Complaint Alleges Restaurant Staff Failed to Aid Actor Mike Heslin After Collapse

Actor Mike Heslin, best known for his roles in Lioness and The Holiday Proposal Plan, died on July 2, 2024, at the age of 30. Now, a wrongful death complaint claims restaurant staff failed to provide lifesaving assistance when he collapsed at Javier’s restaurant inside the Aria Resort & Casino.

Heslin’s husband, Scotty Dynamo (née Nicolas James Wilson), who was appointed special administrator of his estate, filed the complaint on Sept. 18 in Clark County District Court. According to the filing obtained by PEOPLE, Dynamo accuses employees of Javier’s, Aria Resort & Casino, and parent company MGM Resorts International of failing to act in time to save his husband’s life.

Allegations of Inaction

The complaint says Heslin suffered a medical emergency on June 25, 2024, while dining at Javier’s. Friends quickly moved furniture to lay him on the floor and called for help. However, staff allegedly “stood by, took no immediate lifesaving action, and failed to initiate or support efforts that could have saved Michael’s life.”

The filing also claims employees did not perform CPR or retrieve an automated external defibrillator (AED). It further alleges that the restaurant either did not keep AEDs on-site or failed to train employees on how to access them.

At one point, a bystander reportedly attempted CPR, but an employee allegedly “forcefully interfered” and removed her from the scene. The complaint argues that these failures “proximately caused or substantially contributed to Michael’s preventable death.”

Alleged Threats to Friends

The complaint also alleges staff threatened Heslin’s friends with arrest or trespass and demanded that they delete any video evidence of the incident.

Dynamo is suing on five counts: wrongful death, loss of consortium, negligence, negligent hiring/retention/training/supervision, and gross negligence. He and Heslin’s estate are seeking damages exceeding $15,000, along with funeral expenses, punitive damages, attorney’s fees, and other relief deemed appropriate by the court.

Statement from Legal Counsel

Attorney Orlando De Castroverde of De Castroverde Law Group, representing Dynamo, said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE:

“We are going to fight tooth and nail, in honor of Mike’s memory, to hold those responsible, accountable. This was a systematic failure by the staff and management of ARIA, MGM International and Javier’s. The pain and heartbreak felt by Mike’s husband and friends could have been prevented if the Defendants had maintained an AED on the premises and adequately trained staff to provide lifesaving assistance.”

De Castroverde further alleged that Heslin’s death “could have been avoided” if staff had allowed a medically trained guest to continue CPR. Instead, he claims they interfered and even threatened Heslin’s friends while attempting to erase evidence.

MGM Resorts, which operates Aria, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Dynamo’s Tribute

Dynamo, who married Heslin in November 2023, previously shared an emotional tribute after his husband’s passing.

“Michael was brilliant, selfless, talented, and a real-life guardian angel,” he wrote, noting that Heslin had supported him through multiple rounds of cancer.

He added:

“Michael, meeting you was the best thing to ever happen to me. You are my world. You are everything to me. When I felt you take your last breath, my heart shattered into a million pieces. If I had the power to trade places with you, I would do it in an instant. But I will take it one day at a time like you always told me to, and live every day in your honor.”

Dynamo also revealed the couple had been planning to start a family, writing:

“You always told me that you felt like you were meant to be a dad, and I couldn’t agree more. You would be the world’s most perfect father. If I ever become a dad, I am going to name my son after you and hope that I manage to raise him to become at least half the man you are.”