A Los Angeles judge has dismissed the primary claims of assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress against the producers of “Rust” in a civil lawsuit from the film’s script supervisor, Mamie Mitchell.
In a hearing on Friday via multiple media reports, a judge tossed both of the main claims against Rust Movie Productions, Thomasville Pictures, Ryan Smith and Langley Cheney, writing that it was not possible for them to know that Alec Baldwin would shoot the gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
The producers have previously argued in civil court and in contesting a fine from the New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau that they were not responsible for supervising the set and merely financed the film.
Mitchell in her lawsuits has claimed that the producers aided and abetted Baldwin by supplying him with a loaded weapon that wound up killing Hutchins and further contributed to an unsafe work environment on set. But a judge tentatively ruled that Mitchell failed to argue under New Mexico law whether the producers knew Baldwin would fire the loaded weapon, meaning they cannot be jointly liable and that the arguments are instead only relevant to Mitchell’s negligence claim.
“In fact, Plaintiff’s allegations would show the opposite to be true: the only person who knew Baldwin was going to fire the weapon was Baldwin,” the tentative ruling, now finalized, reads.
A representative for Rust Movie Productions did not respond to a request for comment. Mitchell’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
