Original subtitles

One day he comes home and says,

"Can't bring that stuff home no more."

"Why?" Won't tell me.

Then he'd get sick for weeks.

The Teflon flu, the guys would call it.

We knew something wasn't right.

But this house, we bought it just by

showing the bank my husband's DuPont ID.

Put both our kids through college. Engineers.

In this town, that doesn't come without a price.

My brother Kenny didn't know that price.

He joined DuPont at 19.

Died on the operating table two years later.

- Ulcerative colitis. - Just like Dan Schiller had.

Who's Dan?

A chemist at DuPont. Worked with my ex-husband.

And Roger, what's his name?

Wilkins, the foreman.

Steven Gellar. Randy Field.

Randy's was kidney cancer. He survived.

- His wife didn't. - No, June's was thyroid.

It was supposed to be treatable.

They didn't catch it in time.

But they caught it in their son.

Were your children born healthy?

- Yes. Yes, they were. - Good.

But we wanted a third and couldn't.

I went to my doctor.

He says, "You need a hysterectomy. You need it right away."

I'm so sorry.

Bad luck, I guess.

I was 36.

Mr. Kiger,

you think I could get a copy of that letter?

What's wrong with your hand?

Nothing. It's fine.

Whoa, Rob?

Rob, what are you doing?

I mean, it's not enough to poison these people?

They gotta swindle them too?

Okay, calm down. All right?

DuPont wrote that letter!

- Not the water authority. - How do you know that?

You think I don't know what a DuPont letter looks like by now?

Okay. Okay.

I mean, Jesus!

It's evil, Sarah.

It's fucking evil!

What's fack?

Perfect.

It's nothing, sweetie. It's nothing. Oh, boy.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry, honey.

Can you give Charlie the bottle, please?

- Where's his bottle? - It's in the bag.

- What is all this? - It's from Grammer's.

It was left in her mailbox.

- "Medical claims, now and forever"? - Here, bud.

- "Now and forever." - Is that that...

That...

Medical monitoring. Is that...

I thought you said that wasn't gonna pass?

- Morning. - Guys.

Our lead plaintiff is Mr. Joe Kiger.

Potential plaintiff, if the partnership approves.

Mr. Joe Kiger, a Phys Ed teacher

from Parkersburg, West Virginia.

On behalf of the 70,000 local residents,

whose water DuPont knowingly poisoned

for the last 40 years.

A class action?

Let him finish.

The Kigers were notified

by their local water company that DuPont had found

small concentrations of C-8 in their water supply,

but not to worry

because those concentrations were safe.

Why? Because DuPont said so.

This is what DuPont considers safe.

That's something like one drop of water

in an Olympic size swimming pool.

In other words, even a trace of C-8

renders water unsafe.

But DuPont told the local water authority,

"Don't worry.

"Your wells have got even less than that."

- Except that was a lie. - A lie?

Yes. DuPont has been secretly testing

these wells for decades.

They knew they had contaminated those wells

up to six times that level.

And thanks to the Tennant case, now we know too.

Hold on. This stuff is unregulated, right?

I mean, as far as EPA's concerned,

it might as well be rose petals.

The EPA hasn't set a standard, that's true,

but DuPont did.

And all the law requires to win a case like this,

is to show that DuPont exceeded

what DuPont itself considers safe.

Self-regulation.

- If what you're saying is right... - It is right.

...then why would DuPont tell this water district anything at all?

Seems to me that they're being

a good corporate citizen here.

That's how long you have to file suit.

One year from the moment

you realize your water's been contaminated.

This letter looks like it's telling people their water is safe.

In fact, it's notifying them that it isn't.

DuPont has started the clock.

Smart.

We would've counseled that.

It was sent 11 months ago.

The moment they realized we knew.

In 30 days, they're home free.

So that's the proposed case in brief.

But there's something else to consider.

You think?

Rob.

C-8 bio-accumulates. It builds up inside of us.

Some class members who aren't sick today

will get sick tomorrow.

