In mid-February, the family of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Alec Baldwin and others involved in the film. The suit alleges that Baldwin’s recklessness and the production’s failure to follow industry standards for gun safety due to cost-cutting resulted in the cinematographer’s death.While prosecutors have not yet decided to charge him, Baldwin has stated that he does not expect to face criminal charges. He has also famously denied pulling the trigger. The lawsuit, however, accuses him of committing reckless discharge of a deadly weapon, which is a criminal offense in New Mexico, the state where the lawsuit was filed.Miguel Custodio, personal injury attorney and co-founder of Custodio & Dubey LLP, spoke to the New York Daily News about the implications of this lawsuit: “Alec Baldwin and the defense should be scared by this complaint,” he said. “Both the complaint and the video shown at the press conference confirm the allegations that we’ve heard for months and are blueprints of how the plaintiffs are going to attack the defendants. They’re clearly depicting how industry standards were not followed because of the film’s low budget, and by cutting corners, somebody’s life was taken away.”Also included in the suit are emails sent by camera assistant Lane Luper bringing attention to accidental discharges on set. Luper, along with other crew members, quit before the fatal shooting. “These emails in the complaint demonstrate that there will be numerous witnesses that will be deposed in this case that will buttress their allegations. The fact that you have multiple people walking out hours before the tragedy happened shows that there were some blaring red flags on that set,” Custodio said.Three other crew members have already filed lawsuits against the production, and according to Variety, the production has a liability policy with a $6 million limit. Regarding the insurance limit, Custodio noted, “It’s likely that there’s excess insurance coverage that would cover this lawsuit and any other lawsuits related to this tragedy. These excess coverages create an umbrella that allows for even bigger recoveries for the plaintiffs.”Read Custodio’s analysis of previous developments in the “Rust” set shooting on The Washington Post, Fox News, Insider and more, which you can find here on Custodio & Dubey LLP.
