All language subtitles for A.Civil.Action.1998.720p.BluRay.x264-[YTS.AM]

(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)

JAN: It's like this.

A dead plaintiff is rarely
worth as much as a living,
severely-maimed plaintiff.

However, if it's a long,
agonizing death,

as opposed to a quick
drowning or car wreck,

the value can rise
considerably.

A dead adult in his 20s
is generally worth less
than one who is middle-aged.

A dead woman
less than a dead man.

A single adult less than
one who's married.

Black less than white,
poor less than rich.

(CHATTERING)

But the perfect victim
is a white male professional,

40 years old, at the height
of his earning power,

struck down on his prime

and the most imperfect?

(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)

Well, in the calculus
of personal injury law,

a dead child is worth
the least of all.

EDDIE: A million
dollars he turns down.
One million dollars.

I don't believe that
story for a second.
It's true.

Come on!
It's true.
He turned down...

Hey, Eddie.
Hey. How you doing?

(WHISPERING) Good.
Do me a favor, will ya?
Yeah.

Shut the fuck up. That's our
banker over there keeping
an eye on the collateral.

He doesn't know
Jan turned down
a million.

Oh, sorry.
Sorry. Shh.
Yeah.

Asshole.

(MURMURING)

(WHISPERING)

How's your headrest?
(SOFTLY) I want it up.

Up?

JAN: How's that? Okay?
(SOFTLY) Okay.

Are you comfortable?
Yeah. My button.

Oh, the button. Open?
Open.

Here we go.

BAILIFF: All rise.

This court is now in session.

The honorable Constance
Mullen presiding.

(WHISPERING)
Would you like some water?

BAILIFF: Carney
v. Massachusetts
General Hospital.

Case number 81-27-25.

Attorneys,
please state your
appearance.

Randolph Woodside,
Mass General.

Greg Monk,
Massachusetts
General Hospital.

Harout Beshlia,
Mass General.

Jan Schlichtmann
for Paul Carney.

Kevin Conway for Mr. Carney,
Your Honor.

MULLEN: Mr. Schlichtmann,
the court's ready for your
opening statement.

(SNIFFLING)

(SNIFFLING CONTINUES)

(SIGHS)
Your Honor,
if it please the court,

the parties involved
have agreed to a settlement.

(BLUES ROCK MUSIC PLAYING)

(CHATTERING AND LAUGHING)

(ALL LAUGHING)
ALL: Hey.

♪ Got a two-ton hammer

♪ Got meat by the pound

♪ I'm a hard work
drivin' man

♪ Six foot solid
from the ground

(CHATTERING CONTINUES)

♪ Work my hammer
from factory

♪ Farmin', always
wanna fight

♪ Swallowed up some
TV dinner

♪ Swing my hammer
strong at night

Personal injury law
has a bad reputation.

They call us
"ambulance chasers,"
"bottom feeders,"

"vultures who prey
on the misfortunes of others."

Well, if that's true,
why do I lie awake nights
worrying about my clients?

Why does their pain
become my pain?

I wish I could
find some way not
to empathize.

It'd be a lot easier.

♪ When I was a schoolboy

♪ Teacher said study
hard as you can

♪ It didn't make
no difference

♪ I'm just a hard work
drivin' man ♪

RADIO SHOW HOST:
You're speaking with
Jan Schlichtmann,

personal injury attorney,
and, according to
Boston Magazine...

Have you seen this?
"One of Boston's 10
most eligible bachelors."

Senor.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

RADIO SHOW HOST:
Let's go back to the phones.

Woburn, you're on the air.

Hello, Mr. Schlichtmann,
it's Anne Anderson.

Well, hello, Anne.

How are you?
Very well. How are you?
Sounds pretty.

Mmm-hmm.
How come you
never call me?

Well, believe me,
if I had your number,
I would call you.

You do have it.
I do?

You have no idea who I am.

Is this Ricky?
(SCOFFS)
No.

See, my son died of
leukemia two years ago,
Mr. Schlichtmann.

Your firm
is handling the case.

JAN:
We, we are?
ANNE: Uh-huh.

The reason
I'm calling you here
is because

my calls to your offices
have gone unreturned for
the last several weeks now.

I'm sorry.
What, what was your name?
Uh, Anne.

Anne. Anne?
Anderson.

Anne Anderson.
I'm writing that
down as we speak.

I'm gonna take
care of this.

Hey, I have an idea.

Why don't you
come up to Woburn
one of these days

and actually meet
a few of those people
whose pain is your pain?

(SIGHS)
Jan?

(CAR HORN HONKING)

JAN: Let me try and picture
how this happened.

She called you.
She cried.

You felt sorry for her,
and you cried.

And now she's mad at me.
Now that makes sense.
This is a good case.

She's not crying now.
I can tell you that.
An orphan, but a good one.

Twelve deaths over
15 years from leukemia.
Eight of them children.

Is that unusual?
Apparently, statistically.

CONWAY:
It's a very small town.
This woman lost a child?

They think it has
something to do with
the city's drinking water,

which they say
has always tasted funny.

What was she like before?
I'd like to know that.

Do you wanna hear
what it's about?
No, I don't.

I'd, I'd like to hear
about it.

Thank you, Kathy.

(SIGHS)
There's a report here
from state inspectors

that says that the water
from two city wells
is contaminated,

or was before they
shut them down,
with something called...

I can't pronounce this.

Trichloroethyline?

Ethylene? Which
the EPA lists as
a probable carcinogen.

GORDON: No, no, no.
Let me stop you right there.
CONWAY: There's more.

I don't need to hear it.
From a financial standpoint,

I can tell you
right now this is not
a sound investment.

GORDON: "Probable"
is just a euphemism
for "unproven."

To prove something
like this, you need
new medical research.

Is that the business
we're in, the medical
research business?

And, and you have
to ask yourself,
why is this an orphan?

Why has it been kicked
from firm to firm before
it ended up on your desk?

JAN:
Gordon's right.

I mean, I can appreciate
the theatrical value
of several dead kids.

I mean, I like that.
Obviously, that's good.

But that's all this case
has going for it.

That's not enough.

I'll get rid of it.

I'll, uh... I'll just
go up there, and...

And then she'll start
to cry again, and then
you'll start to cry again.

And then she'll be mad
at me again, so I'll do it.
I... I'll get rid of it.

Give it to me.

(FILE THUDS ON DESK)
Thank you.

(CAR APPROACHING QUICKLY)

Here you go, sir.
Thank you.

Drive careful, now.
Oh, yeah.

(ENGINE STARTS)

(SIGHS)
Whee!

ANNE: When I stand
on my front porch,

I can see all the houses
where children have died.

These are the, the Kanes,

the Toomeys, the Zonas,

the Robbins
and the Aufieros.

Now, I wanna be clear.

I'm not interested in money.
None of us are.

That's not why we're
doing this. What we want

is to know what happened.

And we want an apology.
From who?

From whoever did this.

I want somebody to come
to my house, knock on the door
and say, "We're responsible.

"We did this.
We didn't mean it, but
we did it and we're sorry."

But who is that?

Well, we don't know.

(CLEARS THROAT)
Mrs. Anderson.

Our firm is very small.
Three attorneys.
That's it.

Which means that
we can only take on
so many cases at once.

And we have
to be very careful
about the ones we do

because, frankly,
we can't afford to lose.

Our clients pay nothing.
We pay everything.

And we only get paid back
if we win or settle.
I know that.

No. You want an apology.

And there's nothing more
I'd like to do than to get you
that apology, but from who?

Who is going to apologize
to you and pay me?

There has to be
a defendant, and one
with very deep pockets.

This is not an
inexpensive
case to try.

Uh, there's an
old tannery out there.

A tannery.

And some other
small factories.

(SIGHS)

I really wish I could
help you, but I can't.

I'm sorry.

Maybe you could go out there
for just a few minutes.

To the river,
to the wells
and take a look.

For what?
What would that...
What would that accomplish?

I do hope you find
someone, and I am sorry.

(FOOTSTEPS RECEDING)

(DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES)

(INDISTINCT VOICE
OVER POLICE RADIO)

Thank you very much.
Drive carefully.

(DOOR CLOSES)
(ENGINE STARTS)

(SPLASH)

Oh, God damn it!

Shoes.

