The family of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was shot and killed during an on-set misfiring, has filed a lawsuit against Alec Baldwin and the film’s crew.
The family filed the lawsuit in the First Judicial District Court of Santa Fe and named Baldwin, the film production company, seven producers, and many other individuals involved as defendants. The lawsuit alleges that Hutchins’s death was caused by reckless behavior and cost-cutting.
“Halyna Hutchins deserved to live,” the lawsuit argues, according to a copy acquired by Variety. “[T]he Defendants had the power to prevent her death if they had only held sacrosanct their duty to protect the safety of every individual on a set where firearms were present instead of cutting corners on safety procedures where human lives were at stake, rushing to stay on schedule and ignoring numerous complaints of safety violations.”
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The cinematographer died on Oct. 21 while the crew was preparing for a scene in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The film’s director, Joel Souza, was also injured in the shooting.
The family’s attorneys argue that Baldwin and the crew “were aware of firearms safety issues that had occurred on the set of Rust and did not take action to correct the situation and ensure that basic gun safety rules were followed.” The lawsuit also alleges that the crew ignored several instances where the team discharged firearms in an unsafe manner. The lawsuit alleges that the named crew members failed to accommodate the basic needs required to uphold the necessary level of safety on-set.
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The family is seeking undetermined damages for the death of Hutchins.
The family’s lawsuit is not the first filed concerning the shooting. Script supervisor Mamie Mitchell filed a lawsuit in November alleging “serious physical trauma” from the incident. Baldwin’s lawyers attempted to dismiss the suit on Jan. 25, alleging that the damages Mitchell desired were improperly sought. Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed also filed a suit on Jan. 13, seeking compensatory damages from her ammunition supplier.
