CDA Technical Institute Lawsuit: Three Student Drowning Deaths

The CDA Technical Institute lawsuit history centers on three wrongful death cases filed by the families of students who drowned in connection with the Jacksonville, Florida, commercial diving school between September 2021 and April 2022. The suits accuse CDA and its personnel of negligent supervision, poorly maintained equipment, and inadequate training. By the time the third suit was filed in 2023, the school had already lost its industry certification authority, its GI Bill approval, and its accreditation, and it had effectively shut down.

The Three Student Drownings Behind the Lawsuits

Isaiah Johnson, September 2021

Isaiah Johnson, 21, drowned on September 4, 2021, at Ginnie Springs in Gilchrist County during a celebration dive organized by CDA instructor Justin Morin. Johnson had recently graduated from CDA’s underwater welding program. A witness cited in a police report said he was underwater for 15 to 20 minutes before appearing to have difficulty, and he was unresponsive when pulled from the water.¹ Johnson had been trained as a hardhat diver but held no scuba or cave-diving certification. His toxicology report came back negative for drugs and alcohol.²

Victor Pierce, February 2022

Victor Pierce, a 34-year-old Army veteran, got into trouble during a final scuba certification dive at Flamingo Lake RV Park on February 12, 2022. An instructor noticed him lagging behind underwater and found him with his air tank mouthpiece out of his mouth. Placed on life support, he died on February 28, 2022.³ The medical examiner determined alcohol intoxication was a contributing factor.⁴ The school reportedly failed to notify the Association of Diving Contractors International of his death.⁵

Fausto Martins, April 2022

Fausto Martins, 41, died on April 14, 2022, during a training dive at CDA’s Trout River campus. While underwater he reported that water was entering his helmet. Instructors told him to vent his mask, but he stopped responding to commands. He was pulled from the water and pronounced dead at UF Health Jacksonville.³

What the Wrongful Death Suits Allege

Kimberly Cobb, Isaiah Johnson’s mother, sued CDA and Justin Morin in May 2022. The complaint alleges Morin organized the Ginnie Springs outing, brought CDA-owned scuba gear to it, failed to inform park employees of the dive, and allowed Johnson to enter the water without proper training for that environment. It also alleges Morin provided alcohol and narcotics at the event and failed to supervise the students. CDA was named on a theory of vicarious liability. The family’s attorney, Greg Francis, described a “pattern of lack of institutional control” at the school.¹²

The Martins family filed the second suit in June 2022 in Florida’s Fourth Judicial Circuit Court, with Jose C. Martins as personal representative of the estate.⁶ The complaint alleges CDA failed to inspect and maintain diving equipment, failed to adequately train students on that equipment, and used unqualified student divers as standby rescue divers.⁵ It sought damages in excess of $30,000.⁷

Victor Pierce’s wife filed the third suit in Duval County court, reported in June 2023. The complaint alleges CDA failed to provide communication devices or standby rescue divers, failed to inspect and maintain equipment, and failed to properly train students and instructors. It does not address why Pierce was permitted to dive while apparently intoxicated.⁸

Case Status

The Martins case was resolved through an order approving a settlement entered on November 7, 2025. Terms were not made public in the docket.⁶ The research file does not report resolutions for the Johnson or Pierce cases.

How CDA Responded

Owner Ray Black disputed the Johnson family’s allegations, telling reporters the Ginnie Springs gathering was not a school event and that he could not control what employees did on their own time. Black said Morin had been authorized to use scuba equipment personally but that no one else at the school was permitted to do so. He maintained Morin “did nothing wrong” and said Morin resigned voluntarily a few weeks after the incident.⁹ Black said the school introduced new safety measures in 2022, including mandatory breathalyzer and drug testing for diving students, and characterized substance abuse among students as “a societal problem.”¹⁰ News outlets reported attempting to reach Black and other school leaders for over a year without receiving anything beyond a “no comment” from a receptionist.⁸

What Happened to the School

The three drownings pulled in multiple regulators, and each pulled a pillar out from under the school.

The Association of Diving Contractors International, whose certifications are effectively required for commercial diving employment, placed CDA under emergency suspension and attempted an audit of the school’s equipment and instructor credentials. Black chose not to comply. ADCI Executive Director Phil Newsum called CDA the “most problematic” of the 14 commercial diving schools his organization worked with and described the situation as unprecedented in the recorded history of U.S. commercial diving education.¹¹ Black relinquished CDA’s ADCI membership, and the organization stopped issuing certifications to CDA graduates as of June 1, 2022.¹²

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs revoked CDA’s approval to train veterans using GI Bill funding in April 2022, citing the student deaths and “multiple complaints of unsafe practices.” A public records request by Action News Jax later uncovered 44 pages of documents describing seven complaints filed with the VA between April 2019 and June 2022. Students called the school “unsafe in every aspect” and cited poor equipment, inexperienced instructors, and problematic living conditions.¹³

The U.S. Department of Education moved CDA to “Heightened Cash Monitoring 2” status in May 2022. That same month, CDA’s accreditor, the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training, issued a show-cause directive citing concerns about the school’s financial stability and its failure to report student deaths and adverse agency actions within the required 10-day window.¹⁴ ACCET voted to withdraw CDA’s accreditation at its August 2022 meeting, effective September 2022. CDA signaled an intent to appeal but failed to submit the required documentation and fee, and the withdrawal became final.¹⁵

By then, the school was already functionally closed. Without ADCI authority, graduates could not work in the industry. Without VA funding, its largest pipeline of students dried up. Reporters who visited the campus in mid-2022 described dorms that were mostly empty, students leaving “in waves,” and a disconnected phone line.¹²

1
Action News Jax. Family Sues CDA Technical Institute, Instructor After Former Student Drowns While Scuba Diving
2
Jacksonville.com. Isaiah Johnson Dies at Jacksonville Diving School Certification Party
3
Jacksonville.com. Jacksonville Diver Training School Comes Under Scrutiny After Drownings
4
News4Jax. Bodycam Video Reveals Police Investigation After Student Diver Drowned
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News4Jax. Second Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against Jacksonville Diving School
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UniCourt. Jose C. Martins vs. CDA Technical Institute, Inc.
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LegalReader. Jacksonville Diving School Slapped With Second Wrongful Death Suit
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News4Jax. Third Family Sues Troubled Jacksonville Dive School After Drownings
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Yahoo News. Family Sues CDA Technical Institute
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Yahoo News. Jacksonville Dive School Loses Accreditation
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News4Jax. International Diving Group Changes Rules Because of Deadly Diving Incidents in Jacksonville
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Action News Jax. CDA Technical Institute Students Leaving School Amid Loss of Accreditation
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Action News Jax. Complaints to VA About CDA Technical Institute Date Back to 2019
14
ACCET. CDA Technical Institute Show Cause Directive
15
ACCET. CDA Technical Institute Final Action