Civil Action, A (1998) Movie Script
It's like this. A dead plaintiff
is rarely worth as much
as a living,
severely maimed plaintiff.
However, if it's a long,
agonising death,
as opposed to a quick drowning
or car wreck,
the value can rise considerably.
A dead adult in his 20s is worth less
than a middle-aged one,
a dead woman less than a dead man,
single adults less than married,
black less than white,
poor less than rich.
But the perfect victim
is a white, male, professional -
40 years old, at the height
of his earning power,
struck down in his prime.
And the most imperfect?
Well, in the calculus
of personal injury law,
a dead child is worth least of all.
A million dollars he turns down.
- One million dollars!
- I don't believe their story.
- It's true.
- Come on!
- Hey, Eddie. How you doing?
- Good.
Do me a favour - shut the fuck up.
Our banker there doesn't know
Jan refused a million.
- Sorry.
- Yeah.
Asshole.
How's your head? Up?
How's that? OK?
Are you comfortable?
Open?
Here we go.
All rise.
This court is now in session.
The Honourable
Constance Mullen presiding.
Would you like some water?
Carney versus Massachusetts
General Hospital -
case number 812725.
Attorneys,
please state your appearance.
Randolph Woodside, Mass General.
Greg Monk,
Massachusetts General Hospital.
Harold Peshniak, Mass General.
Jan Schlichtmann for Paul Carney.
Kevin Conway for Mr Carney,
Your Honour.
Mr Schlichtmann, we're ready
for your opening statement.
Your Honour,
if it please the court,
the parties involved
have agreed to a settlement.
Personal injury law
has a bad reputation.
They call us ambulance chasers,
bottom feeders,
vultures preying on
the misfortunes of others.
If that's true, why do I lie awake
worrying about my clients?
Why is their pain my pain?
I wish I didn't empathise.
It'd be a lot easier.
We're speaking to Jan Schlichtmann,
personal injury attorney
and according to Boston magazine -
have you seen this? -
one of Boston's
ten most eligible bachelors.
Let's go back to the phones. Woburn,
you're on the air.
Mr Schlichtmann,
it's Anne Anderson.
- Hello.
- How are you?
Very well. You? Sounds pretty.
How come you never call me?
- If I had your number, I would.
- You have it.
- I do?
- You have no idea who I am?
- Is this Ricky?
- No.
You see, my son died of leukaemia
two years ago.
- Your firm is handling the case.
- We are?
The reason I'm calling you here
is because my calls to your offices
have gone unreturned for weeks.
- Sorry, your name was?
- Anne.
- Anne...
- Anderson.
I'm writing that down.
I'm gonna take care of this.
Why don't you come up to Woburn
and actually meet a few of those
people whose pain is your pain?
Let me picture this.
She called you, she cried.
You felt sorry and you cried.
- Now she's mad.
- It's a good case.
- She's not crying now!
- An orphan, but good.
12 deaths over 15 years from
leukaemia - eight of them children.
- That's unusual?
- Statistically. It's a small town.
She lost a child?
They think it's something to do
with the city's drinking water
which they say tastes funny.
What was she like before?
- Do want to hear what it's about?
- No, I don't!
I'd like to hear about it.
Thank you, Kathy.
There's a report here
from state inspectors
saying that the water
from two city wells
is contaminated - or was
before they shut them down -
with something called...
I can't pronounce this...
trichlorethylene...ethylene,
which the EPA lists
as a probable carcinogen.
- Stop.
- There's more.
No, from a financial standpoint,
this is not a sound investment.
Probable is a euphemism
for unproven.
To prove something like this,
you need new medical research.
Is that our business -
medical research?
And...and ask yourself,
why is this an orphan?
It's been kicked around
before ending up on your desk.
Gordon's right.
I can appreciate
the theatrical value of dead kids.
That's good. But that's all it has
going for it, and it's not enough.
I'll get rid of it.
I'll...just go up there and...
You'll both start to cry again,
she'll be mad at me.
I'll do it. I'll get rid of it.
Give it to me.
Thank you.
- There you go, sir.
- Thank you.
- Drive careful.
- Yeah.
When I stand on my porch,
I can see the houses
where children died.
These are the Kanes,
the Toomeys, the Zohners,
the Robbins and the Aufieros.
Now, I want to be clear.
I'm not interested in money -
none of us are.
What we want is to know what
happened. And we want an apology.
- From who?
- Whoever did this.
I want somebody to come and say,
"We're responsible.
"We didn't mean it,
but we're sorry."
But who is that?
Well, we don't know.
Mrs Anderson, our firm is
very small, just three attorneys.
We can only take
so many cases at once
and we have to be choosy because,
frankly, we can't afford to lose.
We pay everything. We only get paid
if we win or settle.
- I know.
- You want an apology.
And I'd love to get you
that apology, but from who?
Who is going to apologise to you and
pay me?
There has to be a defendant
with very deep pockets.
This is not
an inexpensive case to try.
There's an old tannery out there.
A tannery?
And some other small factories.
I really wish I could help you
but I can't. I'm sorry.
Maybe you could go out to
the river, to the wells, and look.
For what?
What would that accomplish?
I do hope you find someone.
And I am sorry.
- Thank you very much.
- Drive carefully.
It was fate.
I was meant to get that ticket,
at that moment, at that exact spot.
Do you know who Beatrice is?
Peter Pan peanut butter,
Tropicana orange juice,
Rosarita Mexican Food,
Swiss Miss cocoa, Samsonite
luggage... The list goes on!
- And the other one?
- W.R. Grace.
Chemical plants in two dozen states,
South America, Europe and Japan.
- What's this?
- The ticket.
No, I've got that right here.
- I got two speeding tickets.
- A two-ticket town?
Exactly.
Don't take your Caddie there.
Kevin, it's a gold mine.
You almost let it get away.
I almost let it get away.
Lawsuits are war -
it's as simple as that.
And they begin the same way,
with a declaration of war -
the complaint.
When you're a small firm
and they're big,
steeped in history and wealth,
with Persian carpets on the floor
and Harvard diplomas on the walls,
it's easy to be intimidated.
Don't - that's what they want.
That's what they expect,
like all bullies.
That's how they win.
I don't run away from bullies.
Mr Facher...
Mr Doyle asked
me to bring this to you.
When?
- When did he ask me?
- Yeah.
Just now.
On your lunch break?
That hardly seems fair.
I almost never go to lunch, sir.
Too much to do.
I just grab something.
You know, I'd make a point
of taking an hour or so
away from all the noise
and insanity.
I should do that.
I'd find a place that was
relatively quiet and peaceful,
have a sandwich, read a magazine.
Maybe listen to a game
if one was on.
I'd make sure everyone knew not
to disturb me during that hour.
Because that would be my time -
my own private time,
which no-one, if they had any sense
of self-preservation,
would dare interrupt.
If I were you.
I'm sorry.
Jesus.
Jesus!
Jesus...
Mr Facher, it's Bill Cheeseman -
Foley, Hoag and Elliot.
We represent New York Grace.
How you doing?
Well, all right, I guess,
under the circumstances.
What circumstances are those?
Woburn - these outrageous charges.
This bloodsucking
ambulance chaser, Schlichtmann.
Who?
We're co-defendants in a lawsuit,
Mr Facher, a very serious lawsuit.
- What?
- What is that thumping?
Yeah, well, it's gone now.
It was driving me crazy!
I was wondering
if I could talk to you.
- Could we meet for a drink or...
- What's on your mind?
I'll tell you what I'm thinking.
- Are you familiar with Rule 11?
- With what?
Rule 11, a civil provision
to prevent frivolous and
irresponsible lawsuits like this,
and sanction quite severely
those who file them.
Mr...Cheeseman. Cheeseman, is it?
Mr Cheeseman. What is a fine?
You get fined,
you pay it and carry on.
If you're gonna knock a guy down,
do it so he can't get up again.
What are you looking for
with this suit?
Obviously, we're seeking
compensation for the families
and punitive damages for wilful
negligence by these companies.
But is that what
this is about - money?
- No.
- Is that what matters most?
- No.
- It's about this.
And this.
And this.
Yeah.
Yeah, I know, we have
no feelings, no compassion,
no empathy for
our clients' suffering.
Can I say something?
What does that
have to do with anything?
The lawyer who shares
his client's pain
does his client
such a grave disservice
he should have his licence
to practise taken away.
It clouds his judgement,
and that's as useful
as a doctor
who's frightened of blood.
All rise.
This court is now in session.
The Honourable
Walter J Skinner presiding.
Is this the only case?
This is a lot of lawyers.
Sit down.
You're looking well.
The Red Sox must be in first place.
Roger Clemens
is the answer to my prayers.
You have some interest in this case?
I'm a co-defendant, but it's not
my motion. It's Foley-Hoag's.
- And that motion?
- Your Honour.
- I'm Jan Schlichtmann.
- I know. Sit down.
The matter before us seems simple.
- Your Honour, it isn't.
- May I hear it?
The intention here is to place me
under a cloud of impropriety.
- Really?
- Yes. What they're saying
is that they know law and I don't,
they're real lawyers and I'm not.
They're just trying to humiliate me.
You are a personal injury lawyer,
aren't you? I think you'll survive.
- See? It's starting already.
- No, you've started already.
I'm on the defensive,
they're the defendants.
Do you think
I might hear this motion
before You explain to ME
what it's really about?
- Of course.
- Thank you.
Now, Mr...Cheeseman, is it?
Your motion to dismiss
is based on?
Rule 11, Your Honour.
Specifically that Mr Schlichtmann had
no evidential grounds
on which to bring this suit -
only his knowledge that W.R. Grace
Corporation has a lot of money.
Not true.
He performed no real investigation,
did no research of any consequence,
except perhaps
to review profit statements.
And he's prepared his complaint
so inexpertly as to render it moot.
- All untrue.
- Do you know what Rule 11 is?
To be honest, Your Honour,
I had to look it up.
I'll be honest, so did l.
Do you know why, Mr Cheeseman?
Because it is so old and ambiguous
few lawyers
waste their time with it, or mine.
It's a non-issue, Mr Cheeseman.
Your motion is denied. Thank you.
Thank you.
- Anything else?
- No, Your Honour.
Set a trial date.
Excuse me, Mr Facher.
I'd like to thank you.
That was very statesman-like of you
not to join that ridiculous attack.
You're welcome.
We have to show how
the toxic solvents these factories
dumped on the land there,
were drawn into the city wells here
and Well H over there,
and then pumped
into east Woburn homes.
So I'll need to inspect
and map the debris,
drill some monitoring wells,
conduct seismic tests, and so on.
And you're talking about you
and a couple of assistants?
No. I mean a team of
geologists and engineers.
- A team?
- A big team.
It's actually quite exciting.
The nature of the contour
here means there's an effect -
named after me, actually...
In the shop, Mr Roberts,
you used solvents to clean brushes?
What would you've done with that
stuff back in the 1970s and '80s?
- Used solvent? Put it in drums.
- 35-gallon drums?
What would you do with full drums?
- Don't know.
- They just went?
- Never noticed.
- Did you dump them?
- No.
- Nothing like that?
- Never noticed anyone who did?
- No.
Just disappeared...
What were your duties
at Grace, Mr Shalline?
Discharge to the drains. Be sure
we weren't polluting the air.
Then you know that chemicals
were deposited behind the plant?
