As expected, the family of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins has sued actor Alec Baldwin and others for wrongful death in the fatal shooting on the set of the movie “Rust.” The complaint details evidence of negligence on the part of the production team, which includes Baldwin as a producer. The lawsuit is on behalf of Halyna’s husband, Matthew Hutchins, and their son Andros Hutchins. There is also a pending criminal investigation. As previously discussed, there is ample support for such a negligence claim and there will likely be enormous pressure to settle this case.
Hutchins filed his lawsuit in Santa Fe, New Mexico and the complaint offers a damaging summary:
“Halyna Hutchins deserved to live, and the 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.”
It remains a mystery how live ammunition made it on to the set where police found 500 rounds, including blank ammunition, dummy rounds and live rounds.
We know from accounts that the movie set was the source of long-standing complaints over safety and working conditions. The production company allegedly required workers to drive 50 miles a day rather than pay for hotels, according to witnesses. Workers complained that this left them exhausted on the set. The complaint fills in additional details.
Assistant director David Halls has been singled out by Baldwin and others for his role, including telling Baldwin that it was a safe or “cold” weapon. Halls previously was fired from the set of “Freedom’s Path” in 2019 over an accidental discharge on a set.
There is also a focus on the production’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who also reportedly had a controversial history on safety measures, including numerous complaints on her previous film. The complaint says that Gutierrez-Reed was forced to perform functions as both armorer and assistant prop master.
The complaint also challenges the claim of Baldwin that he never pulled the trigger, an assertion that we discussed earlier as highly unlikely.
The cost cutting and fast schedule created a classic basis for a negligence action. The complaint adds some damaging details. The complaint includes a text exchange between a camera operator and a producer. In what the complaint describes as “callous sarcasm,” camera operator, Lane Luper, texted unit production manager Katherine Walters saying: “We’ve now had 3 accidental discharges. This is super unsafe.” Walters responded “Accidental discharge on the firearm? Awesome. Sounds good.”
Hutchins counsel has also released an animation of the shooting.
Here is the complaint: Hutchins v. Baldwin
I’m not sure but I think that Baldwin was very harsh regarding Dick Cheney when the VP accidently shot his friend in the face while hunting. Baldwin is not a nice guy, he failed to allow one ounce of empathy for Cheney’s accident and boy is Karma a you know what.
In a perfect world, Baldwin and Hillary would be ostracized into irrevocable oblivion.
No Professor, with all due respect, why they would not seek an early settlement is not the question. The question is why Baldwin drew the gun at all. Why he fired the gun. In this case we can only invoke Occam’s Razor. The simplest explanation that touches all the bases is the correct one and that is that he wanted to kill her. We may or may not like Baldwin but he is not a complete imbecile and he has handled firearms many, many times. He knew what he was doing. This case should be investigated as a murder because murder is the only thing that makes sense. If he appears at first glance to have had no motive for murder, he had even less motive for randomly discharging a weapon for no reason whatsoever.
People like you literally amaze me. You are accusing Alec Baldwin of murder, based on what, exactly? Since you know more than anyone, apparently, please favor us by telling us what his motive was for killing Ms. Hutchins deliberately. He appeared to be friends with both her and her husband, and, as one of the producers on the set, he would have been her employer. If he didn’t want her around, he could have simply fired her. There’s no evidence of any kind of affair or ill-will between Baldwin and Halyna and her husband. Why would Baldwin scuttle the film in which he had time and money by murdering Halyna in front of witnesses, if, as you say, he intended to kill her? You also say that “he is not a complete imbecile”, so if he did want to murder her, it is logical to believe that he could have done it in a more secretive fashion instead of on camera and in the presence of lots of witnesses.
Baldwin said the gun discharged without his finger on the trigger, but you apparently know better, so favor us, please, with the facts that you know. You state as an established fact that he “discharged” a weapon, but since you also admit there was “no reason whatsoever” for discharging the gun, this lends credence to the idea that some defect in the gun explains the discharge, rather than intention on his part. You also misrepresent yourself by saying “we may or may not like Baldwin…”—no–YOU dislike him for mocking Trump. Can’t you be honest about that at least?
