Businessmen sued over deadly 2022 Orlando warehouse fire brace for criminal charges
Two businessmen sued after a warehouse storing fireworks for Orlando-area theme parks caught fire in 2022 and killed four asked a judge to pause lawsuits as they brace for criminal charges.
The businessmen, Jacob Dell and Nathan Dawson, retained criminal defense lawyers in anticipation of “more serious criminal charges looming,” according to a motion filed Monday by their lawyers.
The pause in civil proceedings — which center in part on Magic In The Sky LLC, a pyrotechnics company owned by Dell, and its landlord, Nathan’s Properties Inc. owned by Dawson — would stand for one year or “until all criminal proceedings have been resolved.”
Depositions have not been conducted as part of the lawsuits and the businessmen are expected to invoke their Fifth Amendment right to remain silent on any alleged criminal wrongdoing, the document said.
“Accordingly, an appropriate compromise is necessary to reconcile the conflicting rights of the potential defendants, Jacob Dell and Nathan Dawson, to not be compelled to provide statements that may be used against them, and the right of MITS Florida to put forth a defense,” argues the motion filed by lawyers Bryan Yasinsac and Isaac Horowitz.
Authorities have not announced charges despite lawyers saying the men were interviewed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Orlando Fire Department. But Thursday afternoon, the decision about filing charges appears to be in the hands of the Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office.
“The case is under review with our office to determine the appropriate course of action,” spokesperson Jason Gunn said by email.
Disney, Universal report leg injuries, loss of consciousness on rides
The lawsuits, ongoing since March 2023, stem from the Dec. 1, 2022 blaze that killed four Magic In The Sky employees: David Gonzalez, 23; Lindsey Phillips, 22; Landon Bourland, 24; and Elizabeth Tiralongo, 22, whose lawyers accuse Magic In The Sky and other companies of wrongful death.
A fifth person, then-27-year-old Lindsey Tallafus, survived the fire but has struggled with the effects of burns on nearly two-thirds of her body. Tallafus filed her own lawsuit accusing the companies of negligence.
SeaWorld, which contracted with Magic In The Sky for fireworks displays at the theme park, is named in the lawsuit, but there is no indication of criminal wrongdoing.
The warehouse, which was rented to Magic In The Sky, caught fire while employees were inside after “[a]n alleged static charge from plastic tables and storage bins ignited” a firework, causing a detonation of other commercial-grade fireworks, according to an OSHA investigation summary. Magic In The Sky, which before the fire had not been cited by the federal agency, was fined $109,375 following a series of violations ranging from mishandled or inappropriately stored hazardous materials to not having proper safety protocols and procedures in place.
Magic In The Sky has contested the fines while OSHA’s inspection is ongoing, federal records show.
At the time, lawyers for Tiralongo’s family rebuked Magic In The Sky’s practices inside that warehouse and questioned SeaWorld’s decision to work with a company “that employ[s] untrained workers to operate facilities packed with literal explosives.”
Lawyers representing the defendants have sought to consolidate the wrongful death suits brought by the families of the four victims. The companies, including Magic In The Sky, deny wrongdoing.
