MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The family of Alexis Vicent, a worker who fell 25 to 30 feet from a mezzanine at the SpaceXAI data center site on Tulane Road, is seeking $30 million in a wrongful-death lawsuit, FOX13 Memphis reported on September 18, 2026. The suit was filed in Shelby County on August 11, 2026 and transferred to federal court on September 11, 2026, according to WREG.
The complaint alleges the mezzanine was poorly lit and that the site "lacked the requisite guardrail systems, safety net systems, lifeline, a functioning personal fall-arrest anchorage system or adequate warnings," according to FOX13. Vicent was wearing proper equipment, including a safety harness, the complaint says; the allegation is that there was nothing functional to attach it to.
Vicent fell on August 15, 2025, his first day at the site, and died in February 2026, according to WREG. The Independent reported that he was employed through Employer Solutions Staffing Group and that the $30 million demand includes $20 million in punitive damages. FOX13 named SpaceXAI-affiliated companies CTC Property and MZX Tech among the defendants and reported the site was listed under Darana Hybrid Inc. in the state safety report.
The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated the fall and confirmed the worker "was not protected from fall hazards while walking/working on and around the mezzanine area," according to The Independent. FOX13 reported TOSHA issued a $4,500 citation for one violation classified as serious and closed the case in November 2025.
A damages demand is what a plaintiff asks for, not what a court has awarded or what anyone owes. The allegations in the complaint are claims that have not been proven in court. SpaceX and the law firm Butler Snow were contacted for comment by The Independent; no response was included in its report.
Why It Matters for Memphis
The Tulane Road data center is one of the largest private construction projects in the region, and a wrongful-death suit tied to it is now in court. The gap the case puts in front of a jury is the one that matters for every worker on that site: the state's penalty for a fall that killed a man was $4,500, closed within about three months, and the family's account of the same facts values the safety failures at $30 million. Whether the safety systems on a project this size matched what Tennessee law requires is now a question that will be answered in public filings rather than a closed regulatory file.
The Oversight Question
Who was responsible for fall protection on the mezzanine, and why did a fatal fall produce a single $4,500 serious citation and a closed file within about three months? The public record that answers both questions now sits in two places: the TOSHA citation file and the court docket.
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