A Civil Action Essay
Justin Pizzimenti
Mr. Krais
Hnrs. Civil, Criminal, and Constitutional Law
30 April 2012
A Civil Action Essay The legal thriller A Civil Action, starring John Travolta and Robert Duval, chronicles the story of personal injury attorney Jan Schlichtmann as he brings to trial a case involving the dumping of toxic waste by two large companies that allegedly results in the contamination of well water and the death of several children from leukemia in Woburn, Massachusetts. Based on a true story, the movie depicts the real-life class action lawsuit Anderson v. Cryovac, where parents of the deceased children sued the companies W.R. Grace and Beatrice for negligence and wrongful death, among other charges. Both the movie and the actual civil case pose many insights about tort and environmental law, as well as demonstrate the sentimental, intrinsic value of such exorbitant litigations. To begin, the movie A Civil Action is largely based on the landmark case Anderson v. Cryovac. In Wodburn Massachusetts, an unusually high number of people, specifically children, were beginning to die from leukemia. One such child was Jimmy Anderson. Suspecting that contaminated water from two municipal supply wells (G and H) was the cause of her son’s untimely death, Anne Anderson tenaciously tried to sue. Her “orphan case” bounced around between attorney’s offices until it came across the desk of the Schlictmann, Conway, & Crowley offices. The personal injury lawyers initially had an aversion to the case, due to the lack of evidence, high costs to produce evidentiary findings, and the ambiguity of the defendant. However, after learning that three industrial giants with deep pockets are purportedly responsible for the water contamination, the firm takes the case. A class action lawsuit thus ensued, with the plaintiffs composed of eight families who had lost children to leukemia from the contaminated water. Schlictmann sued two major companies, W.R. Grace Co. and J. Riley Tannery, a
Mr. Krais
Hnrs. Civil, Criminal, and Constitutional Law
30 April 2012
A Civil Action Essay The legal thriller A Civil Action, starring John Travolta and Robert Duval, chronicles the story of personal injury attorney Jan Schlichtmann as he brings to trial a case involving the dumping of toxic waste by two large companies that allegedly results in the contamination of well water and the death of several children from leukemia in Woburn, Massachusetts. Based on a true story, the movie depicts the real-life class action lawsuit Anderson v. Cryovac, where parents of the deceased children sued the companies W.R. Grace and Beatrice for negligence and wrongful death, among other charges. Both the movie and the actual civil case pose many insights about tort and environmental law, as well as demonstrate the sentimental, intrinsic value of such exorbitant litigations. To begin, the movie A Civil Action is largely based on the landmark case Anderson v. Cryovac. In Wodburn Massachusetts, an unusually high number of people, specifically children, were beginning to die from leukemia. One such child was Jimmy Anderson. Suspecting that contaminated water from two municipal supply wells (G and H) was the cause of her son’s untimely death, Anne Anderson tenaciously tried to sue. Her “orphan case” bounced around between attorney’s offices until it came across the desk of the Schlictmann, Conway, & Crowley offices. The personal injury lawyers initially had an aversion to the case, due to the lack of evidence, high costs to produce evidentiary findings, and the ambiguity of the defendant. However, after learning that three industrial giants with deep pockets are purportedly responsible for the water contamination, the firm takes the case. A class action lawsuit thus ensued, with the plaintiffs composed of eight families who had lost children to leukemia from the contaminated water. Schlictmann sued two major companies, W.R. Grace Co. and J. Riley Tannery, a