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A Civil Action (Main Characters (Jan Schlichtmann (Lawyer taking on Woburn…
A Civil Action
Main Characters
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Jerome Facher
Successful chairman, shares characteristics with Schlichtmann
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Anne Anderson
Her child was diagnosed with leukemia, fought for compensation
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Acts
The Clean Water Act is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. It was passed to prevent a disaster like the one in A Civil Action from happening again.
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The Whistleblower Protection Act protects federal government employees in the United States from retaliatory action for voluntarily disclosing information about dishonest or illegal activities occurring in a government organization.
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Colorado Case
Several water tests conducted at Colorado springs, have confirmed the presence of PFOA and PFOS (water contamination) in the public drinking water supply of El Paso County, Colorado. Results from 95 samples taken in El Paso County have revealed elevated levels of PFOA and PFOA in the drinking water supply; in some instances more than 20x the levels recommended by EPA guidelines.
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Plot Summary
A Civil Action is a nonfiction account of the legal case between several families in Woburn, Massachusetts, and two corporations, Beatrice Foods and W.R. Grace. Children were diagnosed with leukemia due to waste dumping in the waters by Beatrice Foods and W.R. Grace. Lawyers took on the case and tried to get the companies to compensate those affected.
I would recommend this movie because the basic theme is never give up. Even while Schlichtmann was close to declaring bankruptcy, he still fought for justice. Even struck with grief, Anderson still believed she was doing the right thing.
Anne Anderson was very interesting throughout the whole movie. Even while dealing with grief, she never gave up in her legal battle. She did everything she could to relieve the pressure of her son's death.
Businesses are portrayed very negatively, especially the two businesses under fire throughout the movie. They are seen as corporate hounds that only care about money. W.R. Grace is portrayed as insensitive in the movie, along with Beatrice Foods.
Lawyers are seen in a negative light. Jan Schlichtmann, rejects the case initially and only reconsiders his decision after he realizes that there might be defendants with “very deep pockets.” Anne Anderson and her neighbors were not interested in a financial settlement but rather wanted an apology from the companies responsible. But many law firms rejected the case because they did not see a potential big pay off.
Mr. Love, an employee of W.R. Grace, struggles to decide whether he should come forward as an eye witness. He has eight kids and most of his kids are suffering from different health issues, which he believes is caused by the polluted drinking water. He eventually comes forward and his testimony helps the case progress.
Jan has to decide whether to settle the case knowing that his law firm is in deep debt and is struggling financially to continue. In order to build the case against the defendants, he spends thousands of dollars to hire experts from various fields to research and collect evidence. Jan and his partners are forced to mortgage their houses, cash out their retirement accounts and open multiple credit cards to keep the law firm running. Eventually, they end up settling the case for $8 million, which is much less than the amounts offered before.
Drinking water was used as a thematic symbol throughout the film to represent the lives lost due to the contaminated water. I felt bad after watching it, knowing that children died just for drinking water.
