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Judge Allows Crew Member’s Emotional Distress Lawsuit Against Alec Baldwin to Proceed to Trial
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maurice Leiter denied summary judgment on April 17, 2026, allowing Serge Svetnoy's claims of negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress against Alec Baldwin to proceed. The civil trial is set for October 12, 2026. The case stems from the fatal 2021 on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
May 7, 8:02 PM·2m read1 source
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A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has cleared the way for chief lighting technician Serge Svetnoy to take his emotional distress claims against Alec Baldwin to trial nearly five years after a live round killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of the Western Rust.
On April 17, 2026, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maurice Leiter denied summary judgment motions from Rust Movie Productions LLC, Alec Baldwin, and El Dorado Pictures. The civil trial of Serge Svetnoy's emotional distress claims against Alec Baldwin is scheduled for October 12, 2026, in Los Angeles.
An earlier trial date of May 26, 2026, was postponed to pursue further discovery and explore settlement. Judge Maurice Leiter allowed claims of negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress to proceed against Alec Baldwin. He dismissed the assault count against Alec Baldwin, finding no evidence Baldwin intended harm.
Judge Maurice Leiter ruled that punitive damages were available, stating that a reasonable jury could find that Mr. Baldwin recklessly disregarded the probability that pointing a gun in the direction of someone, with his finger on the trigger, would cause emotional distress. Judge Maurice Leiter ruled that the fact that others were responsible for safe firearm handling on set does not relieve Mr.
Baldwin of his duty of care. Forbes reported that the ruling came after Baldwin's defense argued he bore no responsibility for set safety, was not involved in hiring decisions, and did not select the props. Halyna Hutchins died on the set of the film Rust in New Mexico on October 21, 2021.