I don't know that.
Six barrels of toxic waste
were found there in a pit
and exhumed by city inspectors.
- You didn't know?
- Nope.
Back in 1965 did you
clean metal parts with solvent?
Yes.
- What kind?
- That I couldn't say.
Did you ever notice
the name trichlorethylene or TCE?
I don't know.
But you'd put it in barrels
when you were finished, right?
Yes.
Did you ever see
what happened to these barrels?
Yes.
What was that?
- They get dumped.
- Where?
- Out back, in the ground.
- You saw this?
Yes.
- When?
- My coffee break.
I would go out and hit
nine-iron shots with golf balls.
Do you want a break?
- Do you need a break?
- No.
Did you see who was dumping
the stuff while hitting golf balls?
- What do you mean?
- The names of people.
He wants to tell us.
He won't tell us.
He has to work there.
But he lives near Anne Anderson.
He sees her every day.
- Mr Love, do you have any children?
- Yes, I do.
- Eight of them.
- Eight?
My goodness! That's quite a family.
What do you think
of the water in Woburn?
Now? It's all right.
What about then, 15 years ago?
It had an odour then.
Chlorine or something.
- Did you drink it?
- Yeah.
- The kids?
- Yes.
Were you concerned when you found
the wells were contaminated?
I object to that.
You don't have to answer that.
- Yeah, I was concerned.
- For your family?
Yes.
Has any member of your family
had any unusual illness?
You don't have to answer
any of these type of questions.
- Yeah.
- What kind?
One of my sons has seizures,
my eldest daughter
has had two miscarriages
and my youngest was born with...
Are we going to go through
their entire medical history?
If you don't want to hear, leave.
What's wrong? We're deposing
Grace employees, not Beatrice.
- I have a right to be here.
- Then sit down and shut up!
Mr Love,
are you aware that some of your
neighbours have had leukaemia?
Yes, I am.
They think it's the water.
Al, that water
hasn't made anybody sick.
- How do you know?
- I just do.
A lot of people in my neighbourhood
are dead,
or dying, Mr Chessman,
from something.
Look, if I took a hundred pennies
and threw them in the air,
half would land heads
and half tails, right?
Looking close, I'd probably find
some heads grouped together.
Does that mean anything?
You see, no one knows
what causes leukaemia, Al.
No one knows
what caused that cluster.
I know what happened.
And I know who did it.
Al, this is very important.
I want you to tell me
who those people are.
I'm not a rat.
You know, it's important,
because if there is something wrong,
we need to disclose it
to the authorities.
We need to get them out there
and have it cleaned up.
You think about that and call me.
Yeah. Yeah.
Do you eat peanut butter?
No.
You've never eaten peanut butter?
I guess everyone alive
has tried it,
but I'm not a peanut butter fan.
Did your son
ever eat peanut butter?
- Do you eat bacon?
- Yes.
- Yes.
- How often? How many slices?
Do you have Teflon pans
in your kitchen?
Do you chew sugarless gum?
Do you pump your own gas?
Do you use hair spray?
Do you use artificial sweeteners?
Smoke cigarettes? Drink diet soda?
Use tampons?
Are your clothes ever dry-cleaned?
Do you have silver fillings
in your teeth?
You knew when you moved to Woburn
that its water didn't taste good?
Yeah, but lots of places
the water doesn't taste so good.
I agree with that.
Did you ever consider
using bottled water?
We used bottled water off and on,
split half and half.
Like...we cooked with
regular water - tap water.
We did other things,
like make orange juice.
But to...drink just straight
water, we drank bottled water.
Has a doctor ever said that you have
any immune system dysfunction?
No. But when my son died,
they told us that was why he died.
His immune system was...
tore down to nothing.
- Why did you have an autopsy?
- Because he was doing good.
He only lived three months
with leukaemia
and he looked fine.
Did you talk to the doctor
about this?
I had more like
a violent talk with him.
- "Violent"? You were angry?
- Yelling at him.
Your son seemed to be doing
all right. He was in remission?
You were optimistic about his future
and suddenly he became ill and died.
And they said that was expected -
that anybody with a disease like
leukaemia could die any minute.
- But you were angry and upset.
- My son just died.
I understand, I'm just
trying to recreate the event.
You know when your child isn't well.
You try to explain on the phone
and they say,
"Has he got a temperature?"
You say, "No."
"He's all right, then," they say.
"Don't worry - bring him
into the clinic Monday."
He died Monday morning.
He was in the clinic when he died?
No.
He was in the car on the way.
He died in the car
on the way to the clinic?
He died on l-93,
up by the Somerville exit.
My wife was yelling
that he'd stopped breathing.
I pulled over
and tried to give him CPR.
I was holding him in my lap.
Lauren was...
screaming.
Cars and trucks rushing by.
And...
she helped...
I'm sorry.
It's all right.
It's OK.
These people can never testify.
No.
We'll have the first seven
monitor wells in this area,
in the permeable rock here.
All right. There's seven?
Yes. I did say only seven.
Now we'll probably
have 12, because...
Hey! Hey!
- Private property.
- Yes, your property.
My property and you're trespassing.
- Here.
- What the fuck is this?
That's a court order, Mr Riley,
giving me the right to be here,
and to inspect every inch
of your tannery, too.
No, keep that. That's your copy.
Let's go.
I started working
when I was seven years old,
sweeping the beam house floors
for my father,
which he swept for his father
when he was seven years old.
- Which my boys...
- I know. They swept it, too.
Please answer the question I asked.
Silicone and trichlorethylene.
These two chemicals mixed together
are used to waterproof leather,
are they not?
I asked you a question,
Mr Riley - again.
Please inform your client that he's
obligated to answer my question.
Let the record show
that the witness
emptied a glass of water
on my conference table.
What exactly do you intend to say
to me by pouring water on my table?
It's how silicone
is used to waterproof leather.
I'm answering your question.
It's poured on,
like you poured water on my table.
Yeah. Correct.
So some of it must
spill off the leather,
Iike the water spilling
off my table...
and onto my rug.
That's the part I'm interested in.
The spilled silicone
and trichlorethylene, sir,
how you disposed of that.
- I never once used TCE.
- TCE? Did I say TCE?
I didn't say TCE.
I said trichlorethylene.
You said TCE -
as it is commonly known...
to those who know it.
Mr Riley, would you mind if
I checked your statements today
against your records - invoices,
purchase orders and formulas?
No. Be my guest.
They go back...three years.
Everything before that, we dumped.
- Jan, you're not listening.
- You've been out there three times.
I know why
you find this unacceptable.
But you don't know what it's like.
Riley is Woburn.
His employees are loyal subjects.
They won't talk.
Ex-employees, that's who
you should be talking to.
- Disgruntled employees, they talk.
- You want me to go back there?
This is THE case against Beatrice.
He's a liar. Go back and catch him.
- You got the medical records?
- I can't...
Just get it.
This figure here,
this 100 an hour for Dr Cohen,
that seems fair,
considering his pre-eminence.
That's for his nights in the hotel.
That's his discount sleeping rate.
- Your doctors have cost 900,000.
- They're worth it.
- Your geologists over 500,000.
- They're worth it.
The point is, everybody here
is working on this case.
There's no money coming in -
just going out.
You want to cut our losses now?
You want to get out
and throw away 900 and...what?
1.4 million.
There's certain things
I've got to prove
and I can't do that
not spending money.
We have to see Uncle Pete.
- Where are we on the last loan...
- Spent it.
- How much of it?
- All of it.
And the Carney settlement?
How much...
- Spent it.
- On?
Woburn.
We spend everything on Woburn now.
On Woburn.
What will you need
to tide you over? Two hundred?
600,000.
- 600,000?
- Yeah.
Pete, when was the last time
you lost money betting on me?
Never. I'm probably the best
investment your bank ever made.
How do vampires
get around on Halloween?
- Pass.
- Blood vessels.
Let's go.
- Bye, Dad.
- See you later. Goodbye.
Love you.
I thought about
seeing you for a long time.
I was afraid to 'cause...l didn't
think you'd want to talk to me,
'cause of where I work
and everything.
I'm concerned about what's been
happening around here and...
I'm angry at the way
the company's handling itself.
I'm very sorry about your son.
Thank you.
He said he never dumped anything,
never did anything like that,
never saw anybody who did.
Tommy Barbas lied.
So did Paul Shalline.
Tommy, Paul and Joey
were out back all the time...
- Joey?
- Joey Miola, plant maintenance.
And the rumour is,
there's 50 more barrels buried
that the inspectors didn't find.
- 50?
- Or more. Here.
OK. Is there anyone else
at the plant that might talk to me?
I don't think so.
Bobby Pasqueriella.
Bobby?
He might. He doesn't
work there any more though.
Could you call him?
Yeah, that's the stuff got dumped.
All the time. Threw it
back there myself all the time.
Eddie Arsine - he'd say,
dump that stuff in the gully.
Out there in the gully, you know?
Dumped it back there
in the gully right there.
Washed belts and gearboxes with it,
and threw it in the gully.
He'd say, dump it out
in the gully, like Joey.
- Did Tom Barbas?
- Tommy? No, not Tommy, no.
- Never did that?
- No, no.
He dumped his in a ditch.
Mr Barbas, I understand you've had
a chance to think about things
since your first deposition.
He says you said
to pour it into the pit.
Is that how you remember it now?
He just said, go out
and dig a trench...30 feet long.
Load the barrels onto the truck,
drive out and dump it
into the swimming pool.
That's what we called it -
the swimming pool.
Right.
Mr Cheeseman, well done.
The odds of a plaintiff's lawyer
winning in court
are 2 to 1 against.
Think about that for a second.
Your odds of surviving a game
of Russian roulette are better.
12 times better.
So why does anyone do it?
They don't. They settle.
Out of the 780,000 cases
filed each year,
The whole idea of lawsuits
is to settle,
to compel the other side to settle.
You do that by spending
more money than you should,
forcing them to spend
more money than they should.
And whoever
comes to their senses first...
Ioses.
Trials are a corruption
of the entire process.
And only fools with something
to prove end up ensnared in them.
When I say prove,
I don't mean about the case.
I mean about themselves.
Hey, old man, out of the way!
- How's business?
- It's good.
Is it? I was afraid, with
all these scientists and doctors,
a small firm like yours
might be in trouble.
I appreciate your concern.
We've got more than enough
to go the distance.
Are you sure? lf you realised
you miscalculated the arithmetic,
you'd be digging quarters
out the seats of your car.
- You don't have to worry, Jerry.
- That's a relief.
You know what? You don't want me
in this case. You've got Grace.
I'm only gonna hurt you.
So get rid of me.
Tell me what you've got so far,
I'll get a cheque cut - OK?
My expenses? You're offering
to cover my expenses?
Your expenses and your pride.
You think you're gonna put
those families on the stand.
They'll tell their stories
so the jury
pull out their handkerchiefs?
Do you really think
I'd let that happen?
I don't see how you can prevent it.
Of course you don't.
- Yeah?
- Jan, guess what?
Cheeseman wants to talk.
He wants a number. He wants out.
I'll meet you back here
at the office.
Jan, this is it. We've got them.
That's great.
Oh, baby. God, no!
Oh, God!
He said he'd be here.
Are the Red Sox in town?
Sorry I'm late. I got tied up. Yeah.
I was just given a chair
at Harvard, of all things.
