Alec Baldwin will face a civil trial in October over the 2021 Rust shooting that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, after a Los Angeles judge ruled the case should proceed.
The lawsuit was filed by Serge Svetnoy, a gaffer on the New Mexico set, who is claiming emotional distress caused by negligence.
Svetnoy was not physically injured in the shooting, but alleged he felt the effects of the blast and heard the gunshot at close range.
In a summary judgment ruling confirmed by PEOPLE, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maurice Leiter allowed the case to go to trial, with Svetnoy’s lawyer arguing simply: “Mr. Baldwin is the last line of defense. Guns generally do not shoot themselves.”
The incident took place on 21 October 2021, when a prop gun held by Baldwin, 68, who was both the lead actor and a producer on the film, discharged a live bullet on set in New Mexico, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
The civil case adds another legal chapter to what has already been a protracted and painful process for Baldwin.
In January 2023, he and the film’s armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were both charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.
The charges against Baldwin were dropped in April 2024, then reinstated following a new grand jury investigation in January 2024 which reportedly found evidence that he had pulled the trigger.
His legal team sought to have those charges dismissed before the July 2024 trial began, but the attempt was initially denied.
Just days into the trial, however, the judge dismissed the case with prejudice, citing the late discovery of evidence that had “impacted the fundamental fairness of the proceedings.”
The toll of the past few years has been significant.
Baldwin has said publicly that the ordeal has taken “10 years off my life.” Rust, dedicated to Hutchins and featuring Bianca Cline as her replacement cinematographer, was eventually released in May 2025.
