Halyna Hutchins’ Family Sues Alec Baldwin for Playing ‘Russian Roulette With a Loaded Gun’ on ‘Rust’
Alec Baldwin is facing yet another lawsuit for his actions on the set of western drama “Rust” that resulted in the death of Halyna Hutchins — this time, once again from the late cinematographer’s family.
In a Wednesday civil suit obtained by TheWrap, Hutchins’ mother Olga Solovey, father Anatolii Androsovych, sister Svetlana Zemko and “Rust” script supervisor Mamie Mitchell accused the actor and producer — amongst many others involved — of intentional and/or negligent acts on Oct. 21, 2021, in New Mexico.
“Baldwin chose to play Russian Roulette with a loaded gun without checking it and without having the armorer do so,” the suit claims. “The fact that live ammunition was allowed on a movie set, that guns and ammunition were left unattended, that the gun in question was handed to defendant Baldwin by the assistant director who had no business doing so, and that safety bulletins were not promulgated and ignored, coupled with the fact that the scene in question did not call for a gun to be fired at all and that defendant Baldwin inexplicably pointed and fired a gun at Halyna Hutchins, makes this a case where injury or death was much more than just a possibility — it was a likely result.”
The group is seeking punitive damages, compensatory damages, damages due to emotional distress, civil penalties and attorneys’ fees. Baldwin’s El Dorado Pictures, numerous limited liability companies and other employees who were on set that day are also listed as defendants.
The Santa Fe District Court suit notes that Mitchell (who was working as an independent contractor) was standing directly next to Hutchins at the time of the shooting, resulting in her own emotional and physical injuries. Director Joel Souza was also wounded.
Baldwin’s team did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
“With this lawsuit, our clients seek to hold lead actor and producer Alec Baldwin, along with other producers and individuals, liable for Halyna’s untimely and tragic death,” attorney Gloria Allred said in a statement to TheWrap. “Our New Mexico filing today coincides with the dismissal of our clients’ cases that were filed in the Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles. While we had successfully litigated this case in California against many of the same Defendants being named in our New Mexico lawsuit, there were key defendants over whom the court ruled there was no personal jurisdiction in California.”
“The fact that the court could not exercise jurisdiction over key defendants because they did not have ‘minimum contacts’ with California, as the forum state, further evidences ‘Rust’ producers’ decision to make this film pursuant to cost-cutting measures that placed the lives of Halyna, Mamie and other crew members at risk,” she continued. “Individuals were hired, including those responsible for the cast and crew’s safety, who had little to no experience working in films and, as such, with little to no contacts in Hollywood.”
Hutchins’ family previously settled a wrongful death suit in October 2022 before filing another suit in February 2023. The cinematographer’s widower Matthew Hutchins received an executive producer credit on the project in the initial settlements.
Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is currently serving 18 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter as a result of her role in shooting. Baldwin is expected to stand trial in July on separate manslaughter charges.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.
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