We need a way to protect them into the future.

Jesus, Tom! If you're even thinking about using medical monitoring...

Hold on. Hold on.

Medical monitoring is a claim now permitted

in West Virginia courts.

- Oh, come on. - Let's hear him out.

It say if a company exposes a community

to something that makes them sick,

they must monitor the health of that community indefinitely.

Everybody get that? You're creating liability from mere exposure.

It's also unprecedented.

Exactly! Which is why not six months ago,

we fought tooth and nail against it.

And you lost. Our clients have the right

to avail themselves of the law.

Potential clients.

Okay.

I know you, Rob. I know your passion.

You got a great settlement for your farmer.

You should be proud of that.

And perhaps as the newest partner at this table,

I should be more circumspect.

But what he's proposing here is

nothing less than a shakedown

- of an iconic American company. - We do not represent DuPont.

No, you don't represent anyone.

Is this what we have become?

Plaintiff's attorneys. Ambulance chasers.

Why don't you just admit it? Rob, you wanna flip.

You wanna take everything that you know

about how chemical companies operate

and turn it against DuPont. Like an informant.

- That's enough. - Isn't that right?

- Okay! - Isn't that right?

- Isn't that right? - Yes.

Okay, then, I... I say we take a vote

and determine whether or not

we continue in the tradition

that has distinguished this firm from everyone else...

Okay, I'm running this meeting. Okay?

You got that?

Has anyone even read the evidence

this man has collected?

The willful negligence, the corruption?

Read it!

And then tell me we should be sitting on our asses!

That's the reason why Americans hate lawyers.

This is the crap that fuels the Ralph Naders of the world.

We should want to nail DuPont.

All of us should!

American business is better than this, gentlemen.

And when it's not, we should hold them to it.

That's how you build faith in the system.

We're always arguing that companies are people.

Well, these people have crossed the line!

To hell with them!

It may come as a surprise

to corporate defense types like yourselves,

but there's more to the law than just flooding

the other side in papers.

From where I sit, you have to touch people.

These girls, they handle the calls

from the class action members.

And there's thousands of 'em on any given case.

And it's here that we come to know their pain.

Isn't that right, Hazel?

Yes. We hear it every day

and it's my job to make a jury feel that pain.

Not out of pity, but out of fear.

Whatever it is that happened to my client,

that juror has to think,

"That could happen to me."

You just keep hammering it.

One part per billion. One part per billion.

It's their own documents. Their own scientists.

Absolutely.

They set that standard, they have to live with it.

Yeah, I think we can relax, Rob,

though, there's no way they're gonna prevail with a motion to dismiss.

This is procedural.

It's nonsense. We'll get a trial today.

Okay, I'll catch you guys in there.

I wouldn't drink that.

Earl.

How ya doing?

Still here.

That's somethin', right?

Yes, that's something.

Good to see ya, Robbie.

Can't let 'em

shut you down.

I won't. I promise.

Whole world

needs to know.

They will, Earl. They will.

Hey, Rob? It's time.

I have to go.

We are here on defendant's motion

to dismiss the case brought by Mr. Kiger, et al.

Now, which one of you is Mr. Wallace?

Edward Wallace, Your Honor,

on behalf of the E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company,

better known as DuPont.

Yes, I've heard of it.

- Your motion. - Thank you.

Your Honor, we're here today because of a uniquely American invention.

Teflon.

Since 1961, Teflon has liberated housewives...

- No, no, no. - Excuse me. Homemakers...

This is a courtroom, Mr. Wallace.

Not the Home Shopping Network.

Plaintiffs have alleged that DuPont

did not meet its own standard of safety

with regard to the level of C-8

in the local water supply.

That's irrelevant, Your Honor.

We ask you to dismiss on grounds

that the only standard that matters,

is the one that elected government deems safe.

Not if it's unregulated.

It's government's job to make these determinations.

- Not any one company. - It's a trap.

They can't revert back to...

I got it.

