A judge has delayed a final ruling in a lawsuit filed by the chief lighting technician of the film “Rust” against the movie’s armorer, giving the plaintiff more time for discovery. The judge tentatively agreed with the armorer’s attorneys that there is no proof of sufficient contacts in California to establish jurisdiction. However, the judge also granted the plaintiff’s attorneys time to investigate whether there was an employment agreement between the armorer and Rust Movie Productions that included a “choice of law” provision. The rest of the hearing has been postponed until September 15.
The lawsuit, brought by Serge Svetnoy, also includes multiple other defendants, including Alec Baldwin, in relation to the fatal on-set shooting in October 2021. The judge stated that there is no evidence to suggest that Svetnoy’s claims arise from the armorer’s contacts with California or any actions directed at California.
In their argument for dismissal, the armorer’s attorneys note that their client occasionally used a friend’s California address for mail but did not live there. They also mention that the armorer worked in California for a total of nine days in 2016 and 2018.
Svetnoy alleges in the lawsuit that the shooting was due to the negligent acts and omissions of the defendants. He claims to have felt the bullet pass by him and to have been struck by gunpowder and other materials. Svetnoy was one of the first crew members to publicly speak out about the shooting.
In a social media post, Svetnoy stated that he witnessed the shooting and provided assistance to the injured cinematographer until paramedics arrived. He immediately criticized the armorer and assistant director for failing to properly check the weapon before giving it to Baldwin.
The armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, has pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in relation to the shooting.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