(ENGINE REVVING)

(REVVING CONTINUES)

MAN: (SHOUTING)
All clear!

(SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY)

MAN:
Last ones on the train!

(TRAIN BELL RINGING)

JAN: It was fate.

I was meant to get that
ticket at that moment.

At that exact spot
in the road.

Do you know
who Beatrice is?

Peter Pan peanut butter,

Tropicana orange juice,
Rosarita Mexican food,

Swiss Miss cocoa,
Samsonite luggage,
Playtex bras, Culligan water.

The list goes on.
And the other one?

JAN: W. R. Grace.
Chemicals and
manufacturing with plants

in two dozen
states, South America,
Europe and Japan.

What's this?
That's the ticket.

No. I've got
the speeding ticket
right here.

No, I got two
speeding tickets.

Oh, it was a two-ticket town
like that other place.

Exactly. You don't
wanna take your
Caddie there.

Kevin, this is a gold mine.
You almost let it get away.

I almost
let it get away.

JAN: 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 a big one,

steeped in history
and wealth like they
always are

with their Persian carpets
on the floor

and their Harvard diplomas
hanging 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.

(RADIO ANNOUNCER
TALKING INDISTINCTLY)

(TURNS DOWN VOLUME)

(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)

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.
Oh.

I just grab something.

You know, if I were you,
I'd make a point

of taking that hour or so
away from all the noise
and insanity of this place.

I should do that.
I'd find a place for myself
where I could go

that was relatively quiet
and peaceful.

Have a sandwich,
read a magazine.

Maybe listen to a game
out at Fenway, if one was on.

Hmm? And I'd make sure

everyone knew I didn't want
to be disturbed during that
hour or so of solitude.

Because that would be my
time, my own private time,

which no one,
if they had any sense of
self-preservation at all

(CHUCKLING)
would dare interrupt.

If I were you.

(WHISPERING)
I'm sorry.
Oh, shh, shh.

(SIGHS)
(ANNOUNCER CONTINUES)

RADIO ANNOUNCER:
Oh, and strike one.

CHEESEMAN: Jesus.

Jesus.

Jesus.

(BELL TOLLING)
(BALL BOUNCING)

(OVER TELEPHONE)
Mr. Facher, it's, uh,
Bill Cheeseman.

Foley, Hoag and Eliot.
Uh, we represent W. R. Grace.

How ya doing?
Well, all right, I guess,

under the circumstances.

Oh, what circumstances
are those?

Uh, Woburn. These,
uh, outrageous charges.

This bloodsucking
ambulance chaser
Schlichtmann.

FACHER: Who?

We're, we're codefendants
in a lawsuit, Mr. Facher.

A very serious lawsuit.
What?

Uh, (STAMMERS) what
is that thumping?

Yeah, well, it's gone now.

(CHUCKLING) It's...
It was driving me crazy.

Uh, listen. I was wondering
if I could talk to you
about something.

Uh, do you think
we could get together
for a drink or a...

FACHER:
Well, what's on your mind?

Well, uh, I'll tell you
what I'm thinking.

Are you familiar
with rule 11?
With what?

Uh, rule 11.
It's a civil provision

designed to, uh, prevent
frivolous and irresponsible
lawsuits, like this one,

and, uh, to sanction quite
severely those who file them.

Uh-huh.
Uh, Mr., uh, Cheeseman.

Cheese-Man, is it?

It's Cheeseman.
Oh, it's Cheese-man.
What is a fine?

When you get a fine,
what do you do? You pay it
and go about your business.

Uh, 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?

Well, obviously,
we'll be seeking compensation
for the families.

And punitive damages
for the willful negligence
of these two companies.

JAN: But is that what this
is really all about... Money?
ALL: No.

Is that what matters most
to any of us?
ALL: No.

It's about this.

(SIGHS)
And this.

And this.

Yeah.
Mmm-hmm.
Yeah.

JAN:
Yeah, I know.
We have no feelings.

No compassion. No empathy
for our client's suffering.

Can I say something?
What does that have
to do with anything?

In fact, the lawyer
who shares his client's
pain, in my opinion,

does his client
such a grave disservice.

He should have his license
to practice law taken away.

It clouds his judgment.

And that's as beneficial
to his client

as a doctor who recoils
at the sight of blood.

BAILIFF:
All rise.

This court is now in session.

The honorable
Walter. J. Skinner presiding.

SKINNER: Is this the
only case?

This is a lot of lawyers.

(LAUGHING)
Sit down.

Mr. Facher.

Your Honor.
You're looking well.

The Red Sox must
be in first place.

Mmm, Roger Clemens
is the answer to my prayers.

(SKINNER LAUGHING)

You have some interest
in this case?

I'm a codefendant, so
I guess I do have an interest,
but it's not my motion.

It's Foley Hoag's.
And that motion is?

Your Honor, if I might,
my name is Jan Schlichtmann.
I know. Sit down.

(CHUCKLING)

SKINNER:
Now, the matter before us
seems to be a simple one.

Your Honor, I'm sorry, but
I don't think it is simple.
May I hear it?

No. You see, the true
intention of this motion
is to try to place me

under a cloud of impropriety
in your courtroom,
right from the beginning.

Really?
Yes. What they're saying
with this motion

is that they know the law
and I don't.

What they're saying
is that they're real lawyers
and I'm not.

They're just trying
to humiliate me.

Mr. Schlichtmann, you are
a personal injury lawyer,
are you not?

I think you'll survive that.

You see,
it's starting already.
No, you've started already.

No, I'm on the defensive
already, and they're
the defendants.

Mr. Schlichtmann, I...
Do you think I might at least
hear this motion

before you explain
to me what it's
really about?

Of course.
Thank you.

(SIGHS)
SKINNER: Now,

Mr., uh, Cheese-Man, is it?

Cheeseman.
Cheeseman.

Your motion to dismiss
is based on?
Uh, rule 11, Your Honor.

Uh, specifically on the fact
that, uh, Mr. Schlichtmann...

(SQUEAKING)
... had absolutely
no evidential grounds

on which to bring this
suit, only his knowledge
that my client, uh,

the W. R. Grace corporation
has a lot of money.

Not true.
CHEESEMAN: Uh, he performed
no real investigation,

he did no research
of any consequence,

uh, except perhaps to review
profit statements,

and, uh, he's prepared
his complaint so inexpertly
as to render it moot.

All untrue.
Do you know what rule 11 is,
Mr. Schlichtmann?

Well, to be honest
with you, Your Honor, I,
uh, I had to look it up.

SKINNER:
I'll be honest too. So did I.
(CHUCKLES)

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.

ALL:
Thank you.
Thank you.

SKINNER: Anything else?
CHEESEMAN: No, Your Honor.

SKINNER:
Set a trial date.

Excuse me, Mr. Facher.

I'd like to thank you.
That was very
statesmanlike of you

not to join in that
ridiculous attack.

Oh.

You're welcome.

MAN: Well, what we have
to do is show how
the toxic solvent

from these two factories
dumped on the land there

migrated underground and
were drawn into city wells
here and well h over there.

And was then pumped into
the homes of east Woburn.
Right.

And to do that
is quite simple, really.
I'll need to inspect the land,

map out the location of
debris, drill some monitoring
wells, conduct seismic tests

and so on.

Right.

And you're talking about
you and a couple of
assistants or something.

No. No, I mean a team
of geologists and engineers.

A team.
Mmm. A big team.

You see, it's actually
quite exciting

because the nature
of the contour here means
that there's an effect

which is named after me,
as a matter of fact,

uh, where the, the flow
of the aquifer goes against
the gravitational pull.

JAN: Working in the Grace
paint shop, Mr. Barbas,

I'd imagine you'd use paint
thinners and solvents.
Uh-huh.

To clean your
brushes and things.
Uh-huh.

I wonder what you would have
done with that stuff, say back
in the 1970s, early '80s.

Used solvent?
Yeah.

Put it in drums.
Fifty-five-gallon drums.

Uh-huh.
And, uh, what would you do
with those drums

when they were filled up?

Don't know.
They were just gone.

Never noticed.
You never dumped
them out back?

No.
Never did anything
like that.

No.
Never, never noticed
anyone who did.

No.
Hmm.
Just disappeared.

What were your duties
at Grace back then,
Mr. Shalline?

Receive disposal and
discharge to the drains.

Be sure we weren't
polluting the air and
things of that nature.