Is there a problem, Mr. Deitzler?

Apologies, Your Honor,

but DuPont has been hiding the dangers of this chemical

from the government for a while now.

And they're asking you to let them off the hook

because they've succeeded in their strategy.

Government doesn't regulate C-8.

Actually, that's not true.

No, no.

The West Virginia's C-8 Working Group

has just issued a standard.

Here with us today,

is the governmental official who led that effort,

Dr. Mary Sue Kimball.

And, Dr. Kimball, as a senior member

of the State's Department of Environmental Protection,

isn't it, in fact, your duty,

- to protect the citizens of West Virginia... - Mr. Wallace.

I'll cut to the chase.

What is the level of C-8 in drinking water

that the State of West Virginia

has determined to be completely safe?

Watch it go from one part per billion to?

- Five. - Ten?

150 parts per billion.

- Welcome to West Virginia. - The levels found in the wells

of all six water districts represented in this suit,

do they fall below this maximum level?

Well below.

Nothing else, Your Honor.

Your witness, Mr. Deitzler.

Wait. Who's on the working group?

DuPont, of course, and who else?

- Who did the water testing? - Mr. Deitzler?

- When was it done? - One moment, Judge.

What was the sample size?

We should be able to see...

Going once, going twice...

Dr. Kimball, who were the members of this cabal

you call the C-8 working group?

Objection.

Cool it, Mr. Deitzler.

Go ahead, Dr. Kimball.

Agency officials,

representatives of the scientific community, um, stakeholders.

Stakeholders? Which stakeholders?

Oh, wait, let me guess. It rhymes with bouffant?

DuPont is a stakeholder. Yes.

So, I see.

So, don't you find it peculiar that on the eve

of a class action lawsuit,

where DuPont might be considered liable

for poisoning this community,

they get you to come in here suddenly

and reverse decades of their so-called heralded science?

That's false. I don't work for DuPont.

I didn't say you did.

But now you bring it up, we'll check back in a month.

- Your Honor... - You honestly, was gonna plan on

telling this community that they can drink 150 times more C-8?

I mean, come on, people, bottoms up.

Honestly, Judge...

All right, Mr. Deitzler, enough.

We'll be unveiling the new standard

at an upcoming public hearing.

Unveiling. Oh, that sounds like a party.

We'll be there!

Their safety standards thing, that's all a sham.

Thanks to the Judge's decision,

we will have our day in court.

Yes, we will!

Because if the state of West Virginia

won't stop the DuPont Corporation

from literally poisoning its citizens,

then we, the citizens, will stop them ourselves.

Good evening and welcome to 20/20.

Well, it coats the pots you cook with so the food doesn't stick.

It protects the carpet your baby crawls on.

I miss carpet.

...your skin lotion, even your makeup.

We're talking about Teflon.

And tonight our 20/20 investigation uncovers

alarming information about this much-used material.

It is very alarming, Barbara. I cook with Teflon.

I didn't know until I watched this report that you're about to see,

that if Teflon gets hot enough...

...millions of people have in their homes.

Teflon has become such a familiar...

...Substance that is also used in clothing and cars. Even in contact lenses.

...already found in the blood of most Americans.

...millions of homes across Australia. Teflon, a non-stick surface...

The Environmental Protection Agency

this morning announced it has opened a priority review of the chemical C-8,

currently the subject of a class action lawsuit

against the chemical giant DuPont.

Joe!

Joe! Oh, my Lord! Joe, just wait!

Wait for the fire department, please, honey!

Please don't go crazy!

...have triggered a mass panic amongst Chinese consumers.

...just throw away your non-stick pans, many experts...

Are your pans making you sick?

That's the question being asked...

...kitchen implements coated in Teflon.

The house was empty. It belongs to my father.

I don't know how it could've started.

His name Kiger?

Think someone might have got the wrong house?

All of this hullabaloo is just silly.

Teflon is completely safe for cooking.

That is why we founded the Cook Healthy campaign,

to set the record straight.

