The family of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Alec Baldwin and other members of the Rust production team.
On October 21 last year, Baldwin is alleged to have discharged a prop firearm during rehearsal on set at Bonanza Creed Ranch in New Mexico which injured director Joel Souza and killed Hutchins.
At a press conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday (February 15), lawyers for the Hutchins family announced they had filed a lawsuit against Baldwin and “others who are responsible for the safety on set, and whose reckless behaviour and cost-cutting led to the senseless, tragic death of Halyna Hutchins”.
Names mentioned in the lawsuit (via Deadline) include actor and producer Baldwin, producers Ryan Smith, Allen Cheney, Nathan Klingher, Ryan Winterstern, Anjul Nigam, Matthew DelPiano, and Emily Salveson. Armourers Hannah Gutierrez Reed and Seth Kenney are also named, alongside crew members Sarah Zachry, Dave Halls, Gabrielle Pickle and others.
The lawsuit claims the Rust production team “disregarded at least 15 Industry Standards” of on-set safety. NME has reached out to Baldwin’s reps for comment.
Three Rust crew members have already filed lawsuits against the production team, including Serge Svetnoy, script supervisor Mamie Mitchell and medic Cherlyn Schaefer. Last month, Baldwin and Rust producers asked a California judge to toss out the lawsuit from Mitchell, saying: “Nothing about Plaintiff’s allegations suggest that any of the Defendants, including Mr, Baldwin, intended the prop gun to be loaded with ammunition.”
Gutierrez Reed has also filed a lawsuit against ammunition supplier Kenney, claiming he left real bullets among the dummy cartridges. Kenney, in response, said he did not supply any live rounds to the Rust set (via The Times).
The Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office has yet to charge anyone for Hutchins’ death, with the investigation still ongoing.
Back in December, Baldwin claimed he “didn’t pull the trigger” on the gun which killed Hutchins in an interview with ABC News. “The trigger wasn’t pulled,” Baldwin said. “I didn’t pull the trigger. I would never point a gun at anyone and pull a trigger at them, never.”
The actor handed over his phone last month to New Mexico police after they issued a search warrant in December. The phone is being examined for any relevant information connected to the shooting.
Shortly after the shooting in October, Baldwin released a statement on Twitter, which read: “There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother, and deeply admired colleague of ours.
“I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family.”
Hutchins is survived by her husband Matthew Hutchins and their nine-year-old son.
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