Well, then you must
know then that over the
years certain chemicals

were deposited
on the ground in
back of the plant.

SHALLINE:
I don't know that.

JAN: Six barrels
of toxic waste,
Mr. Shalline,

were found out in back
of the plant in a pit

and exhumed
by city inspectors.

You never heard
anything about this?
Nope.

JAN: Back then in 1965 or
thereafter, did you clean
metal parts with any type

of solvent?

Yes.
What kind?

That I couldn't tell you.
Did you ever notice,

uh, the, uh, name
trichloroethylene or TCE?

Nah. I don't know.
But you'd put it in barrels
when you were done with it.

That seems to be
the process, right?

Yes.
Did you ever see
what happened

to these barrels of solvent
when you were through
with them?

Yes.

What was that?

They get dumped.

Hmm. Where?

Out back,
in the ground.
You saw this?

Yes.
JAN: When?

Um, my coffee break.
I, uh, loved to go out

and hit nine iron shots
with golf balls.

(STAMMERS) Do you wanna
take a little break?

JAN: Do you...
Do you need a break?
No.

Did you see who was out there,
um, dumping the stuff

when you were hitting
your golf balls?

What do you mean?

The names of the people.

He wants to tell us.

He's not gonna tell us.
He has to work there.

JAN: He has to work there,
but he lives across the street
from Anne Anderson.

He has to see
her every day.

(CHATTERING)

(SIGHS)

Mr. Love, do you
have any children?

Yes, I do.

Eight of 'em.
Eight? (LAUGHING)

My goodness!
That's quite a family.

What do
you think of the
water in Woburn?

Now?
It's all right.

What about then?
Ten, 15 years ago?

Had an odor then.
Hmm.

Chlorine or somethin'.

Did you drink it?
Yeah, I drank it.

Your kids?

Yes.

Were you concerned
when you found out the
wells were contaminated?

I'm going to object to that.
You don't, you don't have
to answer that.

Yeah, I was
concerned.

JAN: For your
family's health?
Yes.

Has any member of your
family had any illness
out of the ordinary?

You don't have to
answer any of these
type of questions.

Yeah, they have.
What kind?

LOVE: One of
my sons has a
seizure disorder.

And, uh, my oldest daughter's
had two miscarriages and my
youngest boy was born with...

Are we gonna sit here all day
and go through his entire
family's medical history?

Well, if you don't
wanna hear it, then leave.

I don't know what you're doing
here anyway. We're deposing
Grace employees, not Beatrice.

LAWYER: If you're
deposing anybody, anybody,
I have a right to be here.

JAN: Well, then
sit down and shut up!

Mr. Love,

are you aware that some
of your neighbors have had
leukemia in their families?

Yes, I am.

They think it's the water.

Al, that water
hasn't made anybody sick.

How do you know?

I just do.

There's a lot of
people in my neighborhood
that are dead,

or dyin', Mr. Chessman,
from somethin'.

Look, if I, uh...

If I took 100
pennies and threw
'em up in the air,

about half of 'em would
land heads and the
other half tails, right?

Now if I looked around
closely, I'd probably find
some heads grouped together

in a cluster. What does
that mean? Does that
mean anything?

See, no one knows
what causes leukemia, Al.

No one knows
what caused
that cluster.

I know what
happened.

And I know who did it.

Um,

Al, this is,
uh, this is very
important, uh...

I want you to tell me
who those people are.

I'm not a rat.

You know, it's,
uh, it's important
because, uh,

if there is something
wrong out there,
we need,

we need to disclose it
to the proper authorities.

We need to get
'em out there and
have it cleaned up.

You, uh, you think
about that and,
and call me if y...

Yeah. Yeah.

Thank you.
You're welcome.

Do you eat peanut butter?

No.

You've never eaten
peanut butter?

I guess everyone alive
has probably tried it,

but I'm not exactly
what you'd call a
peanut butter fan.

What about your
son? Did he ever
eat peanut butter?

FACHER:
Do you eat bacon?
Yes.

Yes. How often?
How many slices?

Um...
(CHUCKLES)

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?
Do you use tampons?

Do you ever have your
clothes dry-cleaned?

Do you have silver
fillings in your teeth?

(CHOMPS)

So you were aware
when you moved to Woburn

that its water
didn't taste so good.

Yeah, but, a lot
of places the water
doesn't taste so good.

FACHER: I agree with that.

Did you ever consider
using bottled water?

We use bottled water,
uh, off and on.

Split half and half.

Like, uh, we, uh,
cooked with regular
water, tap water.

And we did other
things like, uh,
make orange juice.

But to, uh, drink
just straight water,
we drank bottled water.

Has any doctor ever
told you that you've
had any dysfunction

of your immune system?
No,

but, uh, when my
son died, they told us
that that was why he died.

His, uh, immune
system was

tore down to nothin'.

Uh,

why did you have
an autopsy?

Because he,
he was doin' good.

He only, uh,
lived three months
with leukemia,

and, uh,
he looked fine.

Did you talk to the
doctor about this?

Yeah, I had more
like a, uh, violent
talk with him.

Violent. you mean,
you were angry.

Yellin' at him.

Your son seemed
to be doing all right.
He, he was in remission.

You were optimistic
about his future

and suddenly he
became ill and died.

And they said
that was expected.

That, uh, anybody
with a disease
like leukemia

could die
any minute.

But you were
angry and upset.

My son just died.

I understand.
I'm just trying to,
to recreate the event.

You can tell
when your child
isn't feeling well.

You, uh, you try
to explain it to
them on the phone,

and they say,
uh, "Has he got
a temperature?"

You say no.
"He's all right then,"
they say.

"Don't worry.
Bring him into the
clinic Monday morning."

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 I-93,

out by the
Somerville exit.

My wife was
yellin' that he'd
stopped breathing.

I pulled over and, and

tried to give him CPR.

I wa... I was holdin'
him in my lap.

Lauren was
screamin'.

Cars and trucks
rushin' by.

And, uh...

(VOICE WAVERING)
Jarrod...

(WHISPERING)
I'm sorry.

It's all right.

JAN: (WHISPERING)
It's okay.

LAUREN: How did it go?
AUFIERO: We'll talk
about it in the car.

He did very well.

These people
can never testify.

Nope.

(GRUNTS)

I guess we'll have
the first seven monitor
wells in this kind of area.

Right.
There's permeable rock here.

All right.
The seven?

Yes, I did say initially
there would only be seven.

I think now it's
more likely we're
gonna have probably 12.

Hey! Hey!
Because of the tree cover.

Private property!
Yes, this is your property.

Yeah, it's my
property, and
you're trespassing.

Here you go.
What the fuck is this?

That's a court
order, Mr. Riley.

Which means that
I have a right to be
here on your land

and to inspect
every inch of your
tannery as well.

No, no.
You keep that.
That's your copy.

Let's go.
(MAN SHOUTING ORDERS)

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 Timmy
and Johnny swept...

I know. They swept it too.
Pease answer the question
I asked, not one I didn't.

Silicone, Mr. Riley,
and trichloroethylene.

These two chemicals mixed
together are used to
waterproof leather,

are they not?

I asked you a question,
Mr. Riley, again.

JAN: Mr. Facher,

please inform your
client that he's obligated
to answer my question.

Let the record show that the
witness has emptied a glass of
water on my conference table.

What exactly do
you intend to say
to me, Mr. Riley,

by pouring a glass
of water on my table?

This is how silicone is put
on leather to waterproof it.

I'm answering
your question.

It's poured on like...

You poured water
on my table.

Yeah. Correct.

So then some of it
must spill off the leather

like the water
spilling off my table.

And onto my rug.

That's the part
I'm interested in.

The spilled silicone and
trichloroethylene, sir.

How you disposed of that.

RILEY:
I never once used TCE.
JAN: TCE?

Did I say TCE?

I didn't say TCE.

I said trichloroethylene.

You said TCE,

as it is commonly known

to those who know it.

Mr. Riley, you wouldn't
mind if I checked your
statements today

against your office
records, would you?

Your, um, invoices,
purchase orders
and formulas, huh?

No. Be my guest.

They go back, um,
three years.

Everything before
that, we dumped.

(CALCULATOR KEYS CLACKING)
(TAPE ADVANCING)

MAN: Jan, you're
not listening.

