Embattled Hollywood star Alec Baldwin has just been slapped with a wrongful death lawsuit from the family of deceased cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Hutchins was shot and killed by Baldwin during the filming of his movie “Rust.”
The family’s attorney, Brian Panish, announced today that he filed a wrongful death suit in New Mexico against Baldwin and “others responsible for the safety on set and whose reckless behavior caused her senseless and tragic death.”
Panish alleges at least 15 industry standards were disregarded on the film set.
Baldwin is a producer of the movie and the trigger man in the shooting tragedy.
Panish made sure to let Baldwin know they were looking to him more than the others.
Panish said two of the industry standards violated on the set include that it was unnecessary for Baldwin to use a revolver to lineup the shot and that the armorer was not in the room when the actor received the weapon from the first assistant director.
Panish said: “Had they been followed, this never would have happened.
“There were many people culpable,” he said but before he named names he made sure everyone, especially Alec, knew Baldwin holds a greater share of liability because he was the one who shot her.
The other defendants include corporations tied to the production as well as producers Ryan Donnell Smith, Langley Cheney, Nathan Klingher, Ryan Winterstein, Anjul Nigam.
Supervising unit production manager Ryan Dennett-Smith; line producer Gabrielle Pickle.
Unit production manager Katherine Walters; armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed; props master Sarah Zachry.
Armorer assistant Seth Kenney; first assistant director David Halls; and executive producers Chris M. B. Sharp, Jennifer Lamb, Emily Salveson.
New Mexico based attorney Randi McGinn said she expects a quick trial because the state court system doesn’t delay.
She said: “We’re used to people coming in from out of town to play cowboys who don’t know how to use guns.
“You don’t hand somebody a gun until you give them safety training… No one should ever die with a real gun on a make-believe movie set.”
From Variety:
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office has been investigating the incident, focusing on determining how a live round made it onto the set.
Search warrants have revealed that the armorer, Reed Gutierrez, loaded the Colt .45 with what she believed were dummy rounds.
She then gave the gun to Halls, the first assistant director, who proclaimed that it was a “cold gun,” while handing it to Baldwin.
Three other crew members have already filed suit: Mamie Mitchell, the script supervisor; Serge Svetnoy, the gaffer; and Cherlyn Schaefer, the key medic.
Reed Gutierrez has also sued Kenney, who supplied ammunition to the set, alleging that he mixed live and dummy ammunition. The production had a liability policy with a limit of $6 million.
In response to Mitchell’s suit, the producers — including Baldwin — have argued that the case should be thrown out because it involves a workplace accident, which should be handled through the state workers compensation system.