I note that in this post Turley doesn’t couch the assertions in the Complaint is a mere “allegations” or “accusations”. He presents what they say as established facts. Turley supposedly teaches tort law, so he should know better.
Natacha,
Good points. Fortunately, Deborah’s statements would be ruled inadmissible in a court of law, but sadly such irresponsible statements are accepted in the court of public opinion. It is just her kind of wishful thinking that led so many Americans to be unable to see Trump for what he really was as did Turley years ago.
It’s a pity Turley is ignoring the recent and historic 73 million dollar settlement between a gun manufacturer and the Sandy Hook parents of the slain children. Not surprisingly, it was not reported on Fox prime time. But Turley wrote about this case a couple of years ago:
https://jonathanturley.org/2019/08/09/screaming-into-the-void-why-gun-control-is-so-hard-to-enact/
He had stated then:
“An appeal from gun manufacturer Remington is also pending before the Supreme Court. The company seeks to overturn a decision that supports the right of families of victims in the Sandy Hook massacre to sue gun manufacturers. However, Congress passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act of 2015, giving gun manufacturers immunity from most lawsuits. I opposed this law as unnecessary and unwise. Courts had already ruled against product liability and nuisance challenges to gun manufacturers without giving the industry immunity, yet Congress still passed the law under pressure from the National Rifle Association.
In response, various states have sought to develop exceptions to the blanket immunity. In the case pending before the Supreme Court, the Connecticut high court declared that people could sue the manufacturer of the assault rifle used by the killer under a state law on advertising. The plaintiffs relied on the company slogan, “Forces of opposition, bow down. You are single handedly outnumbered.” That would seem a particularly weak claim even without immunity. While it is a bit chilling, the company slogan is not an invitation to mow down children. As a result, this could prove a bad case creating even worse law for gun control advocates.”
“The point is not to abandon efforts to seek reforms. I have long supported gun controls.”
This landmark settlement against a gun manufacturer has far more positive valence for Turley’s support of gun control than this puny lawsuit.
And it’s a ‘shame’ you absolutely never reply to the actual posting in question. While you’re quick to deride those who (accurately, IMHO) point out your TDS, your inability to construct logical arguments for the positions you propose and other shortcomings in your monomaniacal rants, it’s your inability to actually reply to the discussion taking place that makes you so eminently ingorable.
Stoppitt,
Well, you gotta give me some credit- at least my reply was about guns. And to be perfectly honest with you, I am getting a definite sense that you lying Trumpists are suffering from SDS, that is, “Silberman Derangement Syndrome.” Nothing you say is to be taken seriously because you are so blinded with hatred by virtue of the fact that I will not cease ridiculing your slavish devotion to a man who is likely going to be exposed at long last as a fraud in a court of law.
Jeff: I just have to disagree here with your comment that Trump is “likely going to be exposed at long last as a fraud…”. People who have dealt with him have known for years that Trump is a fraud. Thousands of lawsuits and 6 business bankruptcies prove that he’s not honest in his dealings with others, and that he’s not successful in managing or leading a business, any more than he was in pretending to POTUS. Have you seen the A & E Biography on Trump that touches on some of the cheating, lying, abusive things he’s done? New York City is sick to death of him, which is why he hasn’t gone back to his golden tower with gold toilets and now he’s stinking up south Florida. One theme I hit on in my posts is the fact that Trump’s fans DO know about all of the lying, cheating, misogyny, racism, failed businesses, etc, but they DON’T CARE. He speaks to their disaffection as white people who have been misled into believing that the position of superiority they once held is being displaced by educated women, minorities and migrants from south of the border. He is their symbol of white supremacy, so when he lies about his “landslide victory” being “stolen”, they go along with it, and no number of recounts, audits, failed lawsuits or other proof of Trump’s efforts to cheat his way into a second term will dissuade them. They aren’t entirely stupid: they are devoted. If anyone has a “derangement syndrome”, it’s the Trump disciples who blindly adore the worst president in US history, a draft-dodger who trashed our economy, who allowed a pandemic to get out of control by lying because it made him look bad, who alienated our allies, and who, as any person can see, reveled in the adulation, attention and affirmation and accomplished next to nothing positive in 4 years’ time. He has caused a number of the American people to distrust the CDC and FDA and to believe in junk science because he promotes unproven and unsafe medical treatmens. So, no matter what happens with the criminal and civil legal matters involving Trump, it won’t shake their faith, and they’ll believe whatever lie he tells about it and the attacks on the attorney general and prosecutors who brought him to justice. That’s why I call them “disciples” because their devotion to him is not logical or reasonable. It’s faith-based. This is exactly how Hitler rose to power: he blamed the Jews in Germany for Germany’s defeat in WWI and the problems with rebuilding afterwards. He pandered to anti-Semitism, and rose to power based on this.
