A civil action plot. A Civil Action 2022-12-08

A civil action plot Rating: 9,6/10 989 reviews

"A Civil Action" is a legal drama film released in 1998, based on the book of the same name by Jonathan Harr. The film follows the story of personal injury lawyer Jan Schlichtmann, played by John Travolta, as he takes on a major environmental lawsuit on behalf of a group of families in Woburn, Massachusetts.

The film begins with the introduction of the town of Woburn, a small, working-class community that has been plagued by a series of health issues, including leukemia and other cancers. The families believe that these health problems are the result of environmental pollution caused by two local companies, Beatrice Foods and Grace Chemical.

Schlichtmann becomes involved in the case when he is approached by Anne Anderson, played by Kathleen Quinlan, the mother of a young boy who has died from leukemia. Anderson asks Schlichtmann to represent her and the other families in a lawsuit against the companies, alleging that they are responsible for the contamination of the town's water supply.

Schlichtmann agrees to take on the case, but faces significant challenges as he tries to build a strong case against the powerful and well-connected companies. He hires a team of experts and investigators to help him gather evidence, and the case eventually goes to trial.

During the trial, Schlichtmann and his team face off against the powerful legal teams representing the companies, who use their resources and influence to try and discredit the plaintiffs' case. Despite this, Schlichtmann is able to present a strong case, and the jury ultimately finds in favor of the families.

However, the victory is short-lived, as the companies appeal the decision and the case becomes bogged down in legal proceedings. Schlichtmann's legal fees and expenses begin to pile up, and he is forced to consider settling the case out of court. In the end, Schlichtmann and the families reach a settlement with the companies, but the victory is bittersweet, as it is clear that the families have not received the justice they were seeking.

Overall, "A Civil Action" tells a compelling and thought-provoking story about the legal system and the power dynamics at play in major lawsuits. It raises important questions about justice, corporate responsibility, and the impact of environmental pollution on communities.

A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr

a civil action plot

An amazing book that opens a window on the world of civil lawsuits. Later picking up the case, Schlichtmann finds evidence suggesting trichloroethylene TCE contamination of the town's water supply by Riley Tannery, a subsidiary of Beatrice Foods; a chemical company, W. What impressed me the most wasn't the author's development of Schlichtmann's character both his magnetism and profound agony come right off the page, occasionally at the same time but his devotion to documenting the case as it happened over the course of many years. Lawyer of defense tries to protect their company from the action of Schlichtmann, he references to a Rule 11 at the sitting of the court, which deals with incompetent actions or accusation in actions. Fast forward to the late 80's and early 90's when Schlictman and his crew try to find a link between very sick and dying people and the dumping of toxic waste whic This is the true story of a nine year legal battle involving flamboyant, obsessed and ambitious lawyer, Jan Schlictmann, and two large corporations accused of exposing a cluster of mostly children to water contaminated by industrial pollution.


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A Civil Action Summary & Study Guide

a civil action plot

Eventually she gathers other families and seeks a lawyer, Jan Schlichtmann, to consider their options. Harr's portrayal intrigues in an area--high-stakes civil litigation of environmental causation--that can be extremely tedious. Brief Analysis for Cause-in-Fact The issue that arises in this plot is whether the conglomerates are negligent for the contamination of the water supplies of the town, and if their negligence contributed to the injuries leukemia of the multiple plaintiffs. There were resources that the water could turn out to be unsafe and uncleaned, especially The choice book that i am reading is titled, "A Civil Action" which is by the author, Jonathan Harr. At the territory of a city were located two plants and they were suspected in those deaths, particularly in water contamination.

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A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr

a civil action plot

After some tests it was proved that two wells that were pumping Woburn's water were infested with trichloroethylene TCE , and An amazing book that opens a window on the world of civil lawsuits. To compare A Civil Action from a much more low-brow piece of media, the popular movie 300 which depicts the three hundred Greek troops fighting in the legendary battle of Thermopylae against an overwhelming Persian army, Schlictmann is like the Greek King Leonidas who dares pierces the flesh of the God-King Xerxes. She and different families with wiped out kids enroll the administrations of a legal counselor named Jan Schlichtmann, who assembles the claim that will attempt the two companies for harming the groundwater that would spread unsafe synthetic concoctions into the water supply that prompted the Woburn neighborhood being referred to. Schlichtmann originally decides not to take the case due to both the lack of evidence and a clear defendant. Most of the judges are people for who justice and following rules are the main components of their lives.