I am listening. It's
just you've been out there
three times and nothin'.

I know why you
find this unacceptable.

It's just you don't know
what it's like out there.

Riley is Woburn.
He's been there forever.

His employees
are like loyal subjects.
None of them will talk.

Ex-employees. That's who
you should be talking to.
Disgruntled employees.

Disloyal subjects.
They talk.

So you want me to go
back out there.
All ready.

This is the case against
Beatrice... This liar.

You go back out there,
and you catch him in a lie.

You got the rest
of the medical records?
Almost.

I can't get complete
records on...
I don't care. Just get it.

Jan. Jan!
Just get it. I don't
wanna hear about it.

(CALCULATOR KEYS CLACKING)
(TAPE ADVANCING)

Well, this figure here...
This $100 an
hour for Dr. Cohen.

That seems more than fair
considering his preeminence.

That's for his nights
in the hotel, Jan.

That's his discount
sleeping rate.

Oh.

GORDON: Your doctors
have cost us more
than 900,000 so far.

Well, they're worth it.
Your geologists have cost
more than 500,000.

Well, they're worth it.
That's not the point.

The point is, everybody
in the firm's working
only on this case.

That means we have no money
coming in, just going out.
So what?

What, you wanna cut
our losses now? Is that
what you wanna do, Gordon?

You wanna just get out now
and, and, and throw away
900 and... What is it?

$1.4 million.

(WHISPERING)
Good night.

Well, I don't know what
to tell you because there's
certain things I gotta prove,

and I can't do that
not spending money.

We have to go
see Uncle Pete.

(SIGHS)

(CAR HORN HONKING)

So, Gordon, where are we
on the loan I gave you last...
Spent it.

You spent it?
How much of it?

All of it.
All of it.

Hmm. Well, what about
the Carney settlement?
How much of that...

Spent it.

On?

Woburn. We spend
everything on Woburn now.

On Woburn. Huh.

So what do you think
you're gonna need
to tide you over here?

Oh, two, three hundred?
Six hundred thousand.

Six hundred thousand?
Yeah.

JAN: Pete, when was
the last time you lost
money betting on me?

Never. I'm probably
the best investment
your bank ever made.

(CHUCKLES)
Yeah.

(HAMMERING)
(MACHINES ROARING)

(GLASS CLINKING)
(ALL CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY)

LOVE: I, I don't wanna
know what it's made of.

(LAUGHING)
Can you pass... Can you pass
the mashed potatoes?

Can you pass
me the mashed
potatoes, please?

(CHATTERING CONTINUES)

BOY: How do vampires
get around on Halloween?

EVELYN: How?
BOY: Blood vessels.

EVELYN: Oh.

(WATER POURING)

Let's go.

Bye, Dad.
Bye.

See you later.
Bye-bye.

Love ya.

I thought about comin'
to see ya for a long time.

I guess I was afraid
to 'cause

I didn't think
you'd want to talk
to me 'cause

where I work
and everything.

I'm concerned about
what's been happenin'
around here, and

I'm angry at the
company for the way
it's handling itself.

I'm very sorry
about your son.

Thank you.

(RADIO ANNOUNCER
TALKING INDISTINCTLY)

JAN: He said
he never dumped
anything out back.

He never did anything
like that. Never saw
anybody who did.

LOVE: Tommy Barbas
didn't tell you the truth.

Neither did Paul Shalline.
Tommy, Paul and Joey
were out back all the time

with their buckets
and barrels.
Joey who?

Joey Meola, plant maintenance.

And the rumor is, there's
50 more of those barrels

buried under this new building
here that the city
inspectors didn't find.

Fifty?
Or more.

Here.

Okay. Is there anyone
else at the plant that
might talk to me?

I don't think so.

Bobby Pasqueriella.

(LAUGHS)
Bobby? He might.

He doesn't work there
anymore, though.
Could you call him?

PASQUERIELLA: Yeah,
I threw stuff back there.

Yeah.
All the time.
JAN: Mmm-hmm.

Threw it back there
myself. All the time,
back there.

Yeah.
Eddie Orazine.

He'd say, "Go ahead and dump
that stuff out in the gully."
Mmm-hmm.

Out there in the gully
there, you know?
Back there in the gully.

Dump the...
Back there in the
gully right there.

Washed down the belts
with it and gear boxes
and swished it around.

And throw it out there in the
gully. That's what he said.
"Dump it out there like Joey."

JAN: How about Tom Barbas?
Did he?
Tommy?

No, not Tommy. No.

No?
Never did anything like that?
No, no.

He dumped his in a ditch.

Okay.

Good morning, Mr. Barbas.
Nice to see you again.

I understand that you've had
a chance to think about things
since your first deposition.

He says that you said
he should just pour
it into the pit.

Is that how you remember it,
now that your memory's
been refreshed?

Vinnie said go out there
and dig a trench, oh,
20, 30 feet long.

And load the
barrels onto the truck,
drive it out there,

dump it into the
swimming pool.

(STAMMERS) That's what
we called it...
A swim... Swimming pool.

Right.

Mr. Cheeseman,
well done.

JAN: The odds of
a plaintiff's lawyer
winning in civil court

are two to one against.

Think about that for a second.
Your odds of surviving a
game of Russian roulette

are better than
winning a case at trial.

Twelve times better.

So why does
anyone do it?

They don't.
They settle.

Out of the 780,000 cases
filed each year,

only 12,000, or 1.5%,

ever reach a verdict.

The whole idea of
lawsuits is to settle,

to compel the
other side to settle.

And you do that
by spending more
money than you should,

which forces them
to spend more money
than they should,

and whoever comes
to their senses first,

loses.

Trials are a corruption
of the entire process,

and only fools
with something to prove
end up ensnared in them.

Now when I say "prove"...
(CHATTERING INAUDIBLY)

...I don't mean
about the case.
Look who's here.

I mean about themselves.

WORKER: Hey, old man,
out of the way!
(HORN HONKING)

FACHER:
How's business, by the way?
JAN: Business is good.

Is it? That's good.
I was afraid,

what, with all these
scientists and doctors
and what not,

a small boutique
firm like yours might
be in financial trouble.

I appreciate your concern,
Jerry. We've got more than
enough to go the distance.

Are you sure? I mean,
I'd hate it if one day
you realize you

miscalculated
the arithmetic
and there you were

digging quarters out
of the seats of your
shiny black sports car...

You really don't
have to worry, Jerry.
Well, that's a relief.

Yeah.

You know what?
You don't want
me in this case.

You've got Grace,
and one deep
pocket is enough.

I'm only gonna hurt you,
so get rid of me.

Tell me what you've got in
so far, I'll have a check cut,
we can get on with our lives.

What do you say?

My expenses.

You... You're offering
to cover my expenses.

Your expenses
and your pride.

You think you're
gonna put those
families on the stand.

Your mothers and your
fathers are gonna
tell their stories.

And the jury's gonna pull
out their handkerchiefs
and dab their eyes?

Do you really think
I'd let that happen?

I don't see
how you can
prevent it.

(LAUGHING)
Of course you don't.

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

(CELL PHONE RINGING)

Yeah?
GORDON:
Jan, guess what?

Cheeseman called.
He wants to talk.

He wants a number.
He wants out. I'll get
everything together.

I'll meet you
back here at the office.
Okay.

Jan, this is it.
We got him.

That's great.

(LAUREN CRYING)

(CONTINUES CRYING)

Get out of here!
Oh, my baby!

(CONTINUES CRYING)

(WAILING)
No!

No!

No!

He said he'd be here.

Are the Red Sox in town?

(SIGHS)
Sorry I'm late.
I got tied up.

Yeah. Oh.

I was just given
a chair at Harvard,
of, of all things.

Oh, you're kidding.
Which chair?

Oh, well, it's, 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?

No, no. You don't change
your socks in the middle
of the world series, Jan.

Am I sitting
in the right place?

Well, actually, we have
a seat for you here,
but that's, that's fine.

Oh.

Okay.

This is a nice pen.

JAN: They're courtesy
of the hotel.

Really? This is
a good quality pen.

JAN: Oh, yeah.

So...

So, Bill.

How much did Grace
make last year?

I have no idea.

CHEESEMAN: But I have
a feeling that you do.
JAN: $198 million.

And Beatrice, Jerry?
Hmm. What?

$436 million.