And besides being completely safe, it is also...

Copy that.

All the way down.

We're now on the record.

This is the videotaped deposition of Charles O. Holliday, Jr.,

taken by the plaintiffs in the matter of Kiger et al

v. the E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company.

Raise your right hand.

Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

I do.

Uh, please state your name.

Charles O. Holliday, Jr.

And are you presently employed?

Yes.

What is your position?

I'm the chairman and chief executive officer of the DuPont Company.

In DuPont's most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission,

you state, "Based on over 50 years of industry experience

"and extensive scientific study,

"DuPont believes there is no evidence that PFOA causes

"any adverse human health effects or harms the environment."

You signed that legal filing, correct?

I don't recall the exact statement, but that sounds right to me.

Are you aware that DuPont has, in its own files,

studies dating back to the 1970s that say just the opposite?

That PFOA, or C-8, as it's called,

has potentially life-threatening effects on human health?

I'm not familiar with the exact studies we may have in our files.

Then I'll take you through them. Uh, Exhibit 9.

Uh, you were just handed Exhibit 9.

- Uh, do you see the date March 13th, 1979? - Yes.

- Do you see the DuPont logo at the top? - Yes.

- Do you see this word here, highlighted? - Yes.

- Would you read it for me, please? - "Receptors."

Do you know what that word refers to, receptors?

Um, in this context, I do not.

It means human beings.

DuPont refers to the men and women

that your company exposed to C-8 as receptors.

And in these receptors, your scientists found,

"significantly higher incidents of allergic endocrine

"and metabolic disorders."

As well as, "excess risk of developing liver disease."

- Do you see that? - Yes.

Moreover, you have infertility at Teflon.

Occurrences of leukemia.

You have excess of cancers.

Bladder, kidney, oral, pharynx.

Next paragraph. 78.

Do you see that heading? Do you see that date? Do you see that?

Exhibit 96. Exhibit 53.

I'd like to move on to birth defects.

We've gone almost seven hours.

Mr. Holliday, you're aware that in 1981

3M notified DuPont that it had conducted studies on rats.

And these studies showed

that sustained C-8 exposure can cause facial deformities?

I'm not aware of a study by 3M.

How about DuPont's own studies that showed the same thing in humans?

That's DuPont's pregnancy study from 1981.

Does that look like a DuPont document to you?

It looks to be.

Are you aware that DuPont has denied that any such study

ever even took place?

I'm not familiar with specific statements we've made about that.

Seven pregnant women, all DuPont employees,

all from the Teflon line.

Do you see this here?

"Child, four months, one nostril,

- "eye defect." - Yes.

Two of the seven women, nearly 30%, gave birth

to babies that had the exact facial deformities that your company

- already knew about. - We're done here.

Sir.

His parents named him Bucky.

Bucky Bailey.

This is your receptor.

Now we're done.

The Environmental Protection Agency has levied the largest fine

in agency history against the chemical giant, DuPont.

The EPA concluded the company failed to report the health dangers of C-8

used in the manufacture of Teflon.

Dupont will pay the EPA 16.5 million.

It earns a billion dollars in profits from Teflon each year.

To recap,

we've agreed that DuPont will clean local water supplies.

Install infiltration systems in all six water districts.

Additionally, DuPont will pay 70 million in cash to the Class.

Three days' revenue on the Teflon line.

Which leaves our most challenging issue. Medical monitoring.

We've agreed to establish an independent science panel

comprised of three scientists who have no relationship to either side.

This independent panel will study the members of this Class

to determine whether C-8 exposure has led to increased incidents

of disease in this region.

If the panel finds that there are probable scientific links

to a particular disease, the health of everyone in the Class

will be monitored for that disease in perpetuity

at DuPont's cost, up to 235 million.

And any Class member who develops that disease

can sue DuPont for damages.

However...

If the science panel fails to establish probable scientific links,

then this case is over.

No monitoring. No lawsuits. No exceptions.