You're kidding. Which chair?
It's black with arms, with my name on
a brass plate on the back.
From my students.
Jerry, ever thought about
getting yourself a new briefcase?
You don't change your socks
in the middle of the World Series.
Am I sitting in the right place?
Actually, we have a seat
for you here, but that's fine.
Nice pen.
- They're courtesy of the hotel.
- Really?
This is a good quality pen. Yeah.
- So?
- So, Bill...
How much did Grace make last year?
I have no idea.
But I have a feeling you do.
198 million. And Beatrice, Jerry?
- What?
- 436 million.
Together, that's 634 million.
That's one year. That's net.
So, that's what they made.
What should they be made to pay
to compensate the families,
to provide for their
economic security in the future?
Don't forget to mention you -
compensating you.
And to make sure
that this doesn't happen again.
25 million cash.
And another 25 million
to establish a research foundation
to study the links between
hazardous waste and illness.
And 1.5 million per family
annually for 30 years.
320 million.
Can I ask a question?
I'm sure everyone has questions.
What's yours, Jerry?
Can I have this?
Thank you.
Excuse me.
- Jan?
- Yes, Gordon?
What's the story?
- They don't want to end this.
- They don't...
You said this wouldn't go to trial.
You just made certain that it will.
Without consulting us, I might add.
They patronise us.
They think we're blackmailers.
They think they can buy us.
Yeah?
We can't afford a long trial.
Find a way
of getting some money, then.
- What do you suggest?
- Am I the financial advisor?
No, you're not.
This is the plan.
Start with scientific evidence.
Then the medical experts
and their evidence.
Then the parents,
then your testimony.
Your presence is very important.
It's where the jury
gets to know you.
If you're only there some days,
they'll ask "why? Does she care?"
I'll be there every day,
in the back left-hand corner.
Wherever you're comfortable.
That was our plan.
If we got separated in the grocery
store that's where we'd meet.
Oh, I see, I see.
In the end, when he was dying,
he said, I'll meet you in the
back left-hand corner of heaven.
All rise.
This court is now in session.
The Honourable
Walter J Skinner presiding.
Civil Action 841672.
Anderson and all versus
W.R. Grace and Beatrice Foods.
Ladies and gentlemen...
there's a small town
north of Boston called Woburn.
Woburn is like many small towns.
It has homes, it has churches,
it has schools, it has industry.
But Woburn has something else.
It has more than its share
of sickness and death.
Small amounts of solvents
were left on the ground.
Why? To evaporate.
Did they? Yes.
These chemicals never reached
Wells G and H - we will show that.
And they never made anyone sick.
We will show that, too.
The idea of criminal court
is crime and punishment.
The idea of civil court
and personal injury law by nature -
though no-one says it,
Ieast of all
the personal injury lawyer himself -
is money.
Money for suffering.
Money for death.
As if that
could somehow relieve suffering.
As if that could somehow
bring dead children back to life.
Every credit card application
we send, we get more in the mail.
Here's one from North Dakota.
Fill it out. Fill them all out.
It's the last great pyramid scheme.
The terrain of East Woburn was
actually shaped 12,000 years ago,
during the end of the last lce Age.
At this time, an immense glacier,
over a mile thick,
covered what is now New England.
Cancel The American Lawyer.
Cancel all the legal journals.
And tell the janitorial people
they're no longer required.
We'll empty our own ashtrays.
To understand what's going on
in the ground water system,
we must start with the soil itself.
These are soil samples...
So you see,
the Aberjona River valley...
I...l can't send you
the entire balance right now.
But perhaps we could work out
some sort of a deal.
How much can I send you right now?
Nothing.
A plaintiff's case
depends on momentum.
The fewer objections he gets,
the better his case will go.
So whenever you can,
you should object.
18 times yesterday, 20 today.
They're not even his witnesses,
they're his.
I can't not object when you
phrase questions improperly.
As a craftsman...
He is deliberately trying
to destroy the rhythm of my case.
Here we are. You must have
some good luck on these.
- Hold on. 17, 17, 17.
- You got a winner?
No! Shoot.
Relevance - objection.
Hearsay - objection.
Best evidence - objection.
Authenticity...
Objection.
If you fall asleep, the first thing
you say when you wake up is...
Objection.
Do you swear to tell
the whole truth, so help you God?
Yes.
Good morning, Mr Riley. Would
you care for a glass of water?
No, thank you.
Are you sure?
The single greatest liability
for a lawyer is pride.
Pride...
pride has lost more cases
than lousy evidence,
idiot witnesses and
a hanging judge put together.
There is absolutely no place
in a courtroom for pride.
Mr Riley, you own the property
referred to here as the 15 acres?
No, it's currently owned
by a non-profit corporation
called The Wildwood Conservancy.
Oh, yes. What is that?
The Wildwood Conservancy.
- Is that a conservation group?
- Yes, sir.
I've donated the land as
a sanctuary for indigent wildlife.
I don't think the indigent wildlife
has heard about this, Mr Riley.
I've been there several times
and haven't seen any living thing.
He says no, no, no.
He says yes once, I've got him.
He's not that stupid.
Keep him there long enough,
he'll figure a way to get you.
I'm not that stupid.
Mr Riley, experts
have testified in this court
that your land, your 15 acres,
is the most grotesquely polluted
land in New England.
You have no idea how that happened?
- No, sir.
- Does it upset you to learn this?
- Very much so.
- Really? Why?
And one last thing,
unless you know exactly
what the answer is,
never, ever ask a witness "why".
Never.
My factory is the oldest
surviving business in Woburn.
When the other tanners moved out,
I stayed,
even though that was
a very big financial burden.
- That's not...
- Woburn is my home...
That's not the question.
He's trying to answer it,
Mr Schlichtmann. Let him.
That land has been in my family
for three generations.
That land to me is hallowed ground.
So when you ask me would I be upset
if someone desecrated it -
Iand that's part of the town
that I love -
my answer to your question,
Mr Schlichtmann...
is yes.
I have no further questions,
Your Honour.
The sad part is, they rob themselves
of the blessing of giving.
If somebody wrote a cheque
for the total budget of my church,
it wouldn't affect my giving.
Ain't nobody gonna rob me
of the blessing of giving!
You know why folks ain't getting?
'Cause they ain't giving!
Do not rob yourself
of the blessing of giving.
You'll never guess what I did
last night. You'll like this.
I pledged 200 to a televangelist. I'm
not kidding.
He said,
"Give and ye shall receive."
I know. I know what you're thinking.
You're thinking, Gordon's losing it.
He's falling apart.
He's probably
buying lottery tickets.
I bought a few. I'll admit it.
I know, but seriously,
the jackpot's 45 million.
That's just this week!
You should see the lines out there.
- Is that a gun?
- What?
This? No. No, this is for you.
My Krugerrands.
I've had them forever.
I want you to have them.
And this is the deed to my house.
Here is Conway's
and Crowley's and Jan's.
See, I've come bearing gifts.
We really need the money.
You can tell your child isn't well.
"Has he got a temperature?" "No."
"He's all right, then", they say.
"Bring him to the clinic Monday."
He died Monday morning.
Start with Jimmy Anderson -
countless trips to hospital,
futile chemotherapy treatments.
Then the others, ending with Jared
Aufiero, dying on the highway.
Could somebody get that?
Where is everybody?
You're just noticing now? Gordon
laid everybody off two weeks ago.
Gordon, instead of sitting there
reading a magazine,
why not go to Uncle Pete
and get me a staff?
Good idea.
Why didn't I think of that?
Hello?
There was a Cheeseman
on the Mayflower.
- This way, sir.
- Thank you.
Jan, have a seat.
You want something to drink?
Some coffee? Soda?
You've been talking
without me present?
No, we have been drinking coffee
without your being present.
Don't be so paranoid.
They were early.
- All right. What's up?
- Jerry?
Last night, I was at a ball game.
It was the seventh innings
and I was standing there,
and it occurred to me
at that moment,
unless you've proven that any...
What word should we use?
- Chemicals?
- Poisons.
If you like that word, I'll use it.
Unless you've proven that poisons
reached the wells, there's no case.
And therefore,
no need to make these families,
who've already suffered so much,
relive their suffering
all over again
by putting them on the stand.
- Your Honour, you've...
- That's interesting.
- What?
- I'd have to agree with that.
Your Honour, the...
If the jury decides favourably
on the geological evidence,
you could bring your families in.
Your Honour, the jury
was expecting a human drama.
For three months
they've had lessons in geology.
We had to do that.
Now it's over - finally.
Now we have to see where we are
before moving on,
and subjecting these families
to more trauma than necessary,
because that would just be cruel.
- They want to testify.
- The decision is made.
- It's the defendant's plan.
- It's my plan.
Right from the beginning,
he threatened...
It's MY plan!
Now...
my plan is to present the jury
with some simple questions.
How you answer
these three questions,
will determine whether
this trial continues.
I don't disagree -
I don't understand them.
What don't you understand?
They're straightforward questions.
Have the plaintiffs established,
by preponderance of evidence,
that chemicals containing TCE
were disposed of on these lands
after October 1, 1964
and August 27, 1968, respectively,
and did those chemicals contribute
to the well water contamination?
What were these dates?
Where are they from? Out of a hat?
Question two.
What, according to
a preponderance of the evidence,
was the earliest time
at which these chemicals
substantially contributed
to the wells' contamination?
How can they determine that?
Science can't even determine
when the chemicals arrived
with the precision
that you're asking of the jurors.
And finally, three.
What, according to
a preponderance of the evidence,
was the earliest time -
again, month and year -
at which substantial contribution
referred to in question two
was caused, if it was,
by the negligent conduct
of the defendants?
It's like English translated into
Japanese back into English again.
I've heard enough.
Your Honour,
no one can answer these.
You're asking for answers
that are unknowable.
I've heard enough.
You're asking for a fiction
that stands for truth, but isn't.
Enough!
Once again, I remind you not
to discuss your views outside,
and excuse you...
Don't worry about it.
Everything's under control.
And excuse you
to your deliberations. Thank you.
I've never done this.
In 45 years of practising,
I've never
waited in a corridor for a jury.
- I always do.
- I can tell.
You're good at it.
You seem so at peace doing it.
What do you think?
ls it good they're out this long?
- For who?
- For me, of course.
You can never tell.
It could mean anything.
It could mean jury duty's more fun
than working at the post office.
- It's bad for both of you.
- You think?
Well, here's my take.
Guilty.
Not guilty.
That's what they're going to say.
Nothing to do with dates
or ground-water measurements
or any of that crap,
which nobody understands anyway.
It's going to come down to people,
like always.
You found someone
who saw him dumping stuff.
You didn't find anyone who saw me.
- What's your take?
- They'll see the truth.
The truth?
We're talking about a court of law.
You've been around
long enough to know
courtrooms aren't
where you look for the truth.
You're lucky to find anything
that even resembles the truth.
You disagree. Well, since when?
Eight kids are dead, Jerry.
Jan, that suit fits you better
than the sentimentality.
That's not how you
made all that money, is it?
It wasn't about dead children from
the minute you filed the complaint.
The minute it entered
the justice system. Oh, yes.
I know you like to gamble.
High-stakes gambler,
that's your profession.
Why not test your faith
in the righteousness of our courts
with a high-stakes gamble?
If that's a settlement offer,
Jerry, it's not enough.
