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Judge Sets October 2026 Civil Trial for Alec Baldwin in ‘Rust’ Shooting

The ruling keeps negligence, emotional-distress, and punitive-damage claims alive after the judge rejected a workers’ compensation defense.

Overview

  • Judge Maurice Leiter of Los Angeles Superior Court, in a Friday ruling, set a jury trial for Oct. 12, 2026 and refused further delays.
  • He allowed claims for negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and punitive damages to proceed, and he dismissed assault.
  • The court rejected arguments that Baldwin and Rust Movie Productions had no duty for on‑set safety, and it denied a workers’ compensation bid for lack of an employer–employee relationship.
  • Plaintiff Serge Svetnoy, the set’s gaffer, says the shooting caused severe emotional distress even though he was not physically hurt.
  • Baldwin says he did not pull the trigger or know a live round was in the gun, yet the judge wrote a juror could still find he acted recklessly by pointing the weapon with a finger on the trigger.