Good. Well, gentlemen, you are now officially in the hands of science.

Well, wouldn't have pegged you as a Mai Tai guy.

- It's festive. - Wouldn't have pegged you for that either.

We have something to celebrate. Yeah?

Do we?

Look, how do we know that the panel's gonna prove

that DuPont made all these people sick?

I'm no scientist, but even I know you'd need

huge amounts of medical data, not to mention

thousands of blood samples and...

From people who don't trust us.

"Hey, folks, we wanna stick you with some needles. You won't mind, will ya?"

I know these people, you know.

They're gonna take the money and run.

Wouldn't you?

I think they want more than just the money. I think they...

They wanna know if they're gonna get sick or not.

Or if they have C-8 in their blood, and what that's gonna do

to them and their families.

So, we're just gonna trust that they show up?

- Trust, but verify. - What does that mean, Rob?

Well, come in for an exam.

Um, give us a blood sample.

Then, we'll give you your check.

On second thought, make mine a Mai Tai.

All around, please.

- Rob Bilott. - Yeah.

Where'd you pull that out of?

Healthy drinking water is vital to all of us.

That's why scientists need to know if the chemical C-8

causes any health problems.

Starting today, you can help by completing a health questionnaire and having...

Oh, come on!

...medical van's downtown. Well, how about you?

- You gonna get your blood tested? - Nah. I hate needles.

It's $400, buddy.

Really?

Got your attention, didn't I?

Okay. Okay. All right. All right.

Yeah. That'll work.

We bring them back here.

Draw the blood, hand them a check.

- $400? - Each.

Lots of money around here.

How many you brought with you today, Miss LUAnn?

My husband, and my three kids, and me.

$2,000.

- Not too shabby right before Christmas. - Yup.

But you ain't gonna find nothing.

DuPont's good people. You'll see.

Gigi, Gigi, Gigi!

It's your turn to put the angel on the top.

- You do it, sweetie. - Gigi's too pooped.

Why don't you get your Uncle Ben to give you a boost?

- Ooh. - Mom, you okay?

Yeah.

Seriously, it's huge.

They're gonna be making you partner this year. I know it.

Well, they'd better. I mean...

Mommy, come see!

Hey, baby, did you hang that ornament?

- Rob, can you get that? - Let me see.

Okay, I'm coming.

Hello?

- Rob, you sitting down for this? - Larry, what's wrong?

- Sixty-nine thousand. - Sixty-nine thousand what?

Sixty-nine thousand people got tested. Sixty-nine thousand!

Do you realize how much data this is?

It's what we needed, Rob! This is it!

- Oh, my God. - You were right all along, my friend.

- Merry Christmas! - Thank you!

- You bet. - Thank you!

Talk real soon.

- Hey, who was that? - You won't believe it.

- Daddy, guess what I just did? - What? What'd you just do?

I put the angel on the top.

- Yeah? - Uncle Ben lifted me.

He did? Like this? Oh!

- Merry Christmas, everyone! - Merry Christmas!

We are gathered here today in the memory of Wilbur Earl Tennant.

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

"He makes me lie down in green pastures.

"He leads me besides still waters. He restoreth my soul.

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

"I will fear no evil..."

Quick, everybody. Mustard or ketchup?

Teddy, for the tenth time, that's my ketchup.

- Charlie, don't start. - What? It's mine. I got it.

- He's got his own, okay? - You're that lawyer.

Finish up.

My brother's Dale Lamb. You took his blood. Said you'd help him.

Yeah, I did. We're... We're working on it. I promise.

He's dead.

Testicular cancer.

Left three little boys younger than yours.

But you enjoy your family.

Okay. Everybody up.

- I'm not finished. - I said up.

Well, Darlene can't even leave the house without being harassed!

First, they blame us for suing DuPont,

and now they hate on us 'cause they ain't seen nothing from it!

- I'm sorry, Joe... - Well, that ain't good enough!