Together,
that's $634 million.

That's one year.
That's net.

So that's what they made.

Now what should they
be made to pay,

to compensate the families,

to provide for their
economic security
in the future?

CHEESEMAN: Don't
forget to mention you.

Compensating you.

And to make sure
that this kind of thing
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

FACHER: Uh...

Can I ask a question?

Well, I'm sure
everyone has questions.
What's yours, Jerry?

Can I have this?

Thank you.

(SIGHS)

Excuse me.

Jan?

Yes, Gordon.

What's the story?

Well, I guess they
just don't want to end
this thing.

They don't want...

You said this would
never go to trial.

You just made certain
that it will.

Without consulting us,
I might add.

They patronize us.

They think we're
blackmailers.

They think they can buy us.

Yeah?

We can't afford a long,
drawn-out trial.

Well, you're gonna have
to find a way of getting
some money then.

GORDON: What do you suggest?

Am I the financial advisor
around here?

Thanks, sir.

GORDON: No, you're not.

(MURMURING)

JAN: This is the plan.

We start with
the scientific
evidence

and then the medical
experts and their
evidence,

then the parents,
and then your
testimony.

Now, your presence
is very important
in the courtroom.

This is where the jury
gets to know you.

Well, if you're there some
days and not other days,
they say,

"Well, why wasn't she
there?" and "Does she
really care?"

And this kind of thing.

I'll be there every day.

In the back
left-hand corner.

Well, wherever
you're most comfortable.

See that was our plan.

If we ever got separated
in the grocery store
or the...

Or the department
store, that's where
we'd meet.

Oh, I see. I see.

(SIGHS)

Well, in the end,
when he was dying,
he said,

"I'll meet you in the
back left-hand corner
of heaven."

BAILIFF: All rise.

The court is now
in session.

The honorable
Walter J. Skinner
presiding.

Civil action 84-16-72.

Anderson and All v.
W. R. Grace and Beatrice Foods.

JAN: Ladies and gentlemen,

there's a small town north
of Boston called Woburn.

Now, 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.

CHEESEMAN: It's true small
amounts of solvents were
left on the ground.

Why? To evaporate.

Did they? Yes.
These chemicals

never reached Wells G and H

almost half a mile away,
and we will show that.

And they never made
anyone sick, and we
will show that too.

FACHER: The idea of criminal
court is crime and punishment.

The idea of civil court
and of personal injury law,
by nature,

though no one likes
to say it out loud,
least of all

the, uh, personal injury
lawyer himself,

(CHUCKLES) 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 in,

we get two more
in the mail.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)

Here's one from some
bank I never heard of
in North Dakota.

Fill it out. Fill them...
Fill them all out.

It's the last great
pyramid scheme in America.

GEOLOGIST: The terrain
of east Woburn

was actually shaped
12,000 years ago.

Uh, during the end
of the last Ice Age.

Now, at this time,
an immense glacier,
over a mile thick,

covered the face of what we
would now call New England.

Cancel The American Lawyer.

Cancel all the legal
journals. Who needs them?

And call the janitorial
people.

Tell them their services
are no longer required.

We can empty our own
fucking ashtrays.

WITNESS: We want to try
to understand what's going on
in the groundwater system.

(ASHTRAY CLATTERS)
The place we have to start
is the soil itself.

Now these are actual
soil samples...

So that now you can see
the Aberjona River valley.

(VACUUM HUMMING)
I... I 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?

Uh, nothing.

FACHER: 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.

(SOFTLY)
18 times yesterday.
20 times today.

And they're not
even his witnesses,
they're his.

I can't not object
when you phrase
questions so improperly.

Now just from
a craftsman's
point of view...

He is deliberately
trying to destroy

the rhythm of my case.

I have no problem.

Here we are.
Man!

You've got to have some
good luck on this one.

(SCRATCHING TICKET)
Hold on, hold on, hold on.
17, 17, 17.

You got a winner there? No.
No. Shit.

FACHER: Relevance, objection.

Hearsay, objection.

Best evidence, objection.

Authenticity.
Objection.

If you should fall asleep
at the counsel table,

the first thing you say
when you wake up should be...

Huh?

Objection.
LAW STUDENTS: Objection.

BAILIFF: Do you swear to
tell the truth, the whole
truth

and nothing but the truth,
so help you God?

RILEY: Yes.

Good morning, Mr. Riley.
Would you care for a glass
of water?

No, thank you.

Are you sure?

FACHER: Now, the single
greatest liability a lawyer
can have

is pride.

Pride. (SIGHS)

Pride has lost more cases
than lousy evidence,

idiot witnesses
and a hanging judge
all put together.

There is absolutely no place
in a courtroom for pride.

Mr. Riley, you own
the property referred
to often

in this courtroom as
the 15 acres, do you not?

RILEY: No, I don't.

That land is currently
owned by a nonprofit
corporation

called the Wildwood
Conservancy.

Oh, yes, yes. Here it is.
The Wildwood Conservancy.

Now what is that, some kind
of conservation group?

RILEY: Yes, sir.
Hmm.

I've donated the land
as a sanctuary
for indigent wildlife.

(SPECTATORS CHUCKLE)

(CHUCKLING)

Well, you know, I don't
think the indigent wildlife

has heard about
this, Mr. Riley.

I've been out there
on several occasions,
and I've yet to see

a single bird or any
other living thing.

I get him to say
no, no, no, no, no.

Then he says yes once,
and I got him.

He's not that stupid.

You leave him up
there long enough,

he's gonna figure out
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 all of
New England.

Now, you have no idea
how it got that way?

No, sir.

Does it upset you
to learn this?

RILEY: Very much so.

Really? Why?

FACHER: And one last thing.

Unless you know exactly
what the answer's going
to be,

never, ever ask
a witness why.

Never.

(MAN COUGHS)

My factory is the oldest
surviving business in
Woburn.

When the other tanners
moved out, I stayed.

Even though, for me,
that was a very big
financial burden.

This is not the question.
I stayed because
Woburn is my home.

Mr. Riley... Your Honor,
this is not the question.
It's my children's home.

He's trying to answer it,
Mr. Schlichtmann...

JAN: Well, he's not
answering it.
If you'll just 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 came onto that
land and desecrated it,

land that's part of
the town that I love?

My answer to your question,
Mr. Schlichtmann,

is yes.

(CHAIR SCRAPING FLOOR)

I have no further
questions, Your Honor.

EVANGELIST:
And the sad part of it is,

they're robbing themselves
of the blessing of giving.

And I know a lot of y'all
ain't gonna believe this,

but I got to share
this with you.

If somebody wrote a check
tomorrow for the total budget
of my church,

it wouldn't affect
my giving one penny.

Ain't nobody gonna rob me
of the blessing I get
from giving!

Now you know why a lot
of folks ain't getting?

'Cause they ain't giving!

So not rob yourself of
the blessing of giving.

You'll never guess
what I did last night.

You'll like this.
(CHUCKLES)

I pledged $200
to a televangelist.

I'm not kidding.

He said, "Give
and ye shall receive."

I called him right up.
(LAUGHS)

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."

(LAUGHS)

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.

(LAUGHS)

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.

And here is Conway's
and Crowley's and Jan's.

See? I come bearing gifts.

We really need the money.

AUFIERO: (OVER EARPHONES)
You can tell when your child
isn't feeling well.

(TYPING)
"Has he got a temperature?"
You say no.

"He's all right then,"
they say.
(PHONE RINGING)

"Don't worry. Bring
him into the clinic
Monday morning."

JAN: All right,
finally the families.
He died Monday morning.

We'll start with
Jimmy Anderson.
(TAPE CONTINUES)

We count his trips
to the hospital,

the futile
chemotherapy treatments.
(PHONE RINGING)

Then the other kids,
one by one,

ending with Jarrod Aufiero...
(RINGING CONTINUES)

...dying in his father's
arms on the highway.

(RINGING CONTINUES)
Will somebody get that?

(RINGING CONTINUES)

Where is everybody?

You're just noticing now?

Gordon laid everybody
off two weeks ago.

(RINGING CONTINUES)
Gordon?

Instead of sitting there
reading a magazine,

why don't you go to
Uncle Pete and get
me a staff?

That's a good idea.
(RINGING CONTINUES)

Why didn't I think of that?

(CONTINUES RINGING)

Hello.

