More ‘Rust' Film Drama: Baldwin Seeks Stay Of 2nd Civil Case Pending Outcome Of Criminal Proceedings

By Debbie L. Sklar, Times of San Diego

April 18, 2023

To protect his right against self-incrimination in the criminal case, Alec Baldwin is asking a judge to put on hold a second civil suit filed against him and other defendants stemming from the accidental fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “Rust” in 2021.

Attorneys for the “Glengarry Glen Ross” actor filed court papers on Thursday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael E. Whitaker stating that Baldwin’s Fifth Amendment rights will be jeopardized in the criminal case if a lawsuit filed by Hutchins’ parents and sister is not stayed pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings. Baldwin, 64, and 25-year-old armorer Hannah Guttierez-Reed are charged with involuntary manslaughter.

The actor’s lawyers have made the same argument for a stay regarding another lawsuit, filed by “Rust” script supervisor Mamie Mitchell, who says she suffered emotional distress from being so close to the shooting.

The Hutchins family suit was filed on Feb. 9 on behalf of Hutchins’ mother, Olga Solovey; father, Anatolii Androsovych; and younger sister, Svetlana Zemko. All three are Ukrainian citizens who live near Kyiv. In 2022, a separate legal action filed by Hutchins’ husband was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount, with a stipulation that the filming of “Rust” would continue with Matthew Hutchins serving as a producer.

“That plaintiffs intend to seek, and the prosecutors plan to rely on, the same evidence concerning defendants’ involvement or lack thereof in the shooting means discovery, in this case, may be used against Baldwin in the criminal proceeding,” the actor’s attorneys state in their new court papers. “That would allow the prosecutors to obtain through civil discovery here information they are not entitled to under criminal discovery.”

In her suit, Mitchell says she was standing adjacent to Hutchins, 42, when the cinematographer was killed on Oct. 21, 2021, while Baldwin, a producer and star of “Rust,” was helping to prepare camera angles for a scene on the film’s set near Santa Fe, New Mexico. Baldwin fired a weapon that was supposed to contain only blank rounds but discharged a lead bullet that struck Hutchins in the chest, then lodged in the shoulder of director Joel Souza, now 49.

Mitchell’s suit, initially filed in November 2021, names multiple defendants, including Baldwin and Halls. She alleges she suffered physical and emotional damages.

Hearings on the motions by Mitchell and the Hutchins relatives to stay the case are scheduled for June 8 and July 13, respectively.

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