Natacha,
I believe in 95% of your remarks! I quibble with a blanket accusation of “white supremacy” as I doubt all Trumpists want to be supreme though they assuredly are afraid of becoming second-class citizens which Fox News is warning them will happen if they don’t “take the country back.”
Like you, I agree that a criminal conviction of Trump will be dismissed by the dead-Enders, but we have to hope that some Trumpists will come to the realization that Trump has always been a “carnival snake charmer,” that is, a bullsh*tter, as Turley acutely described him years ago. Most people don’t want to admit to themselves much less to others that they have been gullible and duped. I am hoping that a criminal conviction upheld on appeal and not contested on the merits by Turley (assuming he does not volunteer an opinion on the trial) will convince enough Trumpists that they were wrong about Trump. Perhaps, like you say, most knew he was a crook but didn’t care as long as he effectuated their wishes. Even so, a Trump conviction can’t hurt!
Social scientists have studied Trump, and they conclude that the most-reasonable explanation for the blind devotion to him is that he panders to non college-educated white people’s fear of being displaced by educated women and minorities as well as brown people. This is the meaning of the phrase “Make America Great Again”, which is dog-whistle for “make America successful for white people again”. The election of Barak Obama set off some of these negative feelings–imagine–a black man in the White House! One reason that logic can’t explain his popularity is that he is such a dismal failure in life, so there isn’t much about him to inspire people: he’s a draft-dodger, liar, cheater in business, cheater in all 3 of his marriages, a misogynist, he bankrupted 6 businesses, which would have happened sooner if his father hadn’t bailed him out repeatedly, and his only legislative achievement was to pass a tax break mostly benefitting the wealthy. He “ruled” by Executive Order. His disciples will defend him to the hilt and attack anyone or anything to the contrary, which is why they will take Hydroxychloroquine instead of a vaccine (because he said it works), they accuse Dr. Fauci of various crimes (because the good doctor wouldn’t kiss Trump’s rear), they don’t believe in science, anyone who says anything bad about him will be attacked, and they will defend the Big Lie no matter how much evidence is produced to the contrary. I’ve been involved in arguments with Trumpists, and they are literally immune to facts. When you confront them with facts, they engage in whataboutism, projection and repeat whatever lies they heard on alt-right media. They literally believe Hillary Clinton is a cannibalistic pedophile who has murdered several people. They don’t believe non-Trump media, which is part of their indoctrination, to which Turley contributes as part of his Fox assignment.
Yes, I’d like to believe that some day these people will wake up to truth and reality, but they haven’t so far, and I’m sort of doubting that a criminal conviction would change their minds, because they’d just repeat the attacks against the prosecutor they heard on their alt-right media. They are already doing this.
Natacha,
In largely agree with all your points. I concede that most of the lying Trumpists will continue to live in denial- they are the dead-Enders. We just have to hope that a criminal conviction will provide the cover that Fox News needs to turn the page on Trump. Privately, they want him to be replaced by a less unhinged advocate of their views, but Fox (like the Republicans) are afraid of the wrath of their viewers. Newsmax is claiming that Fox is not loyal enough as it is!
A criminal conviction will give all those who want to move past Trump the excuse they need. Naturally, they all will call it a rigged trial, but they will resign themselves to replace Trump (happily) since he is no longer a viable presidential candidate. Fox will just ignore Trump….