(EXHALES)

I was told there
was a Cheeseman
on the Mayflower.

SECRETARY: This way, sir.
JAN: Thank you.

SKINNER: Ah, Jan,
have a seat.

You want something
to drink? Some coffee,
soda?

You've been talking
without my being present?

(SIGHS)

No, we have been
drinking coffee without
your being present.

Don't be so paranoid.
They were early.

All right. What's up?

Jerry?

FACHER: Last night,
I... I was at a ball game.

It was the seventh
inning stretch,

and I was standing there,
and I don't know why,

but it occurred to me
at that moment,

that unless you've
proven that any, uh...

What word should we use?
Uh, chemicals?

Poisons.

All right.
If you like that word,
I'll use it.

Unless you've proven that
any poisons actually
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 Honor, you've got...
That's interesting.

What?

I think I'd have
to agree with that.

Well, Your Honor...
Yes,

if the jury decides
favorably on the
geological evidence,

yes, then you could
bring your families in.
Otherwise...

Your Honor, the jury came
into this courtroom expecting
a human drama.

I don't care what
they expect.
Instead, for three months,

we've been giving them
lessons in geology.

Now, we had to do that,
but now it's over, finally.

Now it's time...
Now

we have to see where
we are before we can
move on.

And before we subject
these families

to more trauma
than is necessary...

Because that would
just be cruel.

JAN: They...
They want to testify.
SKINNER: Mr. Schlichtmann.

They need to testify!
The decision
has been made.

Well, this is
the defendant's plan.
No, it's my plan.

This is Facher's plan right
from the beginning.
It's my plan.

He told me.
He threatened me.
It's my plan!

Now...

My plan is to
present the jury

with some simple questions.

SKINNER: Indeed,
how you answer these
three questions

will determine whether
or not this trial continues.

It's not that
I disagree with them.
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 the W. R. Grace and
Beatrice-owned lands

"after October 1, 1964,

"and August 27, 1968,
respectively,

"and did those chemicals
contribute to the well water
contamination?"

These dates, for one thing.
What... What are they?

Wh... Where did they come
from? From out of a hat?

SKINNER: Question two.

"What, according
to a preponderance
of the evidence,

"was the earliest time,
the month and year,

"at which these chemicals
substantially contributed

"to the contamination
of the wells?"

JAN: How can they
determine that?

Science can't
even determine...

When... When the chemicals
arrived at the wells

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 the month and year,

"at which substantial
contribution referred
to in question two

"was caused, if it was,
by the negligent conduct
of the defendants?"

What does that mean?
It's... It's like English

translated into Japanese
back into English again.

Mr. Schlichtmann,
I've heard enough.

Your Honor, no one can
answer these questions.

I worked very hard
on these questions.
You're asking for answers

that are unknowable.

I said I have heard enough.
You're asking these people
to create a fiction...

That will stand for the truth,
but won't be the truth.
Enough!

Once again,
I remind you

not to discuss your views
with any outside party

and excuse you...

Don't worry about it.
Everything's under control.

(DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES)

SKINNER: And excuse you
to your deliberations.

Thank you.

(CRASHING AND GLASS BREAKING)

(CRASHING CONTINUES)

(CRASHING CONTINUES)

(CRASHING CONTINUES)

(CRASHING CONTINUES)

(MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO)

(CHUCKLES)
I've never done this.

In 45 years of
practicing law,

I've never waited in
a corridor for a jury.

I always do.

I can tell. You...
You're good at it.

You seem so at
peace doing it.

So what do you think?

I... Is it good they're
staying out this long
or is it bad?

For who?

For me, of course.
(LAUGHING)

You can never tell,
can you?

I mean, it could
mean anything.

It could mean jury duty
is more fun than working
at the post office.

(CHUCKLING)

It's bad for both of you.

You think?

Okay. Here's my take on it.

Guilty.

Not guilty.

That's what
they're gonna say.

And it's not gonna have
anything to do with dates

or groundwater measurements
or any of that crap,

which nobody can
understand anyway.

It's gonna come down
to people, like it
always does.

You found someone who saw
him dumping stuff, you see.

You didn't find anyone
who saw me. No.

(CHUCKLING)

What's your take?

They'll see the truth.

The truth? Oh.

I thought we were talking
about a court of law.

Come on, you've been
around long enough
to know

that a courtroom
isn't a place to look
for the truth.

We're lucky to find
anything here

that in any way
resembles the truth.

Oh.

You disagree?

(CHUCKLES) Since when?

Eight kids are dead, Jerry.

Jan.

Jan, that suit fits
you better than the
sentimentality.

(CHUCKLES)

That's not how you
made all that money
all these years, is it?

You want to know when
this case stopped being
about dead children?

The minute you filed
the complaint,

the minute it entered
the justice system.

Oh, yes.

(SIGHS)

Hey, I know,
you like to gamble.

You're a high-stakes
gambler. That's your
profession.

Why don't we test
your born-again faith

in the righteousness
of our courts

with a high-stakes gamble?

See?

If that's a settlement
offer, Jerry, it's not
enough.

That's not what I hear.

Oh, well, I don't know
who you've been
talking to.

The IRS.

Telling us they have
a lien on any eventual
settlement

in order to recover over
two and a half million
dollars in unpaid taxes.

Yeah.

Well, then...

All right. (SIGHS)

What if

I were to add
six zeroes onto that?

That's right.
That would be what?

20 million dollars.

Now... (CHUCKLES)

That would put things
in perspective for you

as far as truth
and justice and, uh,

and dead children go?

If you want to talk
seriously about a
settlement offer,

let's get the decision
makers together and talk
seriously.

The decision makers
are here, aren't they?

I mean, you're looking
at Mr. Beatrice.

I mean, I don't have to
call anybody, do you?

(CHUCKLING)

It's just you and me.

We're like kings.

Well, we are kings.

Sitting in our castles
deciding important things.

Deciding the fates
of others

and counting money
in our counting room.

(CHUCKLING)

(SIGHS)

I'll tell you what.
I'll leave this here.

I'll go back down the hall
to my throne room,

and I'll await your decision.

Yeah.

Oh, if you're really
looking for the truth,
Jan,

look for it
where it is.

At the bottom
of a bottomless pit.

(FOOTSTEPS RECEDING)

(RIPPING BILL)

Okay. (CHUCKLES)

(ANNOUNCER TALKING
INDISTINCTLY ON RADIO)

(BALL BOUNCING)

SKINNER: Mr. Foreman,
members of the jury,

have you reached a verdict?

FOREMAN: Yes, Your Honor.

(PAPER RUSTLING)

With respect
to W. R. Grace,

the jury has answered

yes to question one

regarding trichloroethylene
contamination

requiring that we proceed
further in the case
against Grace

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, that means
you're excused.

Thank you, Your Honor.

We are, uh...

We're going to take
a little break now.

A breather till
the end of the month.

Once again, I remind you
not to talk to anyone
about your deliberations

and thank you
for your service.

(CLEARS THROAT)

JAN: Disappointed? No, no,

we're not disappointed
at all.

This is a victory.

This sends a clear
message to these
companies

that they can no longer
get away with this kind
of thing.

So what now?

Right now I think
we should celebrate,

have some champagne.
What do you think?

Yes?

REPORTER: So you intend to
go forward with your claims
against Grace?

JAN: Yes.
No matter how long it takes?

JAN: Mmm-hmm.

CONWAY: We have to get out
of this case as fast
as we can.

(LAUGHS) That's the only
strategy we have left.
Sign here.

CONWAY: The good news is
Grace wants to talk.

They want us to come
to New York and sit
down with, uh,

their executive
vice president,
Al Eustis.

So before we do that,
we need to know what
our squeal point is.

Eight million.

Eight million
will just about
get us out of hock.

Bill?

Whatever Gordon says.
He knows the numbers.

Jan?

(SIGHS)

Jan,

every dollar we spend
is a dollar we don't have.

We are floating on
credit without a net.

Well, I don't need a net.
Mortgage my house.

I don't care.

I have.

And Kevin's
and Bill's and mine.

And I've cashed in
our retirement plan

and our life
insurance policies,

and it's gone.

JAN: All right,
let me put it this way.

If we can't make it
appear that we have money
and we can go the distance,

they're not gonna give us
eight million dollars.

They're not gonna
give us eight cents.

