Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin has lost a crucial legal battle amid his attempts to have a lawsuit brought by the crew of the film "Rust" dismissed over a deadly shooting on set.
A New Mexico judge on Wednesday denied a motion filed by the actor that sought to dismiss a civil suit from production members of the film. Previously, Baldwin was charged with the fatal shooting of cinematographer Haluna Hutchins on the set of Rust. However, prosecutors later dropped the involuntary manslaughter charges.
Alec Baldwin Loses Crucial Legal Battle
But the actor was later charged again for his alleged role in the victim's death as he was wielding the revolver during an on-set rehearsal when the shooting occurred. Baldwin has continued to deny that he pulled the trigger during the incident, however, the ballistic analysis suggested otherwise.
The judge who made the recent decision, Bryan Biedscheid, also declined the actor's request to stay a resolution of the civil suit until criminal proceedings against him in the matter are resolved. Three plaintiffs in the suit worked as contractors on the set of the Western movie, as per The Western Journal.
The three individuals accused the Hollywood actor and his company, El Dorado Pictures, of creating an unsafe environment on the New Mexico set of the movie. They cited various damages, including, but not limited to, hearing loss, temporary deafness, and vibrational shock during their time working on the film.
The plaintiffs also cited a production that "cut corners" related to safety, referencing a shoot that was scheduled to only last 21 days. The crew members also accused Baldwin of unsafe practices while he was handling the revolver that ultimately caused the death of Hutchins.
In a statement, they said that the actor did not request to have anyone verify or demonstrate that the revolver's safety was working before the exchange. Additionally, they alleged that Baldwin did not ask to see whether or not ammunition was present inside the prop gun's chamber.
Fatal "Rust" Shooting
The three plaintiffs were identified as Ross Addiego, Doran Curtin, and Reese Price, who took Baldwin and his company to court earlier this year. During the judge's ruling, Biedscheid said that did not presently know of the state of "criminal prosecution" of the actor, according to Deadline.
He added that it was surprisingly common for a defendant to straddle both a criminal and civil case. While Judge Biedscheid leaned towards not pausing the matter, he did give a chance for the defendants to be able to "assert their Constitutional rights as they see fit" going forward.
The decision is the second major development this week as the criminal trial of armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was pushed back to Feb. 21, 2024. No reason was given for the shift in courtroom details but some speculate scheduling issues with the witnesses.
Baldwin's legal team wanted to dismiss the civil suit, arguing that the special prosecution in the criminal case that was connected to Hutchins' fatal shooting is actively considering filing new charges against the Hollywood actor. They said that this situation could put the defendant in potential criminal jeopardy, said Fox News.
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