- That's not what I hear.
- Who said that?
The IRS, telling us they have
a lien on any eventual settlement
in order to recover
over 2.5 million in unpaid taxes.
But all right...
What if I would add
six zeros onto that?
That would be - what? - 20 million.
Now, that would put things
in perspective, wouldn't it?
As far as truth, justice
and dead children go?
If you want to talk
about a settlement,
get the decision-makers together
and talk seriously.
The decision-makers are here,
aren't they?
You're looking at Mr Beatrice.
I don't have to call anybody. Do you?
It's just you and me.
We're like kings. We are kings.
Sitting in our castle,
deciding important things.
Deciding the fates of others.
And counting money.
In our counting room!
Tell you what. I'll leave this here,
go back down the hall
to my throne room
and await your decision.
If you really want the truth, Jan,
Iook for it where it is -
at the bottom of a bottomless pit.
Mr Foreman, members of the jury, have
you reached a verdict?
Yes, Your Honour.
With respect to W.R. Grace,
the jury has answered...
"yes" to question one regarding
trichlorethylene contamination,
requiring the case against Grace
to go to a second stage
of this trial.
In regard to Beatrice, the jury
has answered "no" to question one
in all its points
pertaining to contamination
which renders questions two
and three inapplicable,
ending the case against Beatrice.
- Mr Facher, you're excused.
- Thank you, Your Honour.
We are going to take
a break now, until after lunch.
Once again, I remind you
not to talk to anyone
about your deliberations here...
Disappointed?
Not at all. This is a victory.
This sends a message that companies
can no longer get away with this.
- So what now?
- Right now?
I think we should celebrate.
What do you think? Yes?
You'll proceed against Grace,
no matter how long it takes?
We have to
get out of this case fast.
That's our only strategy left.
The good news is
Grace wants to talk.
They want us to see their executive
vice-president, AI Eustis.
So we need to know
what our squeal point is.
8 million. 8 million
will just about get us out of hock.
Gordon knows the numbers.
Jan, every dollar we spend
is a dollar we don't have.
We are floating on credit
without a net.
I don't need a net.
Mortgage my house. I don't care.
I have.
And Kevin's and Bill's and mine.
I've cashed in our retirement plans
and life-insurance. And it's gone.
Let me put it this way,
if we can't appear we've got money
they won't give us 8 million.
They won't give us eight cents.
You know that.
You all know that.
It's our nicest suite.
Living room, dining room,
two bedrooms, a den, a lovely view.
It's 2,400 a night.
For our inner strength.
- On the card.
- Why not?
Farmers' Bank of lowa.
Hey, there!
- Jan Schlichtmann.
- AI Eustis.
How are you?
Sorry I'm late. I got lost.
- Got lost?
- Yes.
How did you manage that?
I've never been here before so...
What kind of Harvard man are you?
The Cornell kind.
Cornell?
I thought you went to Harvard?
I'm sure somebody said that
you went to Harvard! Cornell!
Yes.
Well, listen, Cornell is...
is a damn good school.
Damn good.
So what do you want?
Well, I could take you
through it step by step
or you could take
this with you and study it.
It's a little complicated but...
It's an unspoken rule
of the Harvard Club -
business is never transacted here.
I meant, what do you want to drink?
I wanted to reach across
and strangle him with his tie.
Instead, I sat there for two hours
and listened to him
talk about selling his yacht.
You know, sometimes
I actually prefer the 35-footer.
Because I can crew it myself,
I can be all by myself out there
alone. It's magnificent.
And there's no... Nobody can
call you. Nobody can beep you.
Nobody can fax you.
There's no lawsuits.
You know what I'm talking about.
You sail?
- No.
- You don't sail?
- Finally, we went to his office.
- Let's sit down.
Come on. It's more comfortable.
Have a seat.
He comes around the desk,
he sits down.
Go ahead, sit down.
He puts his feet up
on this French antique thing
and he tells me to put my feet up.
Put your feet up. Come on.
- No, thank you.
- No, go ahead.
- Go ahead.
- No, really, I'm fine.
Nothing's going to break.
Put them up.
It was weird - all this talk about
putting my feet on this table.
It's all right - I mean it.
Try it. Come on.
Put your feet up.
There. Now, I can afford to pay you
almost anything you ask.
It's not the money.
But a settlement that high
says we're guilty.
That says to every two-bit
personal injury lawyer in Boston,
Iet's sign up everyone in Woburn.
Creates a shark effect,
and that I can't afford.
Give me a number.
I'm not negotiating with myself, Al,
throwing out numbers
you can say no to.
- You give me one.
- 8 million.
He said 8 million?
8 million.
I can't go to the families
with that.
Wait! What? Who? What families?
I can't go to them empty-handed.
What are you talking about?
Since when is that empty-handed?
8 million is a lot of money!
I owe them more than that.
What do you owe them?
Do you owe them your career?
You're talking
about our careers here!
- You owe them that?
- And OUR families!
That's what we're talking here.
Our families...
Don't do it.
Don't go for broke on this one.
It isn't worth it, Jan.
Nobody calls any more?
Not even the creditors.
Are the phones still working?
Schlichtmann, Conway and Crowley.
Just a moment, please.
Someone named Grendan.
Creditor.
- Are you here?
- Do I look like I'm here?
He's in a meeting at the moment.
Do me a favour, Gordon? Shut up.
What?
I'm tired of hearing you
moan about money.
This isn't about money any more.
No? What's it about?
What's it about, Jan?
- Look, let's all...
- No, I want to know.
I want to know what I gave up
my house for - my credit, my life!
Would you take 10 million?
- Yes.
- But not eight?
No.
So 10 million
is some mythic struggle,
but eight is just another lawsuit!
If they're willing to pay eight
then it's not enough.
- That makes sense!
- It makes perfect sense.
So you'll only accept
what they won't give us?
Listen to yourself!
I'm sick of listening to you.
I've lost enough because of you.
You'd have nothing but for me.
All you have, I got for you!
I don't have anything!
What do I have?
I got a couple of bucks
and some bus transfers.
I've got a savings account
from when I was 12.
Here - there's 37 in here.
With interest after 25 years,
probably 47!
Take it! Add it to the war chest.
Use it to fight injustice!
Go down in flames with it
for all I care.
Only next time...
Next time - that's a laugh!
Ask us if we want
to go down with you!
I'd like to leave a message
for AI Eustis, please.
I've been informed that a settlement
agreement has been reached.
As a condition of this agreement,
the exact terms shall remain
private among the parties involved.
Thank you for your service...
Our contingency fee,
as you know, as you agreed to -
or 2.2 million.
Our expenses - what we actually
paid out trying this case -
comes to 3.5 million.
and dividing it equally,
comes out to 375,000 per family.
And they're
gonna clean the place up?
No.
When you first came out here,
Mr Schlichtmann,
when we first spoke, I told you
I wasn't interested in money.
Here it comes.
What I wanted
was an apology from someone
for what they did to my son.
And you said, money is the apology.
That's how they apologise -
with their chequebooks.
Would you call this an apology?
No.
The only meaningful apology
you're going to get is from me.
I'm sorry.
I'm afraid that isn't meaningful.
Mrs Anderson, you're looking
at four guys who are broke.
We lost everything trying this case.
How can you even begin
to compare what you've lost
to what we've lost?
Listen, the minute you put money
on the table, things turn ugly.
It happens every time. Forget it.
But she's right.
She's not right.
It's cold. It's wet. We're
in the swamp. I want to go home.
Someone out here saw what happened.
You can't do what Riley did
without somebody seeing it.
You're talking about the case.
The case is over.
Yeah, I know. They want out, right?
It's time they went
their separate way.
You know what I think of that?
Fine. Let 'em.
- I can imagine worse things.
- Like what?
So what if we have to start over?
We did it once.
We can do it again, the two of us.
Oh, I see. When you say it's over,
you mean it's over.
It's time for me
to go my separate way.
You always went
your separate way, Jan.
Thank you.
This is how silicone is
put on leather to waterproof it.
Like you poured water on my table.
Yeah.
So some of it must
spill off the leather,
Iike the water
spilling off my table.
That's the part I'm interested in.
The spilled silicone
and trichlorethylene, sir -
how you disposed of that.
We're just here
to look at your records.
I didn't call him, he just came.
- You just let him in?
- Of course I did.
You know how sometimes
you get so close to something
that you lose sight of it?
I kept looking for someone
who saw Riley dumping
barrels of poison, when l...
I should've been looking for someone
who helped him clean it up.
Why did you rent two dump trucks
and a front loader in October '81?
Or is this just
part of your job at the tannery?
- Mr Granger?
- I don't have to talk to you.
I can tell you to leave
and I'd be within my rights.
Yes, you would.
In the fall of 1981, Mr Riley
instructed me to rent a loader
and two 10-wheel dump trucks.
- Did he tell you why?
- Yes, he did.
Everything goes. I don't want
to see anything but topsoil.
Didn't it seem strange
that he had to get rid of it now?
I don't want to know where.
Just take it.
He told me city inspectors
were coming.
He didn't want them to see it.
This went on for several nights.
Fill the trucks, trucks drive off,
trucks come back empty,
we fill them up again.
On the last night...
On the last night, what?
Are you sure you didn't
see some kids there?
- Lighting fires, drinking beers?
- I've nothing to say.
It'd be hard to forget.
You know, it's a...
Apparently, it was quite a sight.
Go, go, go.
Watch out!
This is private property!
You little punks!
That's you!
You know, mister, I'm sorry.
Here's something to make up for it.
There you go! There - fry!
I'll have you arrested!
It's like that now!
You want some of that? Eat it!
Let's go! Let's go!
- Get the fuck out!
- Come on.
Did Riley threaten you at all
with what might happen to you
if you ever came forward?
No, sir.
He didn't say anything
at all in this regard?
He gave me
a couple of Celtics tickets.
Told me to keep my mouth shut.
The appeals process
is even more Byzantine
than the trial it's appealing.
It takes longer, it costs more,
its outcome is even less promising.
Only five cases in 50
will win in appeals court,
odds as easy to calculate
as they are discouraging.
They're 10 to 1 against.
Just about any bet at any table
in any casino
anywhere in the world...
is better than that.
I have the evidence but not the
resources or the gambling spirit
to appeal the decision in this case.
I have no money, no partners,
and, it seems, no clients any more.
The Woburn case has become what it
was when it first came to me -
an orphan.
I'm forwarding it on to you,
knowing you may not want it
any more than I did at first.
If you do decide to take it on,
I hope you'll be able to succeed
where I've failed.
If you calculate success
and failure as I always have,
in money divided neatly
into human suffering,
the arithmetic says...
I failed completely.
What it doesn't say
is if I could go back,
knowing what I know now and where
I'd end up if I got involved,
knowing all the numbers,
all the odds,
all the angles...
I'd do it again.
Sorry.
Jesus!
I'm sorry. Yes?
The purpose of these questions
is not to humiliate you,
but to verify
the assets that you've declared.
I understand.
Because what you're asking
your creditors to believe is...
- Well, it's hard to believe.
- I know.
After 17 years of practising law,
all you have to show for it is...
14 dollars in a chequing account
and a portable radio?
That's correct.
Where did it all go?
The money?
The money, the property,
the personal belongings.
The things one acquires
in one's life, Mr Schlichtmann.