You know that.

You all know that.

(STOMPS OUT CIGARETTE)

HOTEL CLERK: It's the nicest
suite in the hotel.

(BELL DINGS)
It has a 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?

Farmer's Bank of Iowa.

Hey, there.
Hi. Jan Schlichtmann.

Al Eustis.
Have a seat.
How are you?

Sorry, I'm late. (CHUCKLES)
I, uh, got lost.

You got lost?
Yes.

How did you manage that?

Well, I've never
been here before, so...

Wait. You've never been
here before? What kind
of a Harvard man are you?

The Cornell kind.

Cornell?
Mmm-hmm.

I... I thought you
went to Harvard.

Hmm.

Well, I'm... I'm sure
somebody said that.

Yeah, somebody said
you went to Harvard.

You...
Hmm.

Cornell.

Yes.

Well, listen, Cornell
is a... Is a damn good
school.

Damn good.

So, what do you want?

Well, um, I can take you
through it step by step,

or, if you prefer,

you could take this
with you, study it.

It's a little,
uh, complicated,
but I'm sure...

It's an unspoken rule
in the Harvard Club, Jan.

Business is never
transacted here.

I meant, what did you
want to drink?

JAN: I wanted to reach
across the table

and strangle him
with his tie.

But instead, I sat
there for two hours

and listened to him talk
about sailing his yacht
in Long Island south.

EUSTIS: You know,
sometimes I, uh,

sometimes I actually
prefer the little one.

The 35-footer. You know,
'cause I can crew it myself.

Hmm.

I can be all by myself,
out there alone, and,
boy, it's magnificent.

And there's no...

Nobody can call you,
nobody can beep you,
nobody can fax you.

There's... There's
no lawsuits.

(CHUCKLES)

You know what
I'm talking about.
You sail, huh?

No.

You don't sail?

JAN: Finally, we went
to his office.

EUSTIS: Come on, let's go
over here and sit down
for a second.

Come on.
It's more comfortable.

Come on, have a seat.

He... He comes
around the desk.

He sits down.

Go ahead. Sit down.

He puts his feet up
on this spindly
French antique thing.

And he tells me
to put my feet up.

Put your feet up.
Come on.

JAN: I don't want to.

No, thank you.
No, go ahead.

Go ahead.

No, really, I'm fine.

Nothing's gonna
break. It's all right.

Come on. Put them up.

It was weird. There was all
this talk about my putting
my feet on this table.

EUSTIS: It's all right.
I mean it.

Try it. Come on.
Put the feet up.

Okay. There.

Now, let's be honest.

I can afford to pay you
almost anything you ask.
It's not the money.

It's what a settlement
that high says.

It says we're guilty.

And that says to every
two-bit personal injury
lawyer in Boston,

"Hey, let's run off to
Woburn and sign up every
jerk with a head cold."

It creates a shark effect,

and that I can't afford.

Give me a number.

Well, I'm not going to
negotiate with myself, Al.

I'm not going to just
throw out numbers so
you can say no to them.

You'll have to come up
with a number.
Eight million.

Eight million?

He said eight million?

Mmm-hmm.

Eight million.

I can't go to
the families
with that.

CONWAY: Wait. What?
Who? What families?

JAN: I can't go to
them empty-handed.

What are you talking about?

Since when is $8 million
empty-handed?

$8 million is
a lot of money.

I owe them more than that.

GORDON: You owe them?

What do you owe them?

What do you owe them?
You owe them your career?

We're talking about
our careers here!

EUSTIS: You owe
them that much?

CROWLEY: We're talking
about our families here.

That's what we're talking
here, you know.

CROWLEY: Our families, Jan.

Don't do it.

Don't go for broke
on this one.

It isn't worth it, Jan.

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

(THUNDER CRACKING)

(THUNDER CONTINUES)

Nobody calls anymore?

Not even the creditors?
(CHUCKLES)

Are the phones still working?

(DIAL TONE)

(PHONE RINGING)

Schlichtmann,
Conway and Crowley.

Just a minute, please.

Someone named Grendon.

Creditor.

Are you here?

Do I look like
I'm here?

(GORDON MOANING)

Yes, but he's in
a meeting right now, sir.

Do me a favor, Gordon,
will you? Shut up.

What?

I'm so tired of
hearing you moan about
money all the time.

This isn't
about money anymore.

No?
No.

What's it about?

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

What's it about, Jan?

Look, let's just all
try to...

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 right now?
Yes.

But you won't take eight?
No.

No. So at $10 million
this is some sort of a...

(STAMMERS) A mythic struggle,

but at eight it's just
another lawsuit.

If they're willing to
pay eight, Gordon, then
it's not enough, is it?

Oh, that makes sense.
It makes
perfect sense.

So the only thing you'll
accept is what they're not
willing to give us.

Listen to yourself!

Well, I, for one, am sick
of listening to you.

Lost enough because of you!

You wouldn't have anything
to lose if it wasn't for me.

Everything you have,
I got for you!

I don't have anything, Jan!

What do I have?

I... I got, uh,
I got a couple bucks

and some bus transfers.

I've got a savings account

from when I was 12 years old.

Here. There's $37 in here.

With interest after 25 years,
there's probably $47.
Take it.

CROWLEY: Gordon...
Add it. Add it
to the war chest.

Use it to fight injustice.
Stand up for principles
with that.

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!

(THUNDERCLAP)
(ELECTRICITY ARCING)

(THUNDER CONTINUES)

(DIAL TONE)

(DIALING)

(LINE RINGING)

(LINE PICKS UP)

Uh, I'd like to leave
a message for Al Eustis,
please.

Jan Schlichtmann.

WORKMAN: Let's get this
junk out of here.

SKINNER: 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.

I want to thank you
for your service.

GORDON: Our contingency fee,

as you know,
as you agreed to,
as is customary,

is 40%.

But Jan suggested, and we
all agreed, to reduce that
to 28%.

Or $2.2 million.

Our expenses, what we
actually paid out trying
this case

comes to $3.5 million.

Now, subtracting that
and the 28% in fees

from the $8 million
we got from Grace,

and dividing it
equally among you,

comes out to
$375,000 per family.

And they're gonna
clean the place up?

No.

Mmm-mmm.

ANNE: When you first
came out here
Mr. Schlichtmann,

when we first spoke,

I told you, I wasn't
interested in money.

(SOFTLY) 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 apologize.
With their checkbooks."

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.

GORDON: 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?

(FOOTSTEPS RECEDING)

(SIGHS)
(DOOR OPENS)

(DOOR CLOSES)

(CHILDREN PLAYING)

Listen...

The minute you put
money on the table,
things turn ugly.

It happens every time.
Forget about it.

But she's right.

She's not right.

Now, it's cold, wet,

we're standing in a swamp.
I want to go home.

Somewhere out here
somebody had to have
seen what happened.

You can't do what Riley did
without somebody seeing it.

You're talking
about the case.

The case is over.

Jan...

Yeah, I know.

They've had it.
They want out, right?

It's time they went
their separate way.

And you know what
I think of that?

Fine. Let them.

I can imagine worse things.

Like what?

Well, so what if we
have to start over?

We did it once.

We can do it again.
The two of us.

JAN: Oh.

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.

(CAR DOORS CLOSING)

(ANNOUNCER TALKING OVER RADIO
IN SPANISH)

(CROWD CHEERING ON RADIO)

(ANNOUNCER CONTINUES
IN SPANISH)

(JACKHAMMER POUNDING)

(CUSTOMERS CHATTERING
IN SPANISH)

(GLASS CLATTERS)

BOY: Man!

(CASH REGISTER RINGS)

CASHIER: Your change.

Thank you.

(TRAFFIC PASSING)

(DISTANT SIREN WAILING)

(CHILD SHOUTING)

(MUFFLED MUSIC PLAYING)

(WATER DRIPPING)

(GLASS CLATTERS)

BOY: Man!

RILEY: This is how
silicone is put on
leather to waterproof it.

JAN: It's poured on,
like you poured water
on my table.

RILEY: Yeah.

(MAN TALKING IN SPANISH)

JAN: So then some of it
must spill off the leather,

like the water
spilling off my table.

That's the part
I'm interested in.

The spilled silicone
and trichloroethylene, sir.

How you disposed to that?

