Judge Reinstates Guard’s Suit Against Disneyland

A 5-year-old lawsuit against Disneyland by a former security guard, who was fired after Anaheim police and the amusement park said he faked an attack on himself, has been reinstated, attorneys said Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Pamela Ann Rhymer has set Aug. 1 to hear arguments on a motion for summary judgment by the Walt Disney Co., which questions the legal basis for the suit filed by Joseph D’Allura.

The case was initially dismissed in May when D’Allura’s lawyers did not respond in time to the motion.

“It’s of legal significance but not of factual significance,” said Ed Nowack, chief counsel with Disney.

George Peters, an attorney for D’Allura, said the decision was the “appropriate thing for the court to do under the circumstances.”

“We’re elated that the ruling came through,” said D’Allura’s mother Madelyn. “But we know there is a long road ahead.”

D’Allura filed the suit in 1983 shortly after he was acquitted on charges of making a false police report on a shooting incident in Disneyland’s parking lot.

The incident occurred on Aug. 14, when D’Allura claimed that he was shot in the chest by a man breaking into a car.

A spent .22-caliber slug was found in the bulletproof jacket D’Allura was wearing, but there were no witnesses to the shooting, and he suffered no apparent physical injuries.

D’Allura has been receiving counseling since the incident, according to his stepfather, Robert Brown, who added that analysts have said D’Allura is experiencing delayed shock.

“He realizes he could be dead today,” Brown said. “He just happened that evening to be wearing his own personal bulletproof vest.”

D’Allura, who is now a free-lance video photographer, always wanted to work in a police or security position, Brown said, and was once enrolled in the police academy.