Disneyland Settlement of Stabbing Suit Is On Again

For the second time, Disneyland has agreed to an out-of-court settlement of a lawsuit filed by the family of a man who was stabbed to death in the park in 1981, Disneyland spokesman Robert A. Roth said Monday.

An Orange County jury awarded the mother and brother of Mel C. Yorba $600,000 in July, finding that the amusement park failed to provide adequate medical care after Yorba was stabbed in Tomorrowland.

After the verdict, an out-of-court settlement that was to head off an appeal by Disneyland was reached. But when John A. Luetto, the lawyer for Yorba’s relatives, announced that settlement two weeks ago, it was repudiated by a Disneyland attorney who said the announcement violated terms of the settlement calling for secrecy.

A hearing on a motion for a new trial was scheduled before Superior Court Judge Jerrold S. Oliver. Monday, however, that hearing was canceled at the request of Disneyland’s attorneys.

Roth confirmed that the litigation would not continue.

“The case has been resolved,” he said, “so there will be no appeal.”

Roth declined to comment on the amount of the settlement. Efforts to reach Luetto and Disneyland attorney Richard E. McCain were unsuccessful.

Friday was the legal deadline for McCain to seek a hearing on his requests for a new trial or reduction of the amount of the verdict.

The July trial turned into a challenge to Disneyland’s policies on emergency medical treatment. After Yorba was stabbed, a park nurse directed other employees to drive him to the nearest hospital in a Disneyland van.

Luetto contended that trained paramedics, who might have stabilized Yorba until he reached trained medical help, should have been called. When presented with a written park policy requiring that paramedics be summoned in the event of life-threatening emergencies, the nurse said she had never seen the policy and had been told never to call paramedics into Disneyland.

The verdict was in favor of Yorba’s mother, Ellen Reynolds of Riverside, and his brother, Mark.