(INDISTINCT VOICES
OVER POLICE RADIO)

(SOFTLY) He's here to look at
your records. His court order
gives him that right.

I'm not going to give you
trouble unless you give me
trouble.

MRS. GRANGER:
I didn't call him.
He just came.

Just the kind
of thing you'd do.
You let him in the door.

Of course, I let him in.
That's bad enough.
Man, I can't believe this.

(SIGHS)

(DOOR CREAKS OPEN)

Do you know how

sometimes you can get
so close to something

that you lose sight of it?

I kept looking for
someone who saw Riley

dumping barrels
of poison when

what I should have
been looking for is
someone

who helped him clean it up.

Was there a personal reason

why you rented two dump
trucks and a front loader

back in October of '81?

Or was this just
part of your job
at the tannery?

Mr. Granger?

I don't have to
talk to you.

I can tell you to get
off my property,

and I would be
within my rights.

Yes, you would.

(SIGHS)

GRANGER:
In the fall of 1981,

Mr. Riley instructed me
to rent a Michigan loader

and two 10-wheel
dump trucks.

Did he tell you why?

Yes, he did.

RILEY: All of it goes.
Everything.

I don't want to see
anything but topsoil.

All of it.

JAN: Did you think it
was strange that after
rotting out there

for 20 or 30 years,
he had to get rid
of it now?

Take it anywhere. I don't
even want to know where
you take it. Just take it.

GRANGER: No, he told me why.

Uh, city inspectors were
coming in a couple days.

He didn't want them
to see it.

GRANGER: This went on
for several nights.

Fill the trucks,
trucks drive off.

Trucks come back empty,
fill them up again.

MAN: Last one.

GRANGER: On the last night...

JAN: On the last night what?

Are you sure you didn't
see some kids out there

on that last night,

lighting firecrackers,
drinking beers?

I got nothing to say to you.

It'd be hard to forget,
you know.

It apparently was
quite a sight.

Throw it.
Go, go, go.

Hey! (SHOUTING)

Watch out!
Hey,

you're on private
property! Get
out of here!

You little punks!

(LAUGHING) He's
talking about you.

Hey, you know what,
mister? I'm sorry. Look.

I got a little something
to make it up to you.
There you go!

(SHOUTING) There you go!
Boom!

(FIRECRACKER EXPLODES)
Get out of here!

I'll have you arrested.
Oh! It's like that now.

You want some of
that? Eat it, man!

Let's go,
let's go, let's go.

Go, go, go, go!

(ENGINE STARTS)

JAN: Did Riley threaten
you in any way

with what might happen
to you if you ever
came forward?

No, sir.

He didn't say
anything at all to
you in this regard?

He gave me a couple
Celtics tickets.

Told me to keep
my mouth shut.

(METAL DOOR CLATTERS OPEN)

(GRUNTS)

(ROLLING PAPER
INTO TYPEWRITER)

(TYPEWRITER KEYBOARD
CLACKING)

(TYPEWRITER CARRIAGE RETURNS)

(TYPING CONTINUES)

JAN: The appeals process
is even more Byzantine

than the trial
it's appealing.

(TYPING CONTINUES)

It takes longer,

it costs more,

its outcome is even
less promising.

Only five cases in 50
will win in appeals court.

The odds are as easy
to calculate as they
are discouraging.

They're 10-to-1 against.

(TYPEWRITER BELL DINGS)

Just about any bet
at any table

in any casino anywhere
in the world

is better than that.

I have the evidence, but
no longer the resources

or the gambling spirit

to appeal the decision
in the Beatrice case.

I have no money,
no partners,

and, as far as I can tell,
no clients anymore.

The Woburn case has become
what it was when it first
came to me.

An orphan.

I'm forwarding it on to you
in all its unwieldiness,

even as I know you may
not care to adopt 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 failed.

(TYPEWRITER BELL DINGS)

If you calculate success
and failure as I always have,

in dollars and cents divided
neatly into human suffering,

the arithmetic says,
I failed completely.

What it doesn't say

is if I could somehow go back
knowing what I know now,

knowing where I'd end
up if I got involved
with these people,

knowing all the numbers,

all the odds,
all the angles,

I'd do it again.

(CROWD CHEERING)

(TURNS UP VOLUME)

(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)

(DOOR OPENS)

BASEBALL ANNOUNCER:
There's the pitch. It's low.

(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)

Mr. Facher?

(SOFTLY) Sorry.

(SIGHS)

(CROWD CHEERING)
(ANNOUNCER CONTINUES
INDISTINCTLY)

(CHEERING LOUDER)

(DEAFENING CHEERING)

(SOFTER CHEERING)

(PHONE RINGING)

Jesus.

(CHILDREN CHATTERING)

(CHATTERING CONTINUES)

JUDGE: Mr. Schlichtmann?

(LOUDER)
Mr. Schlichtmann?

I'm sorry. Yes?
(CLEARS THROAT)

JUDGE: The purpose
of these questions

is not to embarrass
or humiliate you,

but rather to verify
the information you've
declared as your assets.

I understand.

Because what you're
asking your creditors

to believe with
this petition is...

(GRUNTS)

Well, it's hard
to believe.

(CHUCKLES) I know.

That after 17 years
of practicing law...
(CLEARS THROAT)

...all you have
to show for it is

$14 in a checking 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.

(SCOFFS)

What happened?

(CHILDREN PLAYING)

♪ Take me to the river

♪ Drop me in the water

♪ Take me to the river

♪ Drop me in the water
the water

♪ I don't know why
I love you like I do

♪ All the trouble
you put me through

♪ Take my money
my cigarettes

♪ I haven't seen
the worst of it

♪ And I wanna know

♪ Can you tell me

♪ I love to stay
♪ Oh

♪ Oh, take me to the river

♪ Take me to the river

♪ Drop me in the water

♪ Drop me in the water

♪ Dip me in the river

♪ Take me to the river

♪ Drop me in the water

♪ Drop me in the water
the water

♪ I don't know why
you treat me so bad
♪ Ooh, ooh

♪ Think of all the things
that we could have had
♪ Ooh, ooh

♪ Love is a notion

♪ That I can't forget
♪ Ooh, ooh

♪ My sweet 16
I would never regret

♪ I wanna know

♪ Can you tell me

♪ I love to stay
♪ Stay

♪ Oh, oh, oh
take me to the river

♪ Take me to the river

♪ Drop me in the water

♪ Drop me in the water

♪ Dip me in the river

♪ Take me to the river

♪ Push me in the water

♪ Drop me in the water
the water

♪ Hold me

♪ Squeeze me

♪ Love me

♪ Tease me

♪ Till I can't

♪ Till I can't

♪ I can't take
no more of it
♪ No

♪ The river
♪ Take me to the river

♪ Drop me in the water

♪ Drop me in the water

♪ Dip me in the river

♪ Take me to the river

♪ Push me in the water

♪ Drop me in the water
the water
♪ Wow, hey

Listen, y'all.
Y'all ready?

Listen, y'all.

Y'all ready?

Are you ready, LA?

Come on!

♪ Don't know why

♪ I love her like I do
♪ Ooh

♪ All the changes that
you put me through
♪ Ooh, ooh

♪ The sixteen candles
burning on my wall
♪ Ooh, ooh

♪ Turning me into the
biggest fool of them all

♪ I wanna know

♪ Oh, won't you tell me

♪ I love to stay
♪ Stay

♪ Take me to the river

♪ Drop me in the water

♪ Drop me in the water

♪ Dip me in the river

♪ Take me to the river

♪ Drop me in the water

♪ Drop me in the water

♪ Drop me in the water
the water
♪ Wow

♪ Take me to the river

♪ Drop me in the water

♪ Take me to the river

♪ Drop me in the water
the water

♪ Take me to the river

(SCATTING)

♪ Drop me in the water

♪ Take me to the river

♪ Drop me in the water

♪ Wow, whoo

♪ Take me to the river

♪ Drop me in the water
♪ Oh, oh

♪ Take me to the river

♪ Drop me in the water
the water

♪ Take me to the river

♪ Drop me in the water

♪ Take me to the river
♪ Oh, oh

♪ Drop me in the water
the water

♪ Take me to the river
♪ Oh, oh

♪ Drop me in the water
the water

♪ Take me to the river ♪

(WATER SLOSHING)

(BIRD CAWING)

(TRAIN HORN BLOWING)