Alec Baldwin Facing Fresh Legal Fight: 'Rust' Negligence Lawsuit Gets Green Light After Actor's Involuntary Manslaughter Case Kicked Out of Court
A negligence lawsuit against Alec Baldwin over the 'Rust' shooting has been ordered to resume.
Aug. 22 2024, Published 7:00 p.m. ET
Alec Baldwin may have dodged criminal charges over the deadly Rust set shooting, but he's back in the legal arena fighting a negligence lawsuit that has been ordered to resume, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
A crew member on the Western, Serge Svetnoy, sued Baldwin and the movie's production company over the horrific accidental death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
The 42-year-old mom was killed during a scene rehearsal when a prop gun Baldwin was holding unexpectedly fired a live round into her chest – with the bullet also striking and wounding the movie's director Joel Souza in the shoulder.
Baldwin was sued by crew member Serge Svetnoy for alleged negligence, assault, and emotional distress.
Svetnoy, the film's key grip, claimed the projectile "narrowly missed him" and said: "Discharge materials from this blast struck (him) directly".
His complaint stated: "Simply put, there was no reason for a live bullet to be placed in that .45 Colt revolver or to be present anywhere on the Rust set, and the presence of a bullet in a revolver posed a lethal threat to everyone in its vicinity."
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, was killed during the incident on October 21, 2021.
Also included in the list of defendants were the movie's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and assistant director Dave Halls.
Gutierrez-Reed was convicted on involuntary manslaughter charges stemming from Hutchins' death in March. Prosecutors said it was her duty to ensure the firearms on set were safe.
Halls was also convicted on criminal charges over the incident. He handed the Colt .45 revolver to Baldwin on October 21, 2021 and pleaded guilty to negligent use of a deadly weapon in March of 2023.
The criminal charges against Baldwin were dropped on July 12.
Svetnoy argued the incident "was caused by the negligent acts and omissions" of Baldwin, his company El Dorado Pictures, Rust Movie Productions LLC and dozens of others who worked on the project.
He updated his November 2021 complaint in April of last year to include allegations of assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress against just Baldwin.
The Rust worker argued the lead actor, who was also a producer on the movie, "owed a duty to (Svetnoy) and other crew members and actors on the Rust set to handle the Colt revolver provided to him by defendant Halls with reasonable care and diligence for the safety of Rust cast and crew."
His filing continued: "This duty called for Defendant Baldwin to double check the Colt revolver with Halls upon being handled to ensure that it did not contain live ammunition."
Baldwin has insisted he never pulled the trigger of the Colt .45.
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The complaints against Baldwin were paused on January 4 after he was indicted on involuntary manslaughter charges in New Mexico. The move was meant to prevent his testimony in the civil suit from being used against him in the criminal case.
As this outlet reported, the 30 Rock actor pleaded not guilty and maintained he never actually pulled the trigger of the gun. On July 12, after just three days on trial, Baldwin was cleared of the charges because the judge ruled prosecutors withheld key evidence from the defense.
In light of this development, the judge overseeing Svetnoy's lawsuit ruled to resume the matter on August 16 after "finding the stay is no longer necessary or appropriate and hearing no objection by any party to its expressed intention to lift the stay".
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