The things by which
one measures one's life.
What happened?
is rarely worth as much
as a living,
severely maimed plaintiff.
However, if it's a long,
agonising death,
as opposed to a quick drowning
or car wreck,
the value can rise considerably.
A dead adult in his 20s is worth less
than a middle-aged one,
a dead woman less than a dead man,
single adults less than married,
black less than white,
poor less than rich.
But the perfect victim
is a white, male, professional -
40 years old, at the height
of his earning power,
struck down in his prime.
And the most imperfect?
Well, in the calculus
of personal injury law,
a dead child is worth least of all.
A million dollars he turns down.
- One million dollars!
- I don't believe their story.
- It's true.
- Come on!
- Hey, Eddie. How you doing?
- Good.
Do me a favour - shut the fuck up.
Our banker there doesn't know
Jan refused a million.
- Sorry.
- Yeah.
Asshole.
How's your head? Up?
How's that? OK?
Are you comfortable?
Open?
Here we go.
All rise.
This court is now in session.
The Honourable
Constance Mullen presiding.
Would you like some water?
Carney versus Massachusetts
General Hospital -
case number 812725.
Attorneys,
please state your appearance.
Randolph Woodside, Mass General.
Greg Monk,
Massachusetts General Hospital.
Harold Peshniak, Mass General.
Jan Schlichtmann for Paul Carney.
Kevin Conway for Mr Carney,
Your Honour.
Mr Schlichtmann, we're ready
for your opening statement.
Your Honour,
if it please the court,
the parties involved
have agreed to a settlement.
Personal injury law
has a bad reputation.
They call us ambulance chasers,
bottom feeders,
vultures preying on
the misfortunes of others.
If that's true, why do I lie awake
worrying about my clients?
Why is their pain my pain?
I wish I didn't empathise.
It'd be a lot easier.
We're speaking to Jan Schlichtmann,
personal injury attorney
and according to Boston magazine -
have you seen this? -
one of Boston's
ten most eligible bachelors.
Let's go back to the phones. Woburn,
you're on the air.
Mr Schlichtmann,
it's Anne Anderson.
- Hello.
- How are you?
Very well. You? Sounds pretty.
How come you never call me?
- If I had your number, I would.
- You have it.
- I do?
- You have no idea who I am?
- Is this Ricky?
- No.
You see, my son died of leukaemia
two years ago.
- Your firm is handling the case.
- We are?
The reason I'm calling you here
is because my calls to your offices
have gone unreturned for weeks.
- Sorry, your name was?
- Anne.
- Anne...
- Anderson.
I'm writing that down.
I'm gonna take care of this.
Why don't you come up to Woburn
and actually meet a few of those
people whose pain is your pain?
Let me picture this.
She called you, she cried.
You felt sorry and you cried.
- Now she's mad.
- It's a good case.
- She's not crying now!
- An orphan, but good.
12 deaths over 15 years from
leukaemia - eight of them children.
- That's unusual?
- Statistically. It's a small town.
She lost a child?
They think it's something to do
with the city's drinking water
which they say tastes funny.
What was she like before?
- Do want to hear what it's about?
- No, I don't!
I'd like to hear about it.
Thank you, Kathy.
There's a report here
from state inspectors
saying that the water
from two city wells
is contaminated - or was
before they shut them down -
with something called...
I can't pronounce this...
trichlorethylene...ethylene,
which the EPA lists
as a probable carcinogen.
- Stop.
- There's more.
No, from a financial standpoint,
this is not a sound investment.
Probable is a euphemism
for unproven.
To prove something like this,
you need new medical research.
Is that our business -
medical research?
And...and ask yourself,
why is this an orphan?
It's been kicked around
before ending up on your desk.
Gordon's right.
I can appreciate
the theatrical value of dead kids.
That's good. But that's all it has
going for it, and it's not enough.
I'll get rid of it.
I'll...just go up there and...
You'll both start to cry again,
she'll be mad at me.
I'll do it. I'll get rid of it.
Give it to me.
Thank you.
- There you go, sir.
- Thank you.
- Drive careful.
- Yeah.
When I stand on my porch,
I can see the houses
where children died.
These are the Kanes,
the Toomeys, the Zohners,
the Robbins and the Aufieros.
Now, I want to be clear.
I'm not interested in money -
none of us are.
What we want is to know what
happened. And we want an apology.
- From who?
- Whoever did this.
I want somebody to come and say,
"We're responsible.
"We didn't mean it,
but we're sorry."
But who is that?
Well, we don't know.
Mrs Anderson, our firm is
very small, just three attorneys.
We can only take
so many cases at once
and we have to be choosy because,
frankly, we can't afford to lose.
We pay everything. We only get paid
if we win or settle.
- I know.
- You want an apology.
And I'd love to get you
that apology, but from who?
Who is going to apologise to you and
pay me?
There has to be a defendant
with very deep pockets.
This is not
an inexpensive case to try.
There's an old tannery out there.
A tannery?
And some other small factories.
I really wish I could help you
but I can't. I'm sorry.
Maybe you could go out to
the river, to the wells, and look.
For what?
What would that accomplish?
I do hope you find someone.
And I am sorry.
- Thank you very much.
- Drive carefully.
It was fate.
I was meant to get that ticket,
at that moment, at that exact spot.
Do you know who Beatrice is?
Peter Pan peanut butter,
Tropicana orange juice,
Rosarita Mexican Food,
Swiss Miss cocoa, Samsonite
luggage... The list goes on!
- And the other one?
- W.R. Grace.
Chemical plants in two dozen states,
South America, Europe and Japan.
- What's this?
- The ticket.
No, I've got that right here.
- I got two speeding tickets.
- A two-ticket town?
Exactly.
Don't take your Caddie there.
Kevin, it's a gold mine.
You almost let it get away.
I almost let it get away.
Lawsuits are war -
it's as simple as that.
And they begin the same way,
with a declaration of war -
the complaint.
When you're a small firm
and they're big,
steeped in history and wealth,
with Persian carpets on the floor
and Harvard diplomas on the walls,
it's easy to be intimidated.
Don't - that's what they want.
That's what they expect,
like all bullies.
That's how they win.
I don't run away from bullies.
Mr Facher...
Mr Doyle asked
me to bring this to you.
When?
- When did he ask me?
- Yeah.
Just now.
On your lunch break?
That hardly seems fair.
I almost never go to lunch, sir.
Too much to do.
I just grab something.
You know, I'd make a point
of taking an hour or so
away from all the noise
and insanity.
I should do that.
I'd find a place that was
relatively quiet and peaceful,
have a sandwich, read a magazine.
Maybe listen to a game
if one was on.
I'd make sure everyone knew not
to disturb me during that hour.
Because that would be my time -
my own private time,
which no-one, if they had any sense
of self-preservation,
would dare interrupt.
If I were you.
I'm sorry.
Jesus.
Jesus!
Jesus...
Mr Facher, it's Bill Cheeseman -
Foley, Hoag and Elliot.
We represent New York Grace.
How you doing?
Well, all right, I guess,
under the circumstances.
What circumstances are those?
Woburn - these outrageous charges.
This bloodsucking
ambulance chaser, Schlichtmann.
Who?
We're co-defendants in a lawsuit,
Mr Facher, a very serious lawsuit.
- What?
- What is that thumping?
Yeah, well, it's gone now.
It was driving me crazy!
I was wondering
if I could talk to you.
- Could we meet for a drink or...
- What's on your mind?
I'll tell you what I'm thinking.
- Are you familiar with Rule 11?
- With what?
Rule 11, a civil provision
to prevent frivolous and
irresponsible lawsuits like this,
and sanction quite severely
those who file them.
Mr...Cheeseman. Cheeseman, is it?
Mr Cheeseman. What is a fine?
You get fined,
you pay it and carry on.
If you're gonna knock a guy down,
do it so he can't get up again.
What are you looking for
with this suit?
Obviously, we're seeking
compensation for the families
and punitive damages for wilful
negligence by these companies.
But is that what
this is about - money?
- No.
- Is that what matters most?
- No.
- It's about this.
And this.
And this.
Yeah.
Yeah, I know, we have
no feelings, no compassion,
no empathy for
our clients' suffering.
Can I say something?
What does that
have to do with anything?
The lawyer who shares
his client's pain
does his client
such a grave disservice
he should have his licence
to practise taken away.
It clouds his judgement,
and that's as useful
as a doctor
who's frightened of blood.
All rise.
This court is now in session.
The Honourable
Walter J Skinner presiding.
Is this the only case?
This is a lot of lawyers.
Sit down.
You're looking well.
The Red Sox must be in first place.
Roger Clemens
is the answer to my prayers.
You have some interest in this case?
I'm a co-defendant, but it's not
my motion. It's Foley-Hoag's.
- And that motion?
- Your Honour.
- I'm Jan Schlichtmann.
- I know. Sit down.
The matter before us seems simple.
- Your Honour, it isn't.
- May I hear it?
The intention here is to place me
under a cloud of impropriety.
- Really?
- Yes. What they're saying
is that they know law and I don't,
they're real lawyers and I'm not.
They're just trying to humiliate me.
You are a personal injury lawyer,
aren't you? I think you'll survive.
- See? It's starting already.
- No, you've started already.
I'm on the defensive,
they're the defendants.
Do you think
I might hear this motion
before You explain to ME
what it's really about?
- Of course.
- Thank you.
Now, Mr...Cheeseman, is it?
Your motion to dismiss
is based on?
Rule 11, Your Honour.
Specifically that Mr Schlichtmann had
no evidential grounds
on which to bring this suit -
only his knowledge that W.R. Grace
Corporation has a lot of money.
Not true.
He performed no real investigation,
did no research of any consequence,
except perhaps
to review profit statements.
And he's prepared his complaint
so inexpertly as to render it moot.
- All untrue.
- Do you know what Rule 11 is?
To be honest, Your Honour,
I had to look it up.
I'll be honest, so did l.
Do you know why, Mr Cheeseman?
Because it is so old and ambiguous
few lawyers
waste their time with it, or mine.
It's a non-issue, Mr Cheeseman.
Your motion is denied. Thank you.
Thank you.
- Anything else?
- No, Your Honour.
Set a trial date.
Excuse me, Mr Facher.
I'd like to thank you.
That was very statesman-like of you
not to join that ridiculous attack.
You're welcome.
We have to show how
the toxic solvents these factories
dumped on the land there,
were drawn into the city wells here
and Well H over there,
and then pumped
into east Woburn homes.
So I'll need to inspect
and map the debris,
drill some monitoring wells,
conduct seismic tests, and so on.
And you're talking about you
and a couple of assistants?
No. I mean a team of
geologists and engineers.
- A team?
- A big team.
It's actually quite exciting.
The nature of the contour
here means there's an effect -
named after me, actually...
In the shop, Mr Roberts,
you used solvents to clean brushes?
What would you've done with that
stuff back in the 1970s and '80s?
- Used solvent? Put it in drums.
- 35-gallon drums?
What would you do with full drums?
- Don't know.
- They just went?
- Never noticed.
- Did you dump them?
- No.
- Nothing like that?
- Never noticed anyone who did?
- No.
Just disappeared...
What were your duties
at Grace, Mr Shalline?
Discharge to the drains. Be sure
we weren't polluting the air.
Then you know that chemicals
were deposited behind the plant?
I don't know that.
