Alec Baldwin to face civil trial over alleged negligence in ‘Rust’ shooting, judge rules

A judge ruled on Friday that a civil case against actor Alec Baldwin over alleged negligence on the “Rust” set in 2021 can proceed to trial this fall.

The actor was rehearsing a scene at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe County on Oct. 21, 2021, when a prop revolver he was holding went off, killing Halyna Hutchins, 42, and wounding director Joel Souza on the set of the Western movie.

Serge Svetnoy, a gaffer on “Rust,” first filed a lawsuit in November 2021, alleging that he narrowly missed being hit while on set that day. He claimed that cost-cutting and corner-cutting measures on the Western meant that Baldwin, armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and other producers “were consciously aware of the wrongfulness and harmfulness of their conduct.”

He alleges that he suffered from emotional distress due to negligence on the part of Baldwin and Rust Movie Productions.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maurice Leiter allowed Svetnoy’s claims for punitive damages, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress to move forward.

Alec Baldwin in "Rust." — Alec Baldwin in “Rust.”Rust Movie Productions LLC

However, he tossed Svetnoy’s assault claim, stating in his ruling that the “Plaintiff presents no evidence that Mr. Baldwin intended to cause harm to Plaintiff or anyone else.”

A representative for Baldwin did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday regarding the judge’s ruling. Rust Movie Productions also did not immediately respond.

Baldwin, a three-time Emmy winner known for NBC’s “30 Rock,” has denied accusations that conditions were unsafe on the set.

A judge previously dismissed an involuntary manslaughter case against Baldwin in 2024, agreeing with the actor’s lawyers that prosecutors hid evidence.

The actor has claimed that he was not aware the revolver contained a live round and that it discharged accidentally after he followed instructions to point it toward Hutchins.

In his ruling, Leiter wrote that “a reasonable jury could find that Mr. Baldwin recklessly disregarded the probability that pointing a gun in the direction of someone, with his finger on the trigger, would cause emotional distress.”

If a settlement between Svetnoy, Baldwin and Rust Movie Productions is not reached, a trial is set for Oct. 12.

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