The Los Angeles County Superior Court Appeals for the Shooting of a Hollywood Actor During a Film Set Up in Santa Fe, New Mexico
CNN has obtained a cross-complaint that says Alec Baldwin filed a lawsuit in California against people associated with the film.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot by the actor last October during a rehearsal for a scene for the movie, which was being filmed near Santa Fe, New Mexico.
In Los Angeles a Superior Court case was filed by Baldwin accusing some of the people sued of being negligent. It also seeks a share of any damages Mitchell may win from the people Baldwin names, and asks that they pay for any damages incurred against him.
“This tragedy occurred on a movie set — not a gun range, not a battlefield, not a location where even a remote possibility should exist that a gun would contain live ammunition,” the lawsuit said.
Baldwin is seeking “compensatory, nominal, statutory, and punitive damages” through a jury trial, litigation-related expenses, and other relief to be determined by the Los Angeles County Superior Court, the cross-complaint says.
Baldwin claimed in his cross-complaint that while working on camera angles with Hutchins, he pointed the gun in her direction and pulled the hammer of the gun, which discharged.
Mitchell was standing behind Hutchins, who died shortly after being wounded during setup for a scene in the western movie “Rust” at a film set ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021.
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Baldwin has maintained that he did not shoot the gun and that he was told the gun was safe. A recent FBI forensic report shows the weapon couldn’t have discharged without the Trigger being pulled.
New Mexico’s Office of the Medical Investigator determined the shooting was an accident. However, prosecutors are reviewing the shooting to determine whether criminal charges should be filed.
In April, New Mexico’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau imposed a maximum fine of $137,000 against Rust Movie Productions and distributed a slish narrative of safety failures, including testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two blanks before the fatal shooting.
In October, Hutchins’ family announced they had agreed to settle another lawsuit against the actor and the movie’s producers, and producers said they aimed to restart the project in January.
A lawyer for Baldwin is looking at the case. The New York Times said the attorneys for other defendants did not reply to requests for comments.