Rust movie crew member sues Alec Baldwin, others for Negligence

The head of lighting on the film Rust has filed a lawsuit over Alec Baldwin’s fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of the Western, alleging negligence that caused him severe emotional distress that will haunt him forever.

Serge Svetnoy provided a detailed, first-hand account of the Oct. 21 shooting in a negligence suit against several defendants, including Rust star Alec Baldwin, the film’s producers, the armorer and first assistant director. He alleges that he suffered injury when the bullet narrowly missed him, as well as severe emotional distress.

Serge Svetnoy said in the suit that the bullet that killed his close friend Hutchins, narrowly missed him, and he held her head as she died. On the day of the shooting, he was setting up lighting inside a church building while the director, Baldwin and other crew prepared to shoot the scene. They should never, ever, have had live rounds on this set, Svetnoy’s attorney Gary A Dordick said at a news conference.

The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court names nearly two dozen defendants associated with the film including Baldwin, who was both star and a producer; David Halls, the assistant director who handed Baldwin the gun; and Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who was in charge of weapons.

The suit is the first to be filed in connection with the tragedy, in which Baldwin fired a Colt .45 containing a live round while setting up for a shot at the Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe, N.M. Hutchins, the cinematographer, was airlifted to a hospital, where she died. The film’s director, Joel Souza, was also struck in the shoulder.

The suit accuses several people of failing to properly inspect the gun to make sure it did not contain live rounds, including Baldwin, armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed and first assistant director Dave Halls. It also accuses the film’s producers of failing to hire enough competent crew to maintain a safe set.

The suit alleges that the defendants wholly failed to perform their responsibilities and violated the most basic of industry standards governing the use and maintenance of firearms and ammunition. Their conduct proximately caused plaintiff’s injuries.