Nearly two years after Alec Baldwin was cleared of criminal charges in the Rust shooting, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge has refused to toss a civil negligence lawsuit and instead locked in an Oct. 12, 2026 trial date. The case was brought by Serge Svetnoy, the film’s chief lighting technician, who says he suffered trauma after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed on the New Mexico set in October 2021. One count accusing Baldwin of assault has been dropped, but claims for negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and punitive damages are still in play.
Superior Court Judge Maurice Leiter denied requests for summary judgment from Rust Movie Productions LLC and from Baldwin and his company El Dorado Pictures, keeping the core of Svetnoy’s lawsuit alive as the matter heads toward trial, according to the Los Angeles Times. At a hearing on Friday, the judge set the trial to begin on Oct. 12, 2026.
Criminal proceedings in New Mexico collapsed last year when a judge dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin in July 2024. The film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was convicted in March 2024 and served an 18-month term, per The Associated Press. With those criminal outcomes resolved, civil lawsuits have become the main route for crew members seeking damages and accountability.
What Happens Next
Svetnoy's attorneys said they were "pleased" with Judge Leiter's ruling and that he "looks forward to finally having his day in court," according to a statement they gave to the Los Angeles Times. With the negligence and emotional distress claims surviving, the case now moves into discovery, where witness lists, expert testimony and depositions could reshape what a jury ultimately hears.
Legal Implications
The civil suit asks jurors to decide negligence and emotional distress under a preponderance of the evidence standard, a lower threshold than in criminal court. That means the plaintiff must show it is more likely than not that the defendants breached their duties on set, according to Cornell Law's Legal Information Institute. Even if jurors award damages, any civil verdict would not reopen or undo past criminal rulings, since the criminal and civil systems operate under different rules and remedies.
Judge Leiter has now placed the case on the Los Angeles Superior Court calendar for Oct. 12, 2026. Both sides head into months of discovery and pretrial maneuvering before jurors are selected and the trial officially gets underway.
