Lawyers representing Baldwin have stated that the allegations brought against him by script writer Miame Mitchell do not specify that anyone on the Rust set knew that the prop gun that fatally wounded Halyna Hutchins contained live amunition. They described the incident as "unprecedented".
The lawsuit had claimed that Alec Baldwin had fired the prop gun when it was not called for the script. Mitchell's lawyers also alleged that Baldwin was playing "Russian Roulette" when he fired that gun. They said that he failed to check the gun and did not have the armourer to do so in his presence.
However, according to documents that have been shared, Baldwin's legal team have argued, "Nothing about the plaintiff's allegations suggest that any of the defendants, including Mr Baldwin, intended the prop gun to be loaded with live ammunition".
They also added, "Moreover, nothing about the plaintiff's allegations suggests any of the defendants knew the prop gun contained live ammunition".
"The absence of such allegations of course makes sense because the incident is apparently unprecedented in the filmmaking industry".
These papers were submitted to the Los Angeles Superior Court yesterday (January 24).
The head of lighting Serge Svetnoy previously filed another lawsuit against Mr Baldwin over this tragic incident. Both suits name nearly two dozen figures associated with Rust. These include assistant director David Halls who handed Baldwin the gun, and Hannah Gutierezz Reed who was in charge of weapons on the set.
