Power Struggle In Steven Zaillian's A Civil Action

The groundbreaking 1980s story of a small Massachusetts town which filed willful and gross negligence lawsuits against the big name chemical company W.R. Grace and consumer goods corporation Beatrice Foods, is “given breath” in Steven Zaillian’s, A Civil Action. These companies disposed of their toxic waste materials into the ocean which then seeped into the town’s well, which was their everyday water supply. These chemicals contributed to the rampant cancer deaths of many including innocent children. A Civil Action highlights the power struggle and negotiation process between Jerome Fatcher (Beatrice’s attorney), William Cheeseman (Grace’s attorney) and John Travolta’s character (Jan Schlichtmann, the town’s attorney) in order to get justice and reparation for those affected.
According to The Business Dictionary,
At the breakfast banquet, Schlichtmann demanded $25 million for the victims, another $25 million to establish a research institute to “study the links between hazardous waste and illness” and $1.5 million for each family for 30 years (boulder in the road). Subsequently, Beatrice’s attorney found this request outlandish and later offered Schlichtman $20 million (outside the courtroom Jerome place a 20 dollar bill on the bench beside him and said he could add 6 more zeros). He let his greed get the best of him and became obsessed about getting as much money from the corporate giants as he could. Furthermore, Schlichtmann did not have a best alternative to the negotiated agreement (BATNA) and thus declined the offer. The only amount he was willing to accept was the amount the other party was not willing to give. This turned out to be most unwise as the judge ruled that Beatrice Foods was not culpable for the outbreak of cancer-related deaths and other illnesses in the small Massachusetts community. In the end he ended up with an $8 million settlement from