Six barrels of toxic waste
were found there in a pit
and exhumed by city inspectors.
- You didn't know?
- Nope.
Back in 1965 did you
clean metal parts with solvent?
Yes.
- What kind?
- That I couldn't say.
Did you ever notice
the name trichlorethylene or TCE?
I don't know.
But you'd put it in barrels
when you were finished, right?
Yes.
Did you ever see
what happened to these barrels?
Yes.
What was that?
- They get dumped.
- Where?
- Out back, in the ground.
- You saw this?
Yes.
- When?
- My coffee break.
I would go out and hit
nine-iron shots with golf balls.
Do you want a break?
- Do you need a break?
- No.
Did you see who was dumping
the stuff while hitting golf balls?
- What do you mean?
- The names of people.
He wants to tell us.
He won't tell us.
He has to work there.
But he lives near Anne Anderson.
He sees her every day.
- Mr Love, do you have any children?
- Yes, I do.
- Eight of them.
- Eight?
My goodness! That's quite a family.
What do you think
of the water in Woburn?
Now? It's all right.
What about then, 15 years ago?
It had an odour then.
Chlorine or something.
- Did you drink it?
- Yeah.
- The kids?
- Yes.
Were you concerned when you found
the wells were contaminated?
I object to that.
You don't have to answer that.
- Yeah, I was concerned.
- For your family?
Yes.
Has any member of your family
had any unusual illness?
You don't have to answer
any of these type of questions.
- Yeah.
- What kind?
One of my sons has seizures,
my eldest daughter
has had two miscarriages
and my youngest was born with...
Are we going to go through
their entire medical history?
If you don't want to hear, leave.
What's wrong? We're deposing
Grace employees, not Beatrice.
- I have a right to be here.
- Then sit down and shut up!
Mr Love,
are you aware that some of your
neighbours have had leukaemia?
Yes, I am.
They think it's the water.
Al, that water
hasn't made anybody sick.
- How do you know?
- I just do.
A lot of people in my neighbourhood
are dead,
or dying, Mr Chessman,
from something.
Look, if I took a hundred pennies
and threw them in the air,
half would land heads
and half tails, right?
Looking close, I'd probably find
some heads grouped together.
Does that mean anything?
You see, no one knows
what causes leukaemia, Al.
No one knows
what caused that cluster.
I know what happened.
And I know who did it.
Al, this is very important.
I want you to tell me
who those people are.
I'm not a rat.
You know, it's important,
because if there is something wrong,
we need to disclose it
to the authorities.
We need to get them out there
and have it cleaned up.
You think about that and call me.
Yeah. Yeah.
Do you eat peanut butter?
No.
You've never eaten peanut butter?
I guess everyone alive
has tried it,
but I'm not a peanut butter fan.
Did your son
ever eat peanut butter?
- Do you eat bacon?
- Yes.
- Yes.
- How often? How many slices?
Do you have Teflon pans
in your kitchen?
Do you chew sugarless gum?
Do you pump your own gas?
Do you use hair spray?
Do you use artificial sweeteners?
Smoke cigarettes? Drink diet soda?
Use tampons?
Are your clothes ever dry-cleaned?
Do you have silver fillings
in your teeth?
You knew when you moved to Woburn
that its water didn't taste good?
Yeah, but lots of places
the water doesn't taste so good.
I agree with that.
Did you ever consider
using bottled water?
We used bottled water off and on,
split half and half.
Like...we cooked with
regular water - tap water.
We did other things,
like make orange juice.
But to...drink just straight
water, we drank bottled water.
Has a doctor ever said that you have
any immune system dysfunction?
No. But when my son died,
they told us that was why he died.
His immune system was...
tore down to nothing.
- Why did you have an autopsy?
- Because he was doing good.
He only lived three months
with leukaemia
and he looked fine.
Did you talk to the doctor
about this?
I had more like
a violent talk with him.
- "Violent"? You were angry?
- Yelling at him.
Your son seemed to be doing
all right. He was in remission?
You were optimistic about his future
and suddenly he became ill and died.
And they said that was expected -
that anybody with a disease like
leukaemia could die any minute.
- But you were angry and upset.
- My son just died.
I understand, I'm just
trying to recreate the event.
You know when your child isn't well.
You try to explain on the phone
and they say,
"Has he got a temperature?"
You say, "No."
"He's all right, then," they say.
"Don't worry - bring him
into the clinic Monday."
He died Monday morning.
He was in the clinic when he died?
No.
He was in the car on the way.
He died in the car
on the way to the clinic?
He died on l-93,
up by the Somerville exit.
My wife was yelling
that he'd stopped breathing.
I pulled over
and tried to give him CPR.
I was holding him in my lap.
Lauren was...
screaming.
Cars and trucks rushing by.
And...
she helped...
I'm sorry.
It's all right.
It's OK.
These people can never testify.
No.
We'll have the first seven
monitor wells in this area,
in the permeable rock here.
All right. There's seven?
Yes. I did say only seven.
Now we'll probably
have 12, because...
Hey! Hey!
- Private property.
- Yes, your property.
My property and you're trespassing.
- Here.
- What the fuck is this?
That's a court order, Mr Riley,
giving me the right to be here,
and to inspect every inch
of your tannery, too.
No, keep that. That's your copy.
Let's go.
I started working
when I was seven years old,
sweeping the beam house floors
for my father,
which he swept for his father
when he was seven years old.
- Which my boys...
- I know. They swept it, too.
Please answer the question I asked.
Silicone and trichlorethylene.
These two chemicals mixed together
are used to waterproof leather,
are they not?
I asked you a question,
Mr Riley - again.
Please inform your client that he's
obligated to answer my question.
Let the record show
that the witness
emptied a glass of water
on my conference table.
What exactly do you intend to say
to me by pouring water on my table?
It's how silicone
is used to waterproof leather.
I'm answering your question.
It's poured on,
like you poured water on my table.
Yeah. Correct.
So some of it must
spill off the leather,
Iike the water spilling
off my table...
and onto my rug.
That's the part I'm interested in.
The spilled silicone
and trichlorethylene, sir,
how you disposed of that.
- I never once used TCE.
- TCE? Did I say TCE?
I didn't say TCE.
I said trichlorethylene.
You said TCE -
as it is commonly known...
to those who know it.
Mr Riley, would you mind if
I checked your statements today
against your records - invoices,
purchase orders and formulas?
No. Be my guest.
They go back...three years.
Everything before that, we dumped.
- Jan, you're not listening.
- You've been out there three times.
I know why
you find this unacceptable.
But you don't know what it's like.
Riley is Woburn.
His employees are loyal subjects.
They won't talk.
Ex-employees, that's who
you should be talking to.
- Disgruntled employees, they talk.
- You want me to go back there?
This is THE case against Beatrice.
He's a liar. Go back and catch him.
- You got the medical records?
- I can't...
Just get it.
This figure here,
this 100 an hour for Dr Cohen,
that seems fair,
considering his pre-eminence.
That's for his nights in the hotel.
That's his discount sleeping rate.
- Your doctors have cost 900,000.
- They're worth it.
- Your geologists over 500,000.
- They're worth it.
The point is, everybody here
is working on this case.
There's no money coming in -
just going out.
You want to cut our losses now?
You want to get out
and throw away 900 and...what?
1.4 million.
There's certain things
I've got to prove
and I can't do that
not spending money.
We have to see Uncle Pete.
- Where are we on the last loan...
- Spent it.
- How much of it?
- All of it.
And the Carney settlement?
How much...
- Spent it.
- On?
Woburn.
We spend everything on Woburn now.
On Woburn.
What will you need
to tide you over? Two hundred?
600,000.
- 600,000?
- Yeah.
Pete, when was the last time
you lost money betting on me?
Never. I'm probably the best
investment your bank ever made.
How do vampires
get around on Halloween?
- Pass.
- Blood vessels.
Let's go.
- Bye, Dad.
- See you later. Goodbye.
Love you.
I thought about
seeing you for a long time.
I was afraid to 'cause...l didn't
think you'd want to talk to me,
'cause of where I work
and everything.
I'm concerned about what's been
happening around here and...
I'm angry at the way
the company's handling itself.
I'm very sorry about your son.
Thank you.
He said he never dumped anything,
never did anything like that,
never saw anybody who did.
Tommy Barbas lied.
So did Paul Shalline.
Tommy, Paul and Joey
were out back all the time...
- Joey?
- Joey Miola, plant maintenance.
And the rumour is,
there's 50 more barrels buried
that the inspectors didn't find.
- 50?
- Or more. Here.
OK. Is there anyone else
at the plant that might talk to me?
I don't think so.
Bobby Pasqueriella.
Bobby?
He might. He doesn't
work there any more though.
Could you call him?
Yeah, that's the stuff got dumped.
All the time. Threw it
back there myself all the time.
Eddie Arsine - he'd say,
dump that stuff in the gully.
Out there in the gully, you know?
Dumped it back there
in the gully right there.
Washed belts and gearboxes with it,
and threw it in the gully.
He'd say, dump it out
in the gully, like Joey.
- Did Tom Barbas?
- Tommy? No, not Tommy, no.
- Never did that?
- No, no.
He dumped his in a ditch.
Mr Barbas, I understand you've had
a chance to think about things
since your first deposition.
He says you said
to pour it into the pit.
Is that how you remember it now?
He just said, go out
and dig a trench...30 feet long.
Load the barrels onto the truck,
drive out and dump it
into the swimming pool.
That's what we called it -
the swimming pool.
Right.
Mr Cheeseman, well done.
The odds of a plaintiff's lawyer
winning in court
are 2 to 1 against.
Think about that for a second.
Your odds of surviving a game
of Russian roulette are better.
12 times better.
So why does anyone do it?
They don't. They settle.
Out of the 780,000 cases
filed each year,
The whole idea of lawsuits
is to settle,
to compel the other side to settle.
You do that by spending
more money than you should,
forcing them to spend
more money than they should.
And whoever
comes to their senses first...
Ioses.
Trials are a corruption
of the entire process.
And only fools with something
to prove end up ensnared in them.
When I say prove,
I don't mean about the case.
I mean about themselves.
Hey, old man, out of the way!
- How's business?
- It's good.
Is it? I was afraid, with
all these scientists and doctors,
a small firm like yours
might be in trouble.
I appreciate your concern.
We've got more than enough
to go the distance.
Are you sure? lf you realised
you miscalculated the arithmetic,
you'd be digging quarters
out the seats of your car.
- You don't have to worry, Jerry.
- That's a relief.
You know what? You don't want me
in this case. You've got Grace.
I'm only gonna hurt you.
So get rid of me.
Tell me what you've got so far,
I'll get a cheque cut - OK?
My expenses? You're offering
to cover my expenses?
Your expenses and your pride.
You think you're gonna put
those families on the stand.
They'll tell their stories
so the jury
pull out their handkerchiefs?
Do you really think
I'd let that happen?
I don't see how you can prevent it.
Of course you don't.
- Yeah?
- Jan, guess what?
Cheeseman wants to talk.
He wants a number. He wants out.
I'll meet you back here
at the office.
Jan, this is it. We've got them.
That's great.
Oh, baby. God, no!
Oh, God!
He said he'd be here.
Are the Red Sox in town?
Sorry I'm late. I got tied up. Yeah.
I was just given a chair
at Harvard, of all things.
You're kidding. Which chair?
