Judge rules ‘Rust’ medic’s civil suit can move forward

DA’s Office plans to file criminal charges against some of same defendants today

A civil complaint filed by a woman who worked as a medic on the Rust film set south of Santa Fe, where Alec Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza with a prop gun in October 2021, will move forward, a judge ruled.

State District Judge Kathleen McGarry Ellenwood on Monday denied one defendant’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit and declined to rule on a similar motion because, she said, it was not filed in accordance with court deadlines.

Attorneys noted any criminal charges in the Rust shooting — which the District Attorney’s Office has said it plans to file Tuesday against some of the same defendants — could slow the case.

Plaintiff Cherlyn Schaefer’s lawsuit, filed in February, accuses several people and companies of negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The defendants include the film’s assistant director, David Halls; armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed; prop master Sarah Zachry; PDQ Arm & Prop and its owner, Seth Kenney; Rust Movie Productions; Bonanza Creek Ranch, where the movie was being filmed; and Shannon Hughes, a woman who worked for the ranch.

First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies announced recently Halls has agreed to plead guilty to a charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon, and she intends to charge Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed with involuntary manslaughter.

Baldwin is not named as a defendant in Schaefer’s case. Schaefer, who is from Valencia County, says in her complaint she was the “key medic” on the set and “fought

desperately” but unsuccessfully to save Hutchins’ life.

Schaefer “suffered tremendous shock, trauma and severe emotional distress” during the incident, which has “affected all aspects of her life and has medically prevented her from returning to her chosen profession,” her lawsuit says.

Her lawsuit accuses Bonanza Creek Ranch of negligence, claiming ranch representative Hughes was on set nearly every day and routinely objected to production members speeding on the property but failed to enforce the ranch’s own policy of prohibiting “unauthorized” firearms.

Bonanza Creek Ranch attorney Benjamin Feuchter argued Monday that Schaefer’s complaint against the ranch and Hughes should be dismissed, in part because she didn’t have standing to bring the claim because she was not a family member of either Hutchins or Souza.

There was also discussion on the extent of Schaefer’s injuries, the scope of her employment and whether she was a “professional rescuer” in the eyes of the law.

“[There] are lot of unanswered questions I don’t have before me,” the judge said Monday. “What did the contract say? Obviously the ranch knew it was a western and there would be a shootout or people would be swaggering around with guns on their hips.”

Schaefer’s attorney, Julia McFall, argued the questions raised Monday should be addressed by jurors or through litigation, but it would be inappropriate to dismiss the case prematurely.

Judge Ellenwood agreed and denied Bonanza Creek’s motion. Attorney Michael Smith also asked the court to dismiss the claims against Halls, saying in part Schaefer wasn’t in the church building where Baldwin fired the revolver and authorities say Halls said, “Cold gun” before handing the gun to the actor.

“There is no allegation of any kind against my client that he did anything to Ms. Schaefer,” Smith argued.

After listening to his argument, Ellenwood said she didn’t intend to consider his motion because it wasn’t filed on time. She noted the court already granted a default judgment against Zachry for failing to respond to the case in a timely manner.

Attorney Michael Jasso — who also represents Schaefer — informed the court Monday the plaintiff has reached a settlement with Zachry.

Neither of the plaintiff’s attorneys nor Zachry’s attorney, Spirit Gaines, responded to calls seeking more information on the settlement.

Schaefer’s lawsuit seeks an unspecified of amount of actual and punitive damages.

The court has scheduled jury selection to begin in November, but attorneys said criminal charges are likely to cause delays.