Alec Baldwin's attorneys, along with other producers of "Rust," have demanded the dismissal of a civil case opened by a script supervisor of the movie. Mamie Mitchell was on the set when actor Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and claims that the incident was intentional.
In a filing in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, the attorneys said the claim by Mitchell should be thrown out because there was no evidence that Baldwin or any of the producers intended to harm. Baldwin was the lead actor and a producer of the independent film, a Western.
"Despite the plaintiff’s attempt to label claims as intentional, nothing about the plaintiff’s allegations suggest that any of the defendants intentionally committed harmful conduct," the filing said.
Mitchell claimed in a lawsuit filed in November that Baldwin should have checked the Colt .45 revolver he was holding to make sure it did not include live ammunition. Baldwin has said the assistant director told him the gun was "cold," or safe to use, and that he did not pull the trigger. Mitchell, who said she was in the line of fire, alleges assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress and deliberate infliction of harm, and is seeking unspecified damages in the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Cinematographer Hutchins was killed and director Joel Souza was wounded when the gun was discharged as Baldwin was rehearsing on the New Mexico film set.
Gloria Allred, Mitchell's attorney, said on Tuesday that the claim should be allowed to proceed.
The producers are "trying to avoid explaining their conduct before a judge and a jury in a court of law," she said in a statement.
