A New Mexico judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by actor Alec Baldwin for malicious prosecution and civil rights violations in the 2021 fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the Western movie “Rust.”
The judge in a ruling made public Wednesday dismissed the case without prejudice for lack of any significant action with the claim, which was filed in state district court earlier this year. Baldwin’s attorneys will have 30 days to file a motion seeking reinstatement.
Luke Nikas, Baldwin’s lead attorney, told The Associated Press in an email that the dismissal amounted to a nonevent since his team has been waiting to prosecute the case.
“We have been in good-faith settlement discussions with the parties to the lawsuit and will be refiling promptly if those discussions are not promptly and favorably resolved,” he said.
Defendants include special prosecutor Kari Morrissey and Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, along with three investigators from the Santa Fe County sheriff’s office and the county board of commissioners.
A charge of involuntary manslaughter against Baldwin was dismissed at trial last year on allegations that police and prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense. The trial was upended by revelations that ammunition was brought into the Santa Fe County sheriff’s office months earlier by a man who said it could be related to the killing of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
The allegations in Baldwin’s tort claim include defamation, with his attorneys saying that prosecutors and investigators targeted the actor and coproducer for professional or political gain.
Hutchins died shortly after being wounded during a rehearsal for the movie “Rust” in October 2021 at a film-set ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Baldwin was pointing a pistol at Hutchins when it discharged, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer — but not the trigger — and the revolver fired.
The actor recently spoke to The Associated Press at San Diego’s Comic-Con International, saying he couldn’t believe what happened that day in court as the trial came to an abrupt end, and that his life over the last year has been far better than the few years that preceded it.
Still, Baldwin and other producers of “Rust” are being sued in New Mexico state court by the parents and younger sister of Hutchins. Court records show a deposition for Baldwin in that case was put off in May and has yet to be rescheduled.
