Debate errupts over whether ‘Rust’ lawsuit is ‘frivolous’

A lawyer representing "Rust"-gaffer Serge Svetnoy, the first person to sue over Alec Baldwin's on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, pushed back against critics' assertion that the lawsuit is edging on "frivolous."

After filing the first civil lawsuit over the on-set killing of Hutchins, Beverly Hills attorney Gary Dordick of the Dordick Law Corporation, who represents Svetnoy, faced heavy criticism last week from legal commentator and attorney Dan Abrams on the news show Law&Crime. The lawsuit seeks to recover damages from Baldwin, and 22 other defendants for emotional distress caused by general negligence.

Describing the suit incredulously during a 10-minute news segment, Abrams described Svetnoy as, "Some guy who's saying that his eyeglass was scratched, and he got very upset at everything that happened."

"That's not damages," Abrams continued. "I mean, this just feels like it's on the fringe of being a frivolous lawsuit."

Responding Monday, Dordick called Abrams' comments "ignorant" and showing a "complete lack of understanding of PTSD [post traumatic stress syndrome]."

"Someone can question whether a particular individual has suffered emotional distress or not, but he was questioning the fact that anyone should be able to file a claim for emotional distress, suggesting it wasn't a real injury, which is absurd," Dordick said. "He seemed to be taking the position that someone who's close friend dies in their arms, blood on their hands, holding them for over 30 minutes, trying to keep them conscious and alive, couldn't possibly suffer emotional distress from that experience."

Hutchins was killed Oct. 21 when Baldwin fired a bullet from a Colt .45 during a rehearsal on the "Rust" movie set in New Mexico. The bullet narrowly missed Svetnoy but discharge materials from the blast struck him directly, according to the complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court last Wednesday. He suffered injuries, including severe emotional distress, it alleges.

The suit names 23 defendants including Baldwin, Rust Movie Production LLC and onset armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who Dordick said failed to safely store and supervise all firearms on the set. Baldwin and others have said they did not know the gun was loaded and the shooting of Hutchins and director Joel Souza, was accidental.

There are three people who can sue over the incident, Dordick said. Hutchins and director Joel Souza, who were struck by the bullet, and Svetnoy, who was the only other person in the "zone of danger" or close proximity of the bullet.

"Two of them, yes, were struck by bullets and those two have better or stronger damages cases, I don't disagree with that," Dordick said during the interview. "But I do disagree with the premise that emotional distress is nothing."

Abrams did not respond to a request for comment, Monday. However, the vast majority of people commenting on the interview via YouTube, were critical of Abrams for downplaying Svetnoy's alleged harms and were supportive of Dordick's view that PTSD is a legitimate cause of action.

Commenting Monday, two psychologists who serve as expert witnesses offered varying views on whether Baldwin or anyone else could be held responsible for Svetnoy's alleged emotional distress.

Dr. Sanjay Adhia, a forensic psychiatrist with a private expert witness practice in which he testifies in emotional distress and PTSD cases, said according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), a trauma must occur for post-traumatic stress disorder to occur. Based on his reading, Svetnoy could easily have suffered trauma from the onset shooting.

"In a way, he [Svetnoy] faced two traumas," Adhia said. "One, watching someone else die -- regardless of whether the gunshot was near him or not, watching someone else get shot, that's a trauma."

"However, let's say, hypothetically speaking, this person was not killed, but the bullet just grazed him or was close to him, that's another trauma where you are threatened with death by contact," Adhia continued. "So, in a way, both of those separate incidents qualify as trauma."

While he agreed Svetnoy likely experienced trauma, Marin County Dr. Stephen M. Raffle, a forensic psychiatrist at Stephen M. Raffle & Associates, said Svetnoy can't pursue damages for emotional distress because he's not related to Hutchins.

Raffle went on to say that Baldwin likely has a case to be brought against Reed, since as the onset armorer, she was responsible for making sure the gun wasn't loaded. Abrams made a similar argument last week, saying three armorers he spoke to told him it was not Baldwin's responsibility to check if the gun was loaded.

Dordick said he disagreed with the premise that an actor should rely on someone else's representations that a gun is safe to use. The set also had a history of accidents involving guns, he added.

"Whether it be true or not, that actors rely on armorers when they say a gun is safe, on this particular set, there was plenty of information to let Alec Baldwin know that things were not safe," Dordick said.

According to Dordick, there were at least two prior accidental discharges on the set, the fatal bullet was the third. In addition, there were instances of misfires, people shooting live rounds at cans or practice targets, and guns left unattended, Dordick said, all culminating in what he described as an unsafe set.

"So whether Alec Baldwin can trust what an armorer tells him in general, certainly on this set, and with all of the safety violations, no one, including Alec Baldwin, should have trusted someone else to tell him that gun was safe."

The suit is brought under a general negligence cause of action and seeks compensatory and general damages against all defendants but seeks punitive damages against Baldwin, Reed, the production company and first assistant director Dave Halls. Serge Svetnoy v. Rust Movie Productions LLC, 21STCV41392. (L.A. Sup. Ct., filed Nov. 10, 2021).