Alec Baldwin will face a civil trial in October during 2021 Oxide shooting that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, after a Los Angeles judge ruled the case should continue.
The lawsuit was filed by Serge Svetnoy, a New Mexico set boss, who alleges emotional distress caused by negligence.
Svetnoy was not physically injured in the shooting, but claimed he felt the effects of the explosion and heard the shot at close range.
In summary judgment confirmed by PEOPLELos Angeles Superior Court Judge Maurice Leiter allowed the case to go to trial, with Svetnoy’s attorney arguing simply: “Mr. Baldwin is the last line of defense. Guns generally don’t fire themselves.”
The incident took place on October 21, 2021, when a prop gun held by Baldwin, 68, the film’s lead actor and producer, fired a live bullet on the New Mexico set, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
The civil case adds another legal chapter to what has already been a long and painful process for Baldwin.
In January 2023, he and the film’s gunsmith Hannah Gutiérrez-Reed were charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.
Charges against Baldwin were dropped in April 2024 and then reinstated following a new grand jury investigation in January 2024 that reportedly found evidence that he had pulled the trigger.
His legal team attempted to have those charges dismissed before the July 2024 trial began, but the attempt was initially denied.
However, just days after the trial, the judge dismissed the case with prejudice, citing the late discovery of evidence that had “affected the fundamental fairness of the process.”
The price in recent years has been significant.
Baldwin has said publicly that the ordeal has taken “ten years off my life.” Rust, dedicated to Hutchins and with Bianca Cline as its replacement cinematographer, was finally released in May 2025.