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Civil Action Movie Tort Analysis

a civil action plot

The prosecuting lawyer then pins blame on the contaminated water as the cause of leukemia and other diseases that appeared in the East Woburn population in higher frequencies than normal, but so many pages are devoted to the question of 'how did the water get polluted? This book was already too long and detailed without side-stories that don't go anywhere. The lie is like gaming or drug addiction you do not know that you are addicted till you try to end it. Specifically, in this bifurcated trial, the issue of causation was tried to the jury first, wherein the jury would determine if, by a preponderance of the evidence, the defendants' pollution "proximately caused" the leukemia instances. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. Enter lawyer Jan Schlichtmann who accepts the case of eight families.

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A Civil Action Plot Overview

a civil action plot

Besides the cancers, the children and their families also developed a host of strange ailments: rashes, fatigue, headaches, constant nausea. Families of the leukemia victims retained t Litigation — A machine which you go into as a pig and come out of as a sausage. After some tests it was proved that two wells that were pumping Woburn's water were infested with trichloroethylene TCE , and were ordered shut down. His book was nominated for different awards one of those is National Book award. Following a defense motion for a re-trial that the judge indicated he would grant, the plaintiffs reached an out-of-court settlement with W. He spent over two million dollars on geologists, epidemiologists, doctors, and law professors, as well as on medical and groundwater tests, all trying to prove that the two companies knowingly polluted the water and poisoned his clients. Ambrose Bierce I read this book early in my legal career, probably 20 years ago.

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A Civil Action Summary

a civil action plot

My students were very frustrated by the ending. Grace to bleed, in a sense. After the first couple of pages, the book took off and held me on the edge of the seat right through to the end. I taught this in my course on rhetoric and the law. The first phase would determine if the two companies were responsible for the chemicals in the wells, and the second phase would determine if these chemicals were responsible for the deaths of Woburn residents.

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A Civil Action Summary

a civil action plot

While I could sympathize with the families who lost their children, my general dislike for the plaintiffs and their case made it hard to get outraged, or even really care. I understand the author shadowed many people involved before and during the trial. Unfortunately, Harr frames his story in a way that is ultimately far too simplistic. But ultimately, just like the Greeks in 300, Schlictmann standing up against more powerful forces simply causes him to lose everything. John Travolta and Robert Duvall starred in the film of the same name, and Robert Redford was on the production team. He was the person who held negotiations and he was a middleman among the power of law and simple inhabitants of a city.

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A Civil Action (film)

a civil action plot

I kept reading, expecting the victims to be vindicated as evidence as to criminal negligence keeps piling up. The rest of A Civil Action follows Jan Sclichtmann, a lawyer who takes on the case. Schlichtmann originally decides not to take the case due to both the lack of evidence and a clear defendant. More importantly, corporations are not the only ones responsible for environmental harm. Nеw Yоrk: Fіrst Vіntаgе Вооks. But at least Harr didn't go entirely Erin Brokovich, but did present the reasons the defendants could argue the science behind the allegations was, shall we say, not necessarily solid.

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Jonathan Harr "A Civil Action"

a civil action plot

Later picking up the case, Schlichtmann finds evidence suggesting trichloroethylene TCE contamination of the town's water supply by Riley Tannery, a subsidiary of Beatrice Foods; a chemical company, W. The same happened to Jan, he was thinking about the suit, and water was magnetizing him. In A Civil Action one will only find cynicism. In the course of the lawsuit Jan gets other attorneys in his Boston law firm to assist him. A report from the In 1988, Schlichtmann attempts to reraise the case against Beatrice, but the judge dismisses the case, citing testimony from Beatrice's soil chemist.

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