Alec Baldwin's Choice to Sue 'Rust' Crewmembers a 'Risky Strategy'—Lawyers

Alec Baldwin's lawsuit against specific crewmembers of the Rust movie has been deemed "a risky strategy" by lawyers.

In October 2021, a prop gun Baldwin was holding discharged, which resulted in the death of the movie's cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins. On October 5, 2022, Baldwin reached an undisclosed settlement with the Hutchins family, who had filed a wrongful death suit against the actor.

Now Baldwin is launching his own legal action against a number of people he alleges were involved in the incident on the Rust set in New Mexico. In court documents obtained by Newsweek, the suit mentions: the film's armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the first assistant director Dave Halls, the crew member "in charge of props" Sarah Zachry, and Seth Kenney, who is described as the primary supplier of guns and ammunition to the movie set.

In the documents, the attorney for Baldwin, Luke Nikas of Quinn Emanuel said: "This tragedy occurred on a movie set—not a gun range, not a battlefield, not a location
where even a remote possibility should exist that a gun would contain live ammunition."

He went on to list the alleged faults of each of the aforementioned crewmembers.

Nikas suggests Baldwin has "been wrongfully viewed as the perpetrator of this tragedy" and seeks to clear his name and "hold cross-defendants accountable for their misconduct."

Baldwin himself spoke out on the lawsuit on Twitter on Sunday. He suggested that while cast members have no responsibility for the safety of prop guns on set, others on a movie set do.

"Were reports filed by the armorer, AD or prop dept citing any cast for safety violations in the loading of and safety checks for the weapons? (no) We did what we always did." Baldwin continued: "The cast has no responsibility to guarantee that prop weapons are safe. That is EXACTLY WHY you have an armorer."

Newsweek spoke to three legal experts to get their take on the suit, and what Baldwin stands to gain from this action.

"This case is for the court of public opinion," criminal defense attorney at Schwartz Defense David M. Schwartz told Newsweek. "Public figures like Alec Baldwin will use the court proceedings in order to enhance the claim that he had no idea he was handed a loaded gun. It's a risky strategy because if he is prosecuted for firing the weapon, the civil proceedings will hinder his 5th amendment rights in the criminal proceedings."

Another attorney who considered Baldwin's action to be "risky" was entertainment-based attorney Frank Salzano of Salzano, Lampert & Wilson, LLP. He called Baldwin's latest legal maneuver "a potentially wise, but risky one."

"The suit is likely less about any monetary recovery more about clearing his name of any wrongdoing. If successful, this could in fact do just that, however, Baldwin runs the risk of the lawsuit further implicating him or exposing him of wrongdoing," Salzano told Newsweek.

Within the court documents, Baldwin and his attorney have demanded a trial by jury, and he is seeking "compensatory, nominal, statutory, and punitive damages. This action comes after script supervisor Mamie Mitchell filed a lawsuit against Baldwin and several others on the Rust production after she claimed the incident caused her severe emotional distress. This case is highlighted within the new court documents.

As a cross-plaintiff, Baldwin is claiming "negligence, indemnification and contribution" from the cross-defendants Guitierrez-Reed, Halls, Kenny, Zahry, and a New Mexico-based company called PDQ Arm and Prop, LLC.

"The lawsuit is not a terrible idea, but it is also not a great one," Andrew Lieb, managing partner of Lieb at Law, P.C., told Newsweek. "While it is true that the best defense is a good offense, and this lawsuit puts Alec on the offense, it is nonetheless not great for him from a PR perspective.

"Actors like Baldwin know that the longer and brighter the spotlight stays on this tragic death, the worse it is for Baldwin's brand to get new offers to work in Hollywood."

Lieb, who also hosts his own podcast, The Lieb Cast, posed a hypothetical question to determine if Baldwin has a case. "That said, didn't handing him a loaded gun constitute a breach of a duty from the props department and didn't that breach significantly cause this tragic incident? If you answered yes, you also believe that Alec has a meritorious case for negligence against the staff from the Rust set."

Jason Bowles, a lawyer for Gutierrez-Reed told The New York Times he was currently reviewing Baldwin's lawsuit.