‘Rust’ Script Supervisor’s Lawsuit Hearing Pushed To Late September; Judge Says It Can Seek Punitive Damages – Update

deadline.com:

UPDATED, 1:00 PM: Today’s scheduled hearing for Rust script supervisor Mamie Mitchell’s lawsuit against Alec Baldwin and other producers has been rescheduled for September 28.

Judge Michael E. Whitaker moved the hearing to give the plaintiff the option and time to file an amended complaint.Mitchell, who was standing next to cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when Hutchins was fatally shot with a prop weapon fired by the actor in October.

Mitchell alleges extensive negligence on the New Mexico set and that the scene Baldwin was rehearsing never called for him to fire the weapon.PREVIOUSLY, May 27: A Superior Court judge in Los Angeles has ruled that Mamie Mitchell, the script supervisor who was standing next to cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when she was fatally shot with a prop weapon fired by actor Alec Baldwin on the Rust film set, can seek punitive damages from some of the producers who sought to have the damages stricken.Judge Michael Whitaker heard arguments Thursday and ruled in favor of Mitchell and against defendants Rust Movie Productions LLC, Thomasville Pictures LLC, Ryan Smith and Langley Cheney.“For pleading purposes, the court finds the first amended complaint alleges facts sufficient to establish despicable conduct carried out by moving defendants with a willful and conscious disregard of the rights or safety of others,” the judge wrote.Whitaker also noted that Mitchell’s lawyers alleged the four defendants “intentionally undertook a low-budget and cost-cutting scheme that was known to create unsafe conditions for movie production crews that resulted in moving defendants’ failure to ensure basic safety protocols with respect to the hazardous use of firearms.”In their court papers, Mitchell’s attorneys