Family Of Cinematographer Killed On Set Of Rust Files Suit Against Alec Baldwin And Members Of Production Team For Wrongful Death, Loss Of Consortium
The family of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer killed by Alec Baldwin on the set of Rust, has filed a lawsuit against the disgraced actor and a number of his fellow production team members for wrongful death and loss of consortium.
Hutchins was killed on the film’s set on the 21st of October, 2021, at the Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe, New Mexico when a gun Baldwin was holding in preparation for a scene went off, hitting not only the cinematographer but also the film’s director, Joel Souza.
Filed on February 14th by attorney Krystina Martinez on behalf of Hutchins’ husband, Matthew Hutchins, and the couple’s son Andros, the lawsuit alleges that “Defendant Alec Baldwin recklessly shot and killed Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie Rust,” further noting that the other defendants’ negligence regarding safety rules are also to blame for the death of the cinematographer.
“Defendant Baldwin and the other Defendants in this case failed to perform industry standard safety checks and follow basic gun safety rules while using real guns to produce the movie Rust, with fatal consequences,” the suit accuses.
Alongside Baldwin, the legal complaint identifiesthe production companies “El Dorado Pictures, Rust Movie Productions, Thomasville Pictures, Short Porch Pictures, Brittany House Pictures, Calvary Media, and/or 3rd Shift Media,” individual producers Ryan Smith, Allen Cheney, Nathan Klingher, Ryan Winterstern, Anjul Nigam, Matthew DelPiano, Gabrielle Pickle, and Emily Salveson, the film’s armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, props manager Sarah Zachry, assistant director David Halls, and prop supplier Seth Kenny, as well as another 100 unidentified individuals as defendants.
The suit also alleges that Baldwin and the other producers were well aware of Gutierrez-Reed’s inexperience as an armourer, and yet still “ignored Gutierrez-Reed’s concerns that performing the dual roles of armorer and assistant prop master would result in lapses in basic firearm safety.”
Regarding the companies that had a hand in producing Rust, the legal document alleges that they “utilized aggressive cost-cutting practices during the Rust Production that jeopardized and endangered the safety of the cast and crew of Rust.”
It further specifies that these measures included “hiring inexperienced and unqualified armorers or weapons masters, requiring the film’s armorer to split time as assistant props master.”
“Establishing and aggressively adhering to unreasonably rushed production schedules, and hiring unqualified and inexperienced crew and staff that were responsible for safety during the production,” the document elaborates.
As per the legal complaint, all defendants, including Baldwin, are accused of enganging in “negligent, intentional, willful, or reckless misconduct resulting in wrongful death” and causing a “loss of consortium” – or emotional losses – to Matthew Hutchins, who had been married to Halyna for 16 years at the time of her death.
This is the third such lawsuit filed against Baldwin for his role in the killing of Hutchins.
Previously, Rust script supervisor Mamie Mitchell sued the actor for assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress on the grounds that he “intentionally, without just cause or excuse, cocked and fired the loaded gun even though the upcoming scene to be filmed did not call for the cocking and firing of the firearm.”
Prior to that, Rust gaffer Serge Svetnoy filed suit against and a similar line-up of defendants for general neglience, claiming, “This incident was caused by the negligent acts and omission of Defendants, and each of them, as well as their agents, principals, and employers.”
“Simply put,” Svetnoy’s lawsuit added, “there was no reason for a live bullet to be placed in that .45 Colt revolver 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.”
Additionally, Gutierrez-Reed, herself named as a defendant in both the Svetnoy and the Hutchins family’s respective lawsuits, last month filed suit against armorer supplier Seth Kenney and PDQ Arm and Prop, LLC, alleging that “Baldwin did not respond to Hannah’s request on October 15 to schedule cross draw training.”
Unrelated to the shooting on the set of Rust, Baldwin has also been hit with a $25 million defamation lawsuit for allegedly insinuating that Roice McCollum, the sister of fallen U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, had participated in the Capitol Hill riots of January 6th, 2021.
Recently, Rust on-set medic Cherlyn Shaefer excluded Baldwin from a lawsuit filed against various members of the film’s production team, including Gutierrez-Reed, Halls, Zachry, Kenney, Rust Movie Productions, LLC, and the Bonanza Creek Ranch where the movie was being shot.
What do you make of Hutchins’ family filing a lawsuit against Baldwin and a number of his fellow Rust producers and crew members? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below or on social media.
More About:Uncategorized
Read this Next
