TORONTO – A mistrial was declared in the legal case against Live Nation and others stemming from the June 16, 2012 staging accident that killed drum tech Scott Johnson, 33, before a Radiohead show at Downsview Park in Toronto. A new trial was ordered after the judge presiding over the case, Justice Shaun Nakatsuru, was appointed to the Ontario Superior Court. Since that reassignment, earlier this year, Nakatsuru has stated that he no longer had jurisdiction over the case.
Ontario’s Ministry of Labour brought charges under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act in 2013. Along with Live Nation, the defendants in the case include Optex Staging and Services and engineer Domenic Cugliari.
Last fall, lawyers representing Live Nation were unsuccessful in their attempt to have the charges thrown out on the basis of extensive delays in the trial process. They will try that tactic again, based on the new delay, and a hearing on the matter is set for August. If the trial is allowed to proceed, it will resume in early September, according to reports.
