The husband of late Halyna Hutchins is preparing to make legal moves following her tragic death on the set of “Rust.”
Halyna was the beloved cinematographer who lost her life after actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on set that contained a live round that killed her and injured director Joel Souza.
According to TMZ, Halyna’s husband, Matthews Hutchins, recently retained the services of a Los Angeles-based firm Panish | Shea | Boyle | Ravipudi. Their attorneys specialize in wrongful death litigation, business litigation, and personal injury.
According to the law firm’s website, Panish | Shea | Boyle | Ravipudi LLP has an extensive history of winning lawsuits due to negligence or misconduct.
They were even ranked “as a Tier 1 Firm in the areas of Plaintiffs Personal Injury Litigation, Plaintiffs Product Liability Litigation and Plaintiffs Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions.”
Undoubtedly, their cases align with Halyna’s devastating death. Matthew and 9-year-old Andros who Halyna left behind will be the plaintiffs in the case.
It’s not sure if Matthew has already filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the “Rust” team, but sources confirmed that the case would have multiple defendants.
The defendants’ names remain unknown, but according to the Santa Fe County District Attorney and Sheriff’s Department, criminal charges remain a possibility even though the incident was an accident.
Investigations Into Rust Set
As The Blast previously reported, new reports about the tragic shooting reveal that authorities are investigating the possibility that a disgruntled employee on the “Rust” set was responsible for planting the real bullet that ended Halyna’s life.
The attorneys for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer for “Rust,” said they believe that the film set was intentionally sabotaged by putting a live round into a box of prop ammunition before the fatal incident.
Gutierrez-Reed, who loaded the gun handed to Baldwin, shared that she put the rounds from the box of prop ammunition with no idea that there was a live bullet. Her lawyers Jason Bowles and Robert Gorence, during an interview, added:
I believe that somebody who would do that would want to sabotage the set, want to prove a point, want to say that they’re disgruntled, they’re unhappy. And we know that people had already walked off the set the day before.
Former Employee Had Gun Safety Concerns
True to Gutierrez-Reed’s, there were employees on the set of “Rust” that resigned before the fatal shooting. One of such employees, former first camera assistant Lane Luper, walked away a day before the incident.
Following the news of Halyna’s death, Luper spoke out, citing gun safety concerns as one of the reasons behind his sudden resignation.
Luper shared that when he put in his resignation letter, he also complained about lax COVID-19 safety protocols, poor housing situation, and a lack of preparation and training of the crew for the shooting scene.
According to him, the team only held two gun safety meetings for the crew. However, Luper’s claims have since been debunked by Baldwin and other film producers who believe he is using the tragic shooting for personal gain and fame.
