Alec Baldwin ‘Rust’ lawsuit overview:
- Who: Ross Addiego, Doran Curtin and Reese Price filed a lawsuit against Alexander R. Baldwin III, Rust Movie Productions LLC and El Dorado Pictures.
- Why: Addiego, Curtin, and Price claim Baldwin and the production companies were responsible for the shooting death of Halayna Hutchins on the set of the movie “Rust” in October 2021.
- Where: The lawsuit was filed in the 1st Judicial District Court County of Santa Fe State of New Mexico.
Alec Baldwin failed to follow movie industry safety rules when he fired a bullet from a Colt .45 revolver toward the crew on the New Mexico set of the movie “Rust” on Oct. 21, 2021, that killed the film’s director of photography Halyna Hutchins, a new lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiffs Ross Addiego, Doran Curtin and Reese Price, who were crew members on the set of “Rust,” claim Baldwin, along with Rust Movie Productions and El Dorado Pictures, cut corners and ignored “multiple, unscripted firearms discharges.”
The plaintiffs argue Baldwin — the film’s star and producer — and the production companies, instead of addressing the alleged safety issues, persisted onward with the film in an attempt to rush out an allegedly understaffed finished product.
“Despite the gun-heavy nature of the film, Defendants allotted only 21 days to film Rust, cutting the costs associated with additional production days,” the “Rust” lawsuit states.
The plaintiffs claim Baldwin and the production companies hired a line producer and production manager who had previously made “dangerous cost cutting decisions resulting in safety complaints and litigation.”
Baldwin contracted assistant director known to not maintain safe movie sets, lawsuit says
Baldwin and the production companies also contracted David Hall to be the assistant director of the film and manage its “tight” schedule, despite Hall allegedly having previous “documented complaints by former productions about (Hall’s) failure to maintain safe sets.”
“Like he had done on previous productions,” the Alec Baldwin lawsuit states, Hall “cut corners when it came to safety on the Rust set.”
The plaintiffs argue Hall “skipped required safety practices” such as rehearsals, safety meetings, and firearm demonstrations, and allegedly rushed “critical set movies” involving heavy equipment, rough terrain and firearms.
Hall also failed to “properly distribute and maintain production documents including production reports and safety bulletins,” the “Rust” lawsuit states.
The plaintiffs claim Baldwin, Rust Movie Productions and El Dorado Pictures are guilty of negligence, negligence per se, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial and requesting an award of compensatory and punitive damages due to the loss of enjoyment of life and the pain and suffering they argue they have experienced as a result of the shooting on the “Rust” set.
In other film-related news, a federal judge in California ruled in December that a class action lawsuit accusing Universal City Studios of deceptively advertising its 2019 film “Yesterday” could proceed.
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The plaintiffs are represented by Jacob G. Vigil and Alexandra Cervantes of Vigil Law Firm PA.
The Alec Baldwin Rust lawsuit is Addiego, et al. v. Baldwin III, et al., Case No. D-101-CV-2023-00427, in the 1st Judicial District Court County of Santa Fe State of New Mexico.
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