Alec Baldwin faces civil trial for negligence on ‘Rust’ shoot

A judge ordered on Friday Alec Baldwin October will face a civil trial over whether he negligently fired a gun on the setrust”.

Baldwin’s manslaughter case was dismissed in July 2024 after a judge ruled that prosecutors withheld evidence. But he still faces some lawsuits over the October 2021 shooting in Santa Fe, New Mexico, that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Sergey SwetnoyA lighting engineer on set allegedly Due to the negligence of Baldwin and his production team, he suffered mental distress. Baldwin said he did not know the gun contained live ammunition — a serious violation of safety protocols — and that he did not pull the trigger.

In a summary judgment Friday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maurice Wright allowed the case to proceed. He rejected Rust Movie Productions’ and Baldwin’s defense arguments that they had no legal responsibility for set safety.

“A reasonable jury might have found that Mr. Baldwin recklessly disregarded the possibility that pointing a gun in someone’s direction and pulling the trigger would cause emotional distress,” the judge wrote.

Swetnoy was not injured in the shooting, but he claimed he felt gunfire and heard a loud bang. A judge dismissed the assault charge, finding no evidence that Baldwin intended to harm anyone.

But if the case does go to trial — and is not resolved first — Baldwin will once again face questions about his recklessness in pointing the gun at the crew and pulling the trigger.

“Mr. Baldwin is the last line of defense,” Sweetnoy’s attorney, John Upton, said during Friday’s hearing. “Guns generally don’t shoot themselves.”

The judge allowed claims for punitive damages, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Rust Movie Productions argued that Sweetnoy’s claim should be handled by the workers’ compensation system, but Wright rejected that argument, arguing that the company did not have any employees and therefore failed to prove that workers could be compensated.

“We are pleased with the court’s decision,” Upton said outside court. “We’ll see where it goes from here.”

The trial was originally scheduled to begin on May 26, but both sides requested that it continue longer to pursue further discovery and discuss a possible settlement. Noting that the case has been pending for nearly five years, Wright set a trial date for Oct. 12 and said he did not intend to allow further delays.

“I’m a little concerned that this case is continuing when it should be settled,” the judge said.