And they wonder why in the hell it takes four damn years

to read a lousy blood sample, and I don't blame 'em!

We trusted you, Rob. We put our faith in you.

- I know, Joe. I'm so... - All right?

Isn't there just some kind of a progress report?

Anything that I can share with these folks?

I mean, they... They have been waiting.

I'm sorry, Mr. Bilott.

The Panel is still in the process of

analyzing complex data and modeling

from thousands of samples and medical histories.

I'm so sorry. Could you hold a moment?

Charlie, don't pick at your food.

What's a hooker?

Where did you learn that?

He told me that Mary Magdalene was a hooker.

- What? She was. - You're supposed to say prostitute.

And then she found God

and became one of Jesus's most fervent disciples.

See? I was just teaching him the Bible.

I can't today. So everybody up.

Everybody up!

- Can we still afford it? - What?

Catholic school.

My brother's back in rehab. Did you know that?

- No, I'm sorry. - Today's...

Today's Mom's first day at chemo.

I forgot.

'Cause it's not about your case, Rob.

Car!

- Gosh. - Okay. Jimmies.

Teddy forged my signature, and Tony's quitting football. Tony.

But how would you know about that, right?

Because all you see, all that you...

You... The boys have ever seen is you, obsessing about this...

Have I ever complained?

Say something, for God's sakes, Rob!

- No. - No?

- No. - No.

Because I knew that you needed something.

Some connection... Something.

And...

So I took it on.

But if you want to start accounting, if you want to start with,

"Oh, can we afford," then...

I don't know, Rob.

Can the boys afford a father who can't string two words together?

Can our marriage afford 13 years of...

Thirteen years of this?

How about it, Rob? You wanna talk about it? About our lives?

Of course not.

I'll tell Mom you asked about her.

What in God's name is that Panel doing? Why are we still getting bills?

Overhead. Uh...

Local counsel.

- Harry's call center... - $1,000 an hour.

That... That was a technical expert.

We needed to do filings when DuPont started lobbying Washington...

That's Washington's problem, not ours.

That's why you got them involved. Your memo.

It was just a fine, Tom. It's a fine. Sixteen million.

It's... It's nothing for these people. It's pocket change.

Yes, but if they get charged with criminal concealment, game over.

- You said DOJ was investigating. - Not anymore.

- What? - They dropped the investigation.

- They dropped... What? - They dropped it. No reason given.

Tom, our government is captive to DuPont.

This case, it's the only hope we have.

They know that, and they're trying to make it as expensive

as they can to force you to make me stop.

- Just tell me how much longer. - I...

I... I can't. I... wish I could.

- Tom, I... - Are you okay?

Um, I'm fine. I'm just...

Rob, I'm a Managing Partner now. I have a firm to run.

I know. And Tom, I think there could be a huge payout here...

You think I'm in this for money?

- No, I... - You think I am...

Letting you drag this firm's reputation through a meat grinder

for some kind of plaintiff's payoff?

I... I don't know why you're doing it.

Rob, listen, I... I'm sorry,

but you're gonna have to take another pay cut.

Tom, that's... That's my fourth pay cut.

I... I'm down to a third now.

You don't have any clients. No one will take your calls.

What am I supposed to do here? Now, I'm on your side, but...

Rob?

Amy? Amy!

- Kathleen! - Get some help!

- Kathleen! - Get some help!

Rob! Rob!

Looks like we should, uh, cancel

my 4:00 with Jerry and...

I don't know. We're waiting to find out.

It was, uh...

Make... Make sure that, uh, Jerry knows that...

I... I have to go.

- Mrs. Bilott? - Yes.

We think your husband's most likely experienced a TIA.

A transient ischemic attack.

Blood is briefly cut off to the brain, mimicking the symptoms of a stroke.

Uh, excuse me. A TIA? This wasn't short.

It... It kept going on.

What about poison?

I'm sorry?

Could someone be poisoning him?

No, Mrs. Bilott. This is neurological.

You just said it wasn't a stroke.