Everything they accused Trump of doing, Hillary and Democrats are doing. Hillary and her gang of paid operatives spied on Trump in his campaign and even in the White House. Biden sold America out to the CCP and is the illegitmate occupant of a White House controlled by China. So they impeached Trump and the NY AG goes after Trump and his family. Trump was right about everything. This is the truth and reality people are waking up to.
Trump was right about Hydroxychloroquine, too.
Let me say it again. Everything they accused Trump of doing, Hillary and Democrats ARE doing. Hillary and her paid operatives spied on Trump in his campaign and even IN the White House. So they impeached Trump.
Biden sold America out to the CCP, his family is knee-deep in corruption, and his White House is controlled by China. So they impeached Trump. And they relentlessly investigate and harass Trump and HIS family. Not the Clintons. Not the Bidens. Trump.
Trump was right about everything. Including hydroxychloroquine.
This is the truth and reality people are waking up to.
Jeffsilberman
Your ego is getting in the way.
In reality, your are just our resident troll (along with the dumb Anonymous).
Monument,
You are suffering from SDS, “Silberman Derangement Syndrome.” I understand.
Just Stoppitt — I, on the other hand, find jeffsilberman to be eminently gorable.
“This landmark settlement against a gun manufacturer . . .”
Next up, sue Zippo anytime an arsonist uses one of their lighters to start a fire. And the Ford Motor Company anytime a maniac uses one of their cars to mow people down. And the zip ties makers anytime kidnappers use them to bind their victims. And . . .
Tell that to Turley. We don’t know his opinion of this settlement. For all we know, he would approve of a gun manufacturer being held liable in the manner they advertised deadly weapons. We just don’t know where Turley stands because he is silent on a case which he thought worthy of our attention at one point, but for reasons unknown it appears he is not going to follow up.
In the killing of camerawoman Sarah Jones the movie Producer and Director Randall Miller (Midnight Rambler) pled guilty to felony involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespassing and received a 10-year sentence, of which he served one year, followed by probation. In that case, Miller staged a scene on a railroad bridge, for which he had been denied permission to film. An oncoming train struck a prop (a bed) which shattered, sending shrapnel that killed Sarah Jones. I see no difference between that incident and that of Actor and Rust producer Alec Baldwin. If anything, the pulling of the trigger on a loaded gun weighs for a harsher sentence. Nevertheless, I have no doubt that Baldwin’s privileged status will ensure there is no criminal charge.
In the killing of camerawoman Sarah Jones the movie Producer and Director Randall Miller (Midnight Rambler) pled guilty to felony involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespassing and received a 10-year sentence, of which he served one year, followed by probation. In that case, Miller staged a scene on a railroad bridge, for which he had been denied permission to film. An oncoming train struck a prop (a bed) which shattered, sending shrapnel that killed Sarah Jones. I see no difference between that incident and that of Actor and Rust producer Alec Baldwin. If anything, the pulling of the trigger on a loaded gun weighs for a harsher sentence. Nevertheless, I have no doubt that Baldwin’s privileged status will ensure there is no criminal charge.
I think Baldwin’s culpability here is separate from his career as an actor; where he was brilliant in 30 Rock and okay with the Trump impression (but not as good as the guy that does it now).
Anyway, there should be a public trial and find out what happened and chips fall where they may. I think it is clear no one intended to kill anyone here; but someone was negligent – probably not the guy conservatives are hoping was negligent but just some unknown guy who is probably not involved in politics at all.
Baldwin’s apparently crystal clear negligence which directly caused the Hutchins’ death: Baldwin personally accepted the weapon from an “assistant director” unauthorized to perform the task as opposed to the authorized person titled an “armorer.”
“The question is why the defendants would risk bruising discovery and litigation rather than seek an early settlement.” A: Baldwin is apparently a hot-headed raging alcoholic (see his past criminal history) whom is also a cheapskate unwilling to spend funds necessary for scene safety. He’s also a big fat anti-gun hypocrite, happy to make millions of dollars in profit in gun-glorifying films portraying guns killing people.
