A lawyer said Monday that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and two event companies could have done more to prevent the death of a contractor who died in 2024 after an apparent altercation at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Danny Rhyu, a contractor for the event management company Global Experience Specialists LLC, died days after he was assaulted while working at the Convention Center on Sept. 20, 2024, Charles Jackson, an attorney representing Rhyu’s estate, said in a lawsuit filed Thursday in Clark County District Court.
Rhyu, 41, died on Sept. 25, 2024, according to the Clark County coroner’s office, which ruled Rhyu’s death a homicide caused by a blunt force injury of the head. The lawsuit accuses Andrew Faalava, an employee of JL Exhibit Services LLC, of throwing Rhyu to the ground “multiple times” on Rhyu’s head, eventually leading to Rhyu’s death.
Jackson said he’s not entirely sure of the circumstances surrounding Rhyu’s death other than an altercation between Rhyu and an employee of another event management company, JL Exhibit Services LLC, started as a verbal spat but at some point turned physical.
“Our understanding from our client, who is not the decedent, was that there was some sort of altercation, some sort of verbal altercation that escalated into a physical altercation,” Jackson said. “The two may have even been separated at some point, but ultimately, Mr. Rhyu was picked up and dropped on his head.”
The suit names the LVCVA, Global Experience Specialists and JL Exhibit Services as defendants and claims each of the defendants had a duty to provide Rhyu a safe working environment.
Representatives for the LVCVA and GES said separately on Monday they do not comment on pending litigation. James LaCour, founder and chief operating officer of JL Exhibit Services, said in a brief call Monday that he was unaware of a lawsuit and had not yet had a chance to look at the complaint.
A preliminary hearing for Faalava’s criminal case is scheduled for July 30. Faalava’s attorney, Josh Tomsheck, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Faalava is not listed as a defendant in the civil lawsuit. Las Vegas Justice Court records show a case against Faalava, who faces a charge of involuntary manslaughter, opened on Sept. 27, 2024.
The complaint alleges JL Exhibit Services also owed Rhyu a duty to prevent violence by supervising its employees, including Faalava, and that the company was negligent in its hiring, training and supervision.
“As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ breach of these duties, (Rhyu) sustained injuries to his body, limbs, organs and nervous system, which resulted in his death,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit further states the LVCVA and GES “negligently disregarded” Rhyu’s safety by failing to have adequate security on the Convention Center premises to deter fights and by failing to have security guards or adequately trained personnel on duty who could have responded to the alleged fight between Rhyu and Faalava.
Plaintiffs are seeking general damages in excess of $15,000 and other damages related to grief, sorrow and pain and suffering in excess of $100,000, according to the complaint.
“We think the work environment was obviously unsafe, allowing a verbal altercation to escalate into violence,” Jackson said.
Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 on X.