It's black with arms, with my name on
a brass plate on the back.
From my students.
Jerry, ever thought about
getting yourself a new briefcase?
You don't change your socks
in the middle of the World Series.
Am I sitting in the right place?
Actually, we have a seat
for you here, but that's fine.
Nice pen.
- They're courtesy of the hotel.
- Really?
This is a good quality pen. Yeah.
- So?
- So, Bill...
How much did Grace make last year?
I have no idea.
But I have a feeling you do.
198 million. And Beatrice, Jerry?
- What?
- 436 million.
Together, that's 634 million.
That's one year. That's net.
So, that's what they made.
What should they be made to pay
to compensate the families,
to provide for their
economic security in the future?
Don't forget to mention you -
compensating you.
And to make sure
that this doesn't happen again.
25 million cash.
And another 25 million
to establish a research foundation
to study the links between
hazardous waste and illness.
And 1.5 million per family
annually for 30 years.
320 million.
Can I ask a question?
I'm sure everyone has questions.
What's yours, Jerry?
Can I have this?
Thank you.
Excuse me.
- Jan?
- Yes, Gordon?
What's the story?
- They don't want to end this.
- They don't...
You said this wouldn't go to trial.
You just made certain that it will.
Without consulting us, I might add.
They patronise us.
They think we're blackmailers.
They think they can buy us.
Yeah?
We can't afford a long trial.
Find a way
of getting some money, then.
- What do you suggest?
- Am I the financial advisor?
No, you're not.
This is the plan.
Start with scientific evidence.
Then the medical experts
and their evidence.
Then the parents,
then your testimony.
Your presence is very important.
It's where the jury
gets to know you.
If you're only there some days,
they'll ask "why? Does she care?"
I'll be there every day,
in the back left-hand corner.
Wherever you're comfortable.
That was our plan.
If we got separated in the grocery
store that's where we'd meet.
Oh, I see, I see.
In the end, when he was dying,
he said, I'll meet you in the
back left-hand corner of heaven.
All rise.
This court is now in session.
The Honourable
Walter J Skinner presiding.
Civil Action 841672.
Anderson and all versus
W.R. Grace and Beatrice Foods.
Ladies and gentlemen...
there's a small town
north of Boston called Woburn.
Woburn is like many small towns.
It has homes, it has churches,
it has schools, it has industry.
But Woburn has something else.
It has more than its share
of sickness and death.
Small amounts of solvents
were left on the ground.
Why? To evaporate.
Did they? Yes.
These chemicals never reached
Wells G and H - we will show that.
And they never made anyone sick.
We will show that, too.
The idea of criminal court
is crime and punishment.
The idea of civil court
and personal injury law by nature -
though no-one says it,
Ieast of all
the personal injury lawyer himself -
is money.
Money for suffering.
Money for death.
As if that
could somehow relieve suffering.
As if that could somehow
bring dead children back to life.
Every credit card application
we send, we get more in the mail.
Here's one from North Dakota.
Fill it out. Fill them all out.
It's the last great pyramid scheme.
The terrain of East Woburn was
actually shaped 12,000 years ago,
during the end of the last lce Age.
At this time, an immense glacier,
over a mile thick,
covered what is now New England.
Cancel The American Lawyer.
Cancel all the legal journals.
And tell the janitorial people
they're no longer required.
We'll empty our own ashtrays.
To understand what's going on
in the ground water system,
we must start with the soil itself.
These are soil samples...
So you see,
the Aberjona River valley...
I...l can't send you
the entire balance right now.
But perhaps we could work out
some sort of a deal.
How much can I send you right now?
Nothing.
A plaintiff's case
depends on momentum.
The fewer objections he gets,
the better his case will go.
So whenever you can,
you should object.
18 times yesterday, 20 today.
They're not even his witnesses,
they're his.
I can't not object when you
phrase questions improperly.
As a craftsman...
He is deliberately trying
to destroy the rhythm of my case.
Here we are. You must have
some good luck on these.
- Hold on. 17, 17, 17.
- You got a winner?
No! Shoot.
Relevance - objection.
Hearsay - objection.
Best evidence - objection.
Authenticity...
Objection.
If you fall asleep, the first thing
you say when you wake up is...
Objection.
Do you swear to tell
the whole truth, so help you God?
Yes.
Good morning, Mr Riley. Would
you care for a glass of water?
No, thank you.
Are you sure?
The single greatest liability
for a lawyer is pride.
Pride...
pride has lost more cases
than lousy evidence,
idiot witnesses and
a hanging judge put together.
There is absolutely no place
in a courtroom for pride.
Mr Riley, you own the property
referred to here as the 15 acres?
No, it's currently owned
by a non-profit corporation
called The Wildwood Conservancy.
Oh, yes. What is that?
The Wildwood Conservancy.
- Is that a conservation group?
- Yes, sir.
I've donated the land as
a sanctuary for indigent wildlife.
I don't think the indigent wildlife
has heard about this, Mr Riley.
I've been there several times
and haven't seen any living thing.
He says no, no, no.
He says yes once, I've got him.
He's not that stupid.
Keep him there long enough,
he'll figure a way to get you.
I'm not that stupid.
Mr Riley, experts
have testified in this court
that your land, your 15 acres,
is the most grotesquely polluted
land in New England.
You have no idea how that happened?
- No, sir.
- Does it upset you to learn this?
- Very much so.
- Really? Why?
And one last thing,
unless you know exactly
what the answer is,
never, ever ask a witness "why".
Never.
My factory is the oldest
surviving business in Woburn.
When the other tanners moved out,
I stayed,
even though that was
a very big financial burden.
- That's not...
- Woburn is my home...
That's not the question.
He's trying to answer it,
Mr Schlichtmann. Let him.
That land has been in my family
for three generations.
That land to me is hallowed ground.
So when you ask me would I be upset
if someone desecrated it -
Iand that's part of the town
that I love -
my answer to your question,
Mr Schlichtmann...
is yes.
I have no further questions,
Your Honour.
The sad part is, they rob themselves
of the blessing of giving.
If somebody wrote a cheque
for the total budget of my church,
it wouldn't affect my giving.
Ain't nobody gonna rob me
of the blessing of giving!
You know why folks ain't getting?
'Cause they ain't giving!
Do not rob yourself
of the blessing of giving.
You'll never guess what I did
last night. You'll like this.
I pledged 200 to a televangelist. I'm
not kidding.
He said,
"Give and ye shall receive."
I know. I know what you're thinking.
You're thinking, Gordon's losing it.
He's falling apart.
He's probably
buying lottery tickets.
I bought a few. I'll admit it.
I know, but seriously,
the jackpot's 45 million.
That's just this week!
You should see the lines out there.
- Is that a gun?
- What?
This? No. No, this is for you.
My Krugerrands.
I've had them forever.
I want you to have them.
And this is the deed to my house.
Here is Conway's
and Crowley's and Jan's.
See, I've come bearing gifts.
We really need the money.
You can tell your child isn't well.
"Has he got a temperature?" "No."
"He's all right, then", they say.
"Bring him to the clinic Monday."
He died Monday morning.
Start with Jimmy Anderson -
countless trips to hospital,
futile chemotherapy treatments.
Then the others, ending with Jared
Aufiero, dying on the highway.
Could somebody get that?
Where is everybody?
You're just noticing now? Gordon
laid everybody off two weeks ago.
Gordon, instead of sitting there
reading a magazine,
why not go to Uncle Pete
and get me a staff?
Good idea.
Why didn't I think of that?
Hello?
There was a Cheeseman
on the Mayflower.
- This way, sir.
- Thank you.
Jan, have a seat.
You want something to drink?
Some coffee? Soda?
You've been talking
without me present?
No, we have been drinking coffee
without your being present.
Don't be so paranoid.
They were early.
- All right. What's up?
- Jerry?
Last night, I was at a ball game.
It was the seventh innings
and I was standing there,
and it occurred to me
at that moment,
unless you've proven that any...
What word should we use?
- Chemicals?
- Poisons.
If you like that word, I'll use it.
Unless you've proven that poisons
reached the wells, there's no case.
And therefore,
no need to make these families,
who've already suffered so much,
relive their suffering
all over again
by putting them on the stand.
- Your Honour, you've...
- That's interesting.
- What?
- I'd have to agree with that.
Your Honour, the...
If the jury decides favourably
on the geological evidence,
you could bring your families in.
Your Honour, the jury
was expecting a human drama.
For three months
they've had lessons in geology.
We had to do that.
Now it's over - finally.
Now we have to see where we are
before moving on,
and subjecting these families
to more trauma than necessary,
because that would just be cruel.
- They want to testify.
- The decision is made.
- It's the defendant's plan.
- It's my plan.
Right from the beginning,
he threatened...
It's MY plan!
Now...
my plan is to present the jury
with some simple questions.
How you answer
these three questions,
will determine whether
this trial continues.
I don't disagree -
I don't understand them.
What don't you understand?
They're straightforward questions.
Have the plaintiffs established,
by preponderance of evidence,
that chemicals containing TCE
were disposed of on these lands
after October 1, 1964
and August 27, 1968, respectively,
and did those chemicals contribute
to the well water contamination?
What were these dates?
Where are they from? Out of a hat?
Question two.
What, according to
a preponderance of the evidence,
was the earliest time
at which these chemicals
substantially contributed
to the wells' contamination?
How can they determine that?
Science can't even determine
when the chemicals arrived
with the precision
that you're asking of the jurors.
And finally, three.
What, according to
a preponderance of the evidence,
was the earliest time -
again, month and year -
at which substantial contribution
referred to in question two
was caused, if it was,
by the negligent conduct
of the defendants?
It's like English translated into
Japanese back into English again.
I've heard enough.
Your Honour,
no one can answer these.
You're asking for answers
that are unknowable.
I've heard enough.
You're asking for a fiction
that stands for truth, but isn't.
Enough!
Once again, I remind you not
to discuss your views outside,
and excuse you...
Don't worry about it.
Everything's under control.
And excuse you
to your deliberations. Thank you.
I've never done this.
In 45 years of practising,
I've never
waited in a corridor for a jury.
- I always do.
- I can tell.
You're good at it.
You seem so at peace doing it.
What do you think?
ls it good they're out this long?
- For who?
- For me, of course.
You can never tell.
It could mean anything.
It could mean jury duty's more fun
than working at the post office.
- It's bad for both of you.
- You think?
Well, here's my take.
Guilty.
Not guilty.
That's what they're going to say.
Nothing to do with dates
or ground-water measurements
or any of that crap,
which nobody understands anyway.
It's going to come down to people,
like always.
You found someone
who saw him dumping stuff.
You didn't find anyone who saw me.
- What's your take?
- They'll see the truth.
The truth?
We're talking about a court of law.
You've been around
long enough to know
courtrooms aren't
where you look for the truth.
You're lucky to find anything
that even resembles the truth.
You disagree. Well, since when?
Eight kids are dead, Jerry.
Jan, that suit fits you better
than the sentimentality.
That's not how you
made all that money, is it?
It wasn't about dead children from
the minute you filed the complaint.
The minute it entered
the justice system. Oh, yes.
I know you like to gamble.
High-stakes gambler,
that's your profession.
Why not test your faith
in the righteousness of our courts
with a high-stakes gamble?
If that's a settlement offer,
Jerry, it's not enough.
- That's not what I hear.
