Alec Baldwin sued by Halyna Hutchins' family for fatal 'Rust' shooting
Alec Baldwin is being sued by the family of Halyna Hutchins after the cinematographer died on the set of "Rust."
Hutchins passed away on Oct. 21, 2021 after a gun Baldwin was holding fired on the New Mexico movie set.
Attorney Gloria Allred announced a press conference regarding the lawsuit will be held Thursday. She is representing Hutchins' parents and sister.
A wrongful death lawsuit was previously filed against Alec Baldwin and other key members of the production on Feb. 15, 2022 by Halyna's husband Matthew Hutchins.
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The lawsuit named Baldwin and others who "are responsible for the safety on the set" and called out "reckless behavior and cost-cutting" that led to the death of Hutchins, according to the family's lawyer.
Matthew Hutchins' attorneys interviewed witnesses before filing and created a video compiling evidence for the wrongful death lawsuit. In the video shared at a press conference, Matthew's lawyers reiterated claims from crew members that the "Rust" set was unsafe. The lawsuit claimed that Baldwin, who was also a producer on the film, and other "Rust" crew and cast committed "major breaches" of safety on the set.
The cinematographer's family sued for punitive damages and funeral and burial expenses among other things originally to be determined at trial. However, on Oct. 5, Halyna's husband announced the civil lawsuit had been settled pending court approval.
Baldwin was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter on Jan. 31 – over a year after Hutchins' death.
Prosecutors laid out their case against Baldwin in specific detail in the probable cause documents also released Jan. 31.
"Baldwin's deviation from known standards, practice and protocol directly caused the fatal death of Hutchins," the documents state.
"By not receiving the required training on firearms, not checking the firearm with the armorer, letting the armorer leave the firearms in the church without being present, deviating from the practice of only accepting the firearm from the armorer, not dealing with the safety complaints on set and/or making sure safety meetings were held, putting his finger on the trigger of a real firearm when a replica or rubber gun should have been used, pointing the firearms at Hutchins and Souza, and the overall handling of the firearms in a negligent manner, Baldwin acted with willful disregard for the safety of others and in a manner which endangered other people, specifically Hutchins and Souza."
Armorer Hannah Guiterrez-Reed and assistant director Dave Halls were the only other crew members believed to have handled the gun that fired on set.
Halls allegedly handed Baldwin a .45 revolver, telling him that it was "cold," or safe. Prior to that, Gutierrez-Reed spun the cylinder to show Halls what was in the gun, her lawyer said.
Baldwin has maintained that he did not pull the trigger of the gun – once during a prime-time interview shortly following the deadly shooting and again on a podcast episode. The actor originally said he had pulled the hammer of the gun back as far as he could and released it, but did not pull the trigger.