Alec Baldwin just got some bad news about his 2021 Rust shooting that resulted in the death of the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Baldwin, 68, has been ordered to face a civil trial in October over the shooting.
Baldwin Facing Civil Trial
This suit was filed by Serge Svetnoy, who was a gaffer on the New Mexico set. He is claiming that he suffered emotional distress due to negligence.
On Oct. 21, 2021, a prop gun that was being held by Baldwin on the Rust set fired a live bullet. It killed Hutchins, 42, and wounded the film’s director Joel Souza, 52.
Svetnoy was not physically injured in the shooting. However, he claims that he felt the aftermath from the gunshot and heard a loud bang.
On Friday, People Magazine learned that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maurice Leiter is allowing the case to go to trial. This came after Svetnoy’s lawyer argued that “Mr. Baldwin is the last line of defense. Guns generally do not shoot themselves.”
“A reasonable jury could find that Mr. Baldwin recklessly disregarded the probability that pointing a gun in the direction of someone, with the finger on the trigger, would cause emotional distress,” the judge wrote in his decision.
‘We’ll See Where It Goes…’
Judge Leiter is allowing claims for punitive damages, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. However, he tossed out Svetnoy’s assault claim. In his ruling, the judge said that the “Plaintiff presents no evidence that Mr. Baldwin intended to cause harm to Plaintiff or anyone else.”
“We’re pleased with the court’s decision,” Svetnoy’s lawyer said afterwards outside court. “And we’ll see where it goes from here.”
The trial was initially set to begin on May 26. However, the parties asked for a lengthy continuance so that they could pursue further discovery and discuss a possible settlement. The judge then set the trial date as October 12. Noting that the case is almost five years old, Judge Leiter stated that he was not inclined to allow any further delays from there.
“I’m a little concerned about this case going on and on and on when it should be coming to a resolution,” the judge said.
Baldwin’s Previous Charges
Over a year after the Rust shooting, Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies and special prosecutor Andrea Reeb announced that both Baldwin and the movie’s armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed would be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.
In April of 2023, the charges against Baldwin were temporarily dropped. He was later charged again with involuntary manslaughter in January of 2024. This came after a new investigation by a New Mexico grand jury allegedly found evidence that Baldwin did indeed pull the trigger when it was discharged.
Baldwin went to trial in July of 2024. Just a few days into it, however, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case with prejudice.
“The late discovery of this evidence during trial has impeded the effective use of evidence in such a way that it has impacted the fundamental fairness of the proceedings,” Judge Sommer said at the time.
At the time of this writing, Baldwin has yet to comment publicly on this. He has long protested his innocence and denied any responsibility in Hutchins’ death. However, many have long felt that Baldwin should have been brought to this shooting.
Only time will tell how this case turns out for Baldwin.