- Who said that?
The IRS, telling us they have
a lien on any eventual settlement
in order to recover
over 2.5 million in unpaid taxes.
But all right...
What if I would add
six zeros onto that?
That would be - what? - 20 million.
Now, that would put things
in perspective, wouldn't it?
As far as truth, justice
and dead children go?
If you want to talk
about a settlement,
get the decision-makers together
and talk seriously.
The decision-makers are here,
aren't they?
You're looking at Mr Beatrice.
I don't have to call anybody. Do you?
It's just you and me.
We're like kings. We are kings.
Sitting in our castle,
deciding important things.
Deciding the fates of others.
And counting money.
In our counting room!
Tell you what. I'll leave this here,
go back down the hall
to my throne room
and await your decision.
If you really want the truth, Jan,
Iook for it where it is -
at the bottom of a bottomless pit.
Mr Foreman, members of the jury, have
you reached a verdict?
Yes, Your Honour.
With respect to W.R. Grace,
the jury has answered...
"yes" to question one regarding
trichlorethylene contamination,
requiring the case against Grace
to go to a second stage
of this trial.
In regard to Beatrice, the jury
has answered "no" to question one
in all its points
pertaining to contamination
which renders questions two
and three inapplicable,
ending the case against Beatrice.
- Mr Facher, you're excused.
- Thank you, Your Honour.
We are going to take
a break now, until after lunch.
Once again, I remind you
not to talk to anyone
about your deliberations here...
Disappointed?
Not at all. This is a victory.
This sends a message that companies
can no longer get away with this.
- So what now?
- Right now?
I think we should celebrate.
What do you think? Yes?
You'll proceed against Grace,
no matter how long it takes?
We have to
get out of this case fast.
That's our only strategy left.
The good news is
Grace wants to talk.
They want us to see their executive
vice-president, AI Eustis.
So we need to know
what our squeal point is.
8 million. 8 million
will just about get us out of hock.
Gordon knows the numbers.
Jan, every dollar we spend
is a dollar we don't have.
We are floating on credit
without a net.
I don't need a net.
Mortgage my house. I don't care.
I have.
And Kevin's and Bill's and mine.
I've cashed in our retirement plans
and life-insurance. And it's gone.
Let me put it this way,
if we can't appear we've got money
they won't give us 8 million.
They won't give us eight cents.
You know that.
You all know that.
It's our nicest suite.
Living room, dining room,
two bedrooms, a den, a lovely view.
It's 2,400 a night.
For our inner strength.
- On the card.
- Why not?
Farmers' Bank of lowa.
Hey, there!
- Jan Schlichtmann.
- AI Eustis.
How are you?
Sorry I'm late. I got lost.
- Got lost?
- Yes.
How did you manage that?
I've never been here before so...
What kind of Harvard man are you?
The Cornell kind.
Cornell?
I thought you went to Harvard?
I'm sure somebody said that
you went to Harvard! Cornell!
Yes.
Well, listen, Cornell is...
is a damn good school.
Damn good.
So what do you want?
Well, I could take you
through it step by step
or you could take
this with you and study it.
It's a little complicated but...
It's an unspoken rule
of the Harvard Club -
business is never transacted here.
I meant, what do you want to drink?
I wanted to reach across
and strangle him with his tie.
Instead, I sat there for two hours
and listened to him
talk about selling his yacht.
You know, sometimes
I actually prefer the 35-footer.
Because I can crew it myself,
I can be all by myself out there
alone. It's magnificent.
And there's no... Nobody can
call you. Nobody can beep you.
Nobody can fax you.
There's no lawsuits.
You know what I'm talking about.
You sail?
- No.
- You don't sail?
- Finally, we went to his office.
- Let's sit down.
Come on. It's more comfortable.
Have a seat.
He comes around the desk,
he sits down.
Go ahead, sit down.
He puts his feet up
on this French antique thing
and he tells me to put my feet up.
Put your feet up. Come on.
- No, thank you.
- No, go ahead.
- Go ahead.
- No, really, I'm fine.
Nothing's going to break.
Put them up.
It was weird - all this talk about
putting my feet on this table.
It's all right - I mean it.
Try it. Come on.
Put your feet up.
There. Now, I can afford to pay you
almost anything you ask.
It's not the money.
But a settlement that high
says we're guilty.
That says to every two-bit
personal injury lawyer in Boston,
Iet's sign up everyone in Woburn.
Creates a shark effect,
and that I can't afford.
Give me a number.
I'm not negotiating with myself, Al,
throwing out numbers
you can say no to.
- You give me one.
- 8 million.
He said 8 million?
8 million.
I can't go to the families
with that.
Wait! What? Who? What families?
I can't go to them empty-handed.
What are you talking about?
Since when is that empty-handed?
8 million is a lot of money!
I owe them more than that.
What do you owe them?
Do you owe them your career?
You're talking
about our careers here!
- You owe them that?
- And OUR families!
That's what we're talking here.
Our families...
Don't do it.
Don't go for broke on this one.
It isn't worth it, Jan.
Nobody calls any more?
Not even the creditors.
Are the phones still working?
Schlichtmann, Conway and Crowley.
Just a moment, please.
Someone named Grendan.
Creditor.
- Are you here?
- Do I look like I'm here?
He's in a meeting at the moment.
Do me a favour, Gordon? Shut up.
What?
I'm tired of hearing you
moan about money.
This isn't about money any more.
No? What's it about?
What's it about, Jan?
- Look, let's all...
- No, I want to know.
I want to know what I gave up
my house for - my credit, my life!
Would you take 10 million?
- Yes.
- But not eight?
No.
So 10 million
is some mythic struggle,
but eight is just another lawsuit!
If they're willing to pay eight
then it's not enough.
- That makes sense!
- It makes perfect sense.
So you'll only accept
what they won't give us?
Listen to yourself!
I'm sick of listening to you.
I've lost enough because of you.
You'd have nothing but for me.
All you have, I got for you!
I don't have anything!
What do I have?
I got a couple of bucks
and some bus transfers.
I've got a savings account
from when I was 12.
Here - there's 37 in here.
With interest after 25 years,
probably 47!
Take it! Add it to the war chest.
Use it to fight injustice!
Go down in flames with it
for all I care.
Only next time...
Next time - that's a laugh!
Ask us if we want
to go down with you!
I'd like to leave a message
for AI Eustis, please.
I've been informed that a settlement
agreement has been reached.
As a condition of this agreement,
the exact terms shall remain
private among the parties involved.
Thank you for your service...
Our contingency fee,
as you know, as you agreed to -
or 2.2 million.
Our expenses - what we actually
paid out trying this case -
comes to 3.5 million.
and dividing it equally,
comes out to 375,000 per family.
And they're
gonna clean the place up?
No.
When you first came out here,
Mr Schlichtmann,
when we first spoke, I told you
I wasn't interested in money.
Here it comes.
What I wanted
was an apology from someone
for what they did to my son.
And you said, money is the apology.
That's how they apologise -
with their chequebooks.
Would you call this an apology?
No.
The only meaningful apology
you're going to get is from me.
I'm sorry.
I'm afraid that isn't meaningful.
Mrs Anderson, you're looking
at four guys who are broke.
We lost everything trying this case.
How can you even begin
to compare what you've lost
to what we've lost?
Listen, the minute you put money
on the table, things turn ugly.
It happens every time. Forget it.
But she's right.
She's not right.
It's cold. It's wet. We're
in the swamp. I want to go home.
Someone out here saw what happened.
You can't do what Riley did
without somebody seeing it.
You're talking about the case.
The case is over.
Yeah, I know. They want out, right?
It's time they went
their separate way.
You know what I think of that?
Fine. Let 'em.
- I can imagine worse things.
- Like what?
So what if we have to start over?
We did it once.
We can do it again, the two of us.
Oh, I see. When you say it's over,
you mean it's over.
It's time for me
to go my separate way.
You always went
your separate way, Jan.
Thank you.
This is how silicone is
put on leather to waterproof it.
Like you poured water on my table.
Yeah.
So some of it must
spill off the leather,
Iike the water
spilling off my table.
That's the part I'm interested in.
The spilled silicone
and trichlorethylene, sir -
how you disposed of that.
We're just here
to look at your records.
I didn't call him, he just came.
- You just let him in?
- Of course I did.
You know how sometimes
you get so close to something
that you lose sight of it?
I kept looking for someone
who saw Riley dumping
barrels of poison, when l...
I should've been looking for someone
who helped him clean it up.
Why did you rent two dump trucks
and a front loader in October '81?
Or is this just
part of your job at the tannery?
- Mr Granger?
- I don't have to talk to you.
I can tell you to leave
and I'd be within my rights.
Yes, you would.
In the fall of 1981, Mr Riley
instructed me to rent a loader
and two 10-wheel dump trucks.
- Did he tell you why?
- Yes, he did.
Everything goes. I don't want
to see anything but topsoil.
Didn't it seem strange
that he had to get rid of it now?
I don't want to know where.
Just take it.
He told me city inspectors
were coming.
He didn't want them to see it.
This went on for several nights.
Fill the trucks, trucks drive off,
trucks come back empty,
we fill them up again.
On the last night...
On the last night, what?
Are you sure you didn't
see some kids there?
- Lighting fires, drinking beers?
- I've nothing to say.
It'd be hard to forget.
You know, it's a...
Apparently, it was quite a sight.
Go, go, go.
Watch out!
This is private property!
You little punks!
That's you!
You know, mister, I'm sorry.
Here's something to make up for it.
There you go! There - fry!
I'll have you arrested!
It's like that now!
You want some of that? Eat it!
Let's go! Let's go!
- Get the fuck out!
- Come on.
Did Riley threaten you at all
with what might happen to you
if you ever came forward?
No, sir.
He didn't say anything
at all in this regard?
He gave me
a couple of Celtics tickets.
Told me to keep my mouth shut.
The appeals process
is even more Byzantine
than the trial it's appealing.
It takes longer, it costs more,
its outcome is even less promising.
Only five cases in 50
will win in appeals court,
odds as easy to calculate
as they are discouraging.
They're 10 to 1 against.
Just about any bet at any table
in any casino
anywhere in the world...
is better than that.
I have the evidence but not the
resources or the gambling spirit
to appeal the decision in this case.
I have no money, no partners,
and, it seems, no clients any more.
The Woburn case has become what it
was when it first came to me -
an orphan.
I'm forwarding it on to you,
knowing you may not want it
any more than I did at first.
If you do decide to take it on,
I hope you'll be able to succeed
where I've failed.
If you calculate success
and failure as I always have,
in money divided neatly
into human suffering,
the arithmetic says...
I failed completely.
What it doesn't say
is if I could go back,
knowing what I know now and where
I'd end up if I got involved,
knowing all the numbers,
all the odds,
all the angles...
I'd do it again.
Sorry.
Jesus!
I'm sorry. Yes?
The purpose of these questions
is not to humiliate you,
but to verify
the assets that you've declared.
I understand.
Because what you're asking
your creditors to believe is...
- Well, it's hard to believe.
- I know.
After 17 years of practising law,
all you have to show for it is...
14 dollars in a chequing account
and a portable radio?
That's correct.
Where did it all go?
The money?
The money, the property,
the personal belongings.
The things one acquires
in one's life, Mr Schlichtmann.
The things by which
one measures one's life.
What happened?