Well, not this time.

- What does that mean? - Well, it means that

- he needs to never miss his medication. - Mmm-hmm.

And needs to reduce all sources of stress in his life.

He's under enormous pressure at work.

Well, that needs to change. But he's a young man.

He shouldn't be having these incidences.

He's sedated, but you can see him.

- I'll check in on him tomorrow. - Thank you. Thank you.

I'll give you some privacy.

Anything you need, call me.

I need you to stop making him feel like a failure.

I appreciate the stress that your family must be going through.

Please don't talk to me like I'm the wife.

Did Rob ever tell you about moving around as a kid?

I...

Ten times before senior year.

No friends, no ties, no...

Just him, his sister, his folks.

Then I came along and you came along and...

Taft, it's not just a job.

To him it's... It's home.

And he was willing to risk all that

for a stranger who needed his help.

Now, you and I may not know what that is,

but it's not failure.

Lord, you have searched my heart

And you know when I sit and when I stand

Your hand is upon me

Protecting me from death

Keeping me from harm

Oh, Lord, I know you are near

Standing always at

My side

Hey, do you know the score?

The game? Sorry, my radio's busted.

Sorry.

Don't worry about it. It'll be a surprise.

Bucky, come on. We'll be late.

Have a good one.

Hey, Rob, Bill Leary. We haven't met.

I'm the new comptroller out of Indianapolis.

Listen, we need to talk about these unbilled hours and these unreimbursed...

- Hello? - Mr. Bilott?

Yes?

I guess I should start by apologizing for taking...

well, seven years to call you.

- Who is this? - Oh, yes, of course.

- It's Dr. Karen Frank from the... - Science Panel?

Again, I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting this long, Mr. Bilott.

- But there was just so much data... - Please, Doctor, please,

can you...

Would just please tell me what's happened?

What's happening? What you've found out?

Yes. You gave us an unprecedented amount of data.

The largest epidemiological study in human history.

It's irrefutable. We have linked sustained exposure to C-8

to six categories of serious illness.

Kidney cancer, testicular cancer...

thyroid disease, preeclampsia...

high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis.

3,635 people in the Class already have these diseases.

Many more will develop them.

Thanks to you the entire Class will be monitored...

and those who get sick can seek restitution.

You did a good thing here, Mr. Bilott. You did good.

Thank you.

Rob? What happened?

Rob?

DuPont, they're reneging.

- Which part? - All of it.

They're tearing up our agreement.

Rejecting the Science Panel.

They're gonna fight every claim in court.

Thousands of claims. People, sick people, they'll give up.

They can't fight DuPont!

How can they go back on...

- Sarah. - They can't go back on everything.

They're a titan of industry.

They can do whatever the hell they want.

Nothing else matters.

They can fight you all they want.

It doesn't take away from what you've done!

Of course, it does. That's exactly what it does!

They want to show the world that it's no use fighting.

Look, everybody, even he can't crack the maze

and he's helped build it!

The system is rigged!

They want us to think it'll protect us,

but that's a lie.

We protect us. We do.

Nobody else.

Not the companies. Not the scientists.

Not the government. Us.

A farmer with a 12th grade education told me that.

On day one, he knew and I thought he was crazy.

Isn't that crazy?

No.

All rise.

The honorable Timothy Burg...

United States District Judge for the Southern District of Ohio presiding.

This court is now in session pursuant to the adjournment.

Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye.

All persons having business with this honorable court

draw near, give their attention and they shall be heard.

God save the United States and this honorable court.

Please be seated.

And we're here this morning for a jury trial.

So, 3,535 claims.

At a rate of four or five cases a year,

we can all expect to be here till...

Well, the year 2890. If we're lucky.

Guess we'd better get started.

Mrs. Johnson, is your attorney present?

Good morning, Your Honor.

Rob Bilott for the plaintiff.

Oh, still here, huh?

Still here.

OCR'd and corrected by explosiveskull www.OpenSubtitles.org