney

A Delaware County woman who claims she was groped by Donald Duck at a Disney theme park may proceed with her case in federal court, a U.S. district judge has ruled.

April Magolon, 27, was vacationing at Walt Disney World in May 2008 with her fiancé and young children. With a child in her arms, she approached a cast member dressed as the notoriously feisty fowl and asked for an autograph.

Magolon, of Upper Darby, claims the man in the duck suit grabbed her breast, molested her, "and then made gestures making a joke indicating he had done something wrong."

She filed suit in December 2009 claiming the incident at Disney's EPCOT Center ruined her vacation and caused her severe physical injury, emotional anguish, and distress. The encounter left her with post-traumatic stress disorder, headaches, nausea, flashbacks, and a digestive problem, she said in the lawsuit. Originally filed in Common Pleas Court, the suit was moved to federal court in August.

Magolon's attorneys claim the incident was not isolated. In court papers, they say the episode was "one in a long line of continuing, long-standing, similar prior incidents" that the Walt Disney Co. has failed to address.

Disney said Magolon had filed suit against the wrong corporate division and asked the court to dismiss the suit or move it to Florida. The company's requests were refused last week by U.S. District Judge John R. Padova.

Padova ruled that Magolon's suit could proceed in Philadelphia because her fiancé and doctors were all in Pennsylvania. The judge also wrote that Disney was more likely to be able to afford the costs of litigation in Philadelphia than Magolon would be in Florida.

Magolon could not be reached for comment. A Disney spokeswoman said she could not comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit states that in 2004, after a 13-year-old girl was fondled by a man dressed as Tigger in Magic Kingdom's Toon Town, authorities received 24 similar complaints. Michael Chartrand, who portrayed Tigger, was later acquitted of all charges.