Producer Baldwin at some level is responsible for the bad hires including the persons described in this article, the apparently incompetent armorer and the apparently incompetent assistant director who does not know nor care of the difference between a safe and deadly round of ammo. Baldwin’s also responsible for refusing to pay hotel bills which would have made the set safer and for knowingly allowing employees to bring live ammo to the set and shoot live guns for fun during breaks. One professional armorer said he has a vehicle used only for work; he forbids and prohibits a live round to ever enter that work vehicle ever for any reason.
So yeah, Baldwin’s a cheap and stupid POS. The mere fact that he already waited this long for the video to publish without settling proves my claim.
Jonathan: It’s back to the Alec Baldwin case. I guess it’s an attempt at payback for all the years the actor portrayed the Trumpster on SNL. His parodies of Trump were priceless and memorable. But the loyal followers of Trump chafed at Baldwin’s portrayals and now see the wrongful death lawsuit as a way to get back at Baldwin. Although the case is still under investigation it is doubtful Baldwin will be charged criminally. He was making a film and was told the weapon was a “cold gun”. There is certainly a good case for negligence but beyond that it is a big “Nada”.
Now compare the Baldwin case to what happened last Monday in Louisville. A gunman tried to kill the Democratic mayoral candidate, Craig Greenberg. The gunman had the requisite criminal intent and no doubt will be charged with attempted murder. When right-wing zealots think violence against Democratic candidates is acceptable we know we are in dangerous territory. The Baldwin case pales in comparison to the violence been committed around the country by the right-wing–encouraged by Trump. But on this subject you are strangely silent.
Is this satire? The alleged shooter of the Louisville mayoral candidate is in custody, being held on a $100,000 bond – and is Quintez Brown, a known activist for Black Lives Matter. Yet, you ignorantly blame the “right wing.”
Source – https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2022/02/15/quintez-brown-pleads-not-guilty-craig-greenberg-shooting-live-updatess/6795237001/
Not satire. Brown is also well known pillow manufacturer David Hogg fan.
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/crime/2022/02/14/quintez-brown-accused-shooting-louisville-mayor-candidate-craig-greenberg/6790409001/
Black, BLM Activist is the person you are calling a “right-wing zealot”
Dennis,
Your ‘right wing zealot’ BLM activist is being bailed out by BLM.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/02/breaking-blm-bail-activist-attempted-assassinate-louisville-mayoral-candidate
It’s a black guy activist trying to kill a Jewish politician.
Race hatred most likely. Not politics. Just like the many black assaults on Asians.
Find a new bone to chew on in your pc kennel.
Where’s Ben Marcus when we need him?
He needs a few more weeks of medication before release.
The plaintiffs have a much easier case than the defendants.
When Baldwin lands in hell he will be greater by Hitler and Mao.
I have to be honest: as much as I loathe Baldwin, and I do, as an individual, this really was likely the very much too young gun handler’s fault, and it’s on the studio for hiring her in the first place. They are going after Baldwin because he is rich, and the handler isn’t, and that is just that. Sue the studio if you are after wealth, because it was that Gen Z-er’s fault, period. We are ssing this across every industry at this point, and we really have to start showing these incompetent young people and the companies that hire them that there are consequences for their actions or things will only get worse going forward. Sadly, in 21st century corporatist America, those lessons need to come in the form of lost dollars.
James: “They are going after Baldwin because he is rich, ”
+++
Maybe they are going after Baldwin because he pulled the trigger and killed someone.
@Young
Trust me, I think he is a loudmouthed tool. But somebody handed him a gun that was most definitely NOT set-secure. I could cite you an absurd amount of examples from real life that are perhaps far more prosaic in their consequences but illustrate the same point (here’s one: I have had one eye exam and ordered two pair of contact lenses over the past year. I have been to the optometrist nine times due to errors by people of the gun handler’s age. This is one anecdote of many. And yes, the studio hired this individual and gave them real, grownup, responsibilities. There was no accountability or even sympathy in her reaction to the chain of events), At some point we are going to have to address this, as these are the folks set to inherit EVERY aspect of our society. Every single one. I intend no disrespect, but I am going to assume you don’t have a lot of regular contact with this cohort, and it isn’t your fault: as an older adult, why would you? Nevertheless, it is indeed a thing.
