January 1, Alec Baldwin Faces Wrongful Death Lawsuit

The family of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins has sued Alec Baldwin and producers of the movie Rust, alleging they caused her death with their “callous” disregard of safety.

At a news conference announcing the lawsuit, attorneys for Hutchins’ family said Baldwin refused training for the type of “cross-draw” he was performing when he fired the shot that killed her.

Court documents show a text message exchange between a camera operator and a producer in which a gun safety complaint was met with “callous sarcasm.”

Lane Luper, the camera operator, texted unit production manager Katherine Walters, writing: “We’ve now had 3 accidental discharges. This is super unsafe.”

Walter responded: “Accidental discharge on the firearm? Awesome. Sounds good.”

Multiple lawsuits have been filed over the shooting on a New Mexico set, but this is the first to be directly connected to Hutchins. The suit was filed on behalf of her husband, Matthew, and 9-year-old son, Andros.

The defendants’ “reckless conduct and cost-cutting measures led to the death of Halyna Hutchins,” attorney Brian Panish said.

The suit alleges that “Halyna Hutchins would be alive and well, hugging her husband and 9-year-old son,” if proper protocols had been followed.

Baldwin, who was also a producer on the film, was pointing a gun at Hutchins inside a small church during the setup for the filming of a scene on Oct. 21 when it went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

“Any claim that Alec was reckless is entirely false,” said Aaron Dyer, attorney for Baldwin and the other defendants.

Source:

Family of cinematographer killed on movie set sues Alec Baldwin and ‘Rust’ producers