Nearly two years after actor Alec Baldwin was acquitted of criminal charges in the shooting death in the movie “Rust,” a long-simmering civil negligence case is moving closer to trial this fall.
On Friday, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge denied a summary judgment motion requested by film producers Rust Movie Productions LLC, as well as actor-producer Baldwin and his firm El Dorado Pictures to dismiss the case.
During a hearing, Superior Court Judge Maurice Leiter set a trial date for October 12.
The negligence lawsuit was filed more than four years ago by Serge Svetnoy, who worked as chief lighting technician on the problem-plagued western. Svetnoy was a close friend of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and held her in his arms as she lay dying on the floor of the New Mexico film set. Baldwin's firearm had discharged, releasing a .45 caliber bullet that struck and killed her.
The Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2021.
(Jae C. Hong/Associated Press)
Svetnoy was the first member of the ill-fated Western's crew to file a lawsuit against the producers, alleging they were negligent in Hutchins' death in October 2021. He maintains that he has suffered trauma in the years since. In addition to negligence, their lawsuit also accuses the producers of intentionally causing emotional distress.
Prosecutors dropped criminal charges against Baldwin, who long maintained he was not responsible for Hutchins' death.
“We are pleased with the Court's decision dismissing the summary judgment motions filed by Rust Movie Productions and Mr. Baldwin,” attorneys Gary Dordick and John Upton, who represent Svetnoy, said in a statement after the hearing. “He looks forward to finally having his day in court for this long-pending matter.”
The judge denied the defendants' request to dismiss claims for negligence, emotional distress and punitive damages. A charge directed at Baldwin, alleging assault, was dropped.
Svetnoy has said the bullet whizzed past his head and “nearly missed him,” according to the chief's lawsuit.
Lawyers representing Baldwin and the producers were not immediately available for comment.
Svetnoy and Hutchins had been friends for more than five years and worked together on nine film productions. They were both immigrants from Ukraine and spent the holidays with their families.
On October 21, 2021, I was helping prepare for an afternoon of filming at a log church at Bonanza Creek Ranch. Hutchins was in conversation with Baldwin to set up the camera angle Hutchins wanted to depict: a close-up image of the barrel of Baldwin's revolver.
The day had been chaotic because Hutchins' union camera crew had walked off the set to protest the lack of nearby housing and alleged previous gun safety violations on set.
Instead of postponing filming to resolve the labor dispute, producers pressed ahead, crew members alleged.
New Mexico prosecutors prevailed in a criminal case against gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez in March 2024. She served more than a year in a state women's prison for her involuntary manslaughter conviction before being released last year.
Baldwin faced a similar charge, but the case against him unraveled spectacularly.
On the second day of his July 2024 trial, his criminal defense attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, presented evidence that prosecutors and sheriff's deputies withheld evidence that could have helped their defense. The judge was furious and released Baldwin.
The court action was first reported by Variety on Friday.