My wife, sister in-law, two of my cousins, and an aunt are all currently primary level educators. My father was a college professor. ‘What, my kid is upset? Oh, just screen ’em.’, is something parents actually say these days, as in putting a device in their hands will shut them up. Yes, we used to do the same with toys and candy. Toys and candy did not play Tik Tok. Technology, though rightly and necessarily a part of our daily lives in the 21st century, is not a substitute for things like motor skills, mind-muscle connections, or critical thinking, so this problem is not going to just go away.
Alec Baldwin is not the one we should be looking at in this scenario in my opinion, though you are certainly entitled to yours. Punishing him isn’t going to accomplish much in the long run though, except for the satisfaction of some kind of personal schadenfreude, again, in my opinion.
Considering the millions of dollars it takes to make movies, with custom everything (designed & engineered) unique for each movie – why can’t anyone design a fake weapon that looks real? Most Americans were probably surprised that real guns are used on movie sets.
why can’t anyone design a fake weapon that looks real?
This is a systems process.
Those processes were ignored. If you ignore process, you are getting negative results. Industrial engineers spend their whole careers trying to prevent injury/death by installing processes.
Guns are inanimate and nothing but a clumsy cudgel. Until a live round is loaded and the trigger pulled.
The process in place bans live ammunition from being on site. A great process. Works 100% of the time. Fails if ignored.
Not sure if you are allowed manufacture a realistic gun that does not fire. Air soft rifles require an orange tipped barrel to signify they are likely not able to kill.
In the end, it is impossible to fix stupid.
This is like an entitled parent blaming a kid’s behavior on youthfulness to weasel out of responsibiltiy, but the parent is stil responsible, no matter what, because when
a kid does something wrong, it is as if the parent has done it themeselves.
30 against 1.
30 divided by 31 = 97%.
NATO wins the moral hightground against Russia in a landslide victtory with a 97% majority.
Why didn’t Baldwin settle with the family before all this?
For that matter, why hasn’t Baldwin been charged wtih anything? No charges at all? Why not?
Baldwin having to compensate the victims will do nothing to improve conditions. The same risk profile existed before the killing as now.
The movie industry need lots of regulation. Lots of reports need to be filled out. Lots of training conducted and all the attending paper work has to be indexed and archived. An incident like this needs a months long investigation by a dozen state and federal government agencies, shutting down the production but requiring all the employees, on site and getting paid. In short the elite need to at a taste of the real world us deplorables operated under daily.
The movie industry needs to learn what its like to have some clipboard carrying bureaucrat walk in an red tag the whole production, for some unspecified infraction.
JT:
How will they get around the Worker’s Compensation bar?
Probably because she was an independent contractor and not an employee. As a general rule, worker’s comp doesn’t cover independent contractors.
Workers comp laws have a table for losses. Loose an index finger? $50K, arm with elbow intact? $100K. Death $1 mill. All estimates, just to give an idea of the process. Suing over those limits are very hard. Hard like suing the media for libel hard.
How soon can we expect Saturday Night Live cast to parody Alec Baldwin with his insensible excuses as producer?
Never.
Yo dumbs!
If you pick up a pistol you are responsible if it fired out a bullet.
Why? Cause it’s a gun and the holder must be careful. Is the trigger pulled back you must carefully get it back down open the chamber. Any bullets in there or in pistol tube? If it’s not loaded it’s safer. But it’s a threat. Someone can shoot you for pointing it or not dropping it if they ask. You can’t aim it at anybody.
In this case dumbschmuck aimed a loaded gun at someone’s direction and it went off. He is totally responsible. There is no such thing as a prop gun.
Alec Baldwin should release his own animation where he doesn’t pull the trigger. An animation? How absurd can this get? Also, how has Baldwin not been charged with anything at all?
Also, it is hard to believe that Baldwin did not realize he had shot Hutchins, being as close as he was. He claimed he did not know until 45 min. later…