A Civil Action (1998) is an American film which was based off a true story. John Travolta played a legal counsel and Jan Schlichtmann fought a court case for pollution in Woburn, Massachusetts. The film shows how illegally dumping chemicals such as Trichloroethylene poisoned drinking water in Woburn, Massachusetts, leading to Leukemia, carcinoma and other medical conditions. Twelve people died. It was eight children that died of Leukemia. Anne Anderson’s son died from Leukemia and she planned to present a large amount of evidence against the person responsible for these deaths. Anne Anderson is the Plaintiff in this case and J Riley Leather & W.R. Grace the Defendants. Jan Schlichtmann is a Boston-based personal injury lawyer with a wealth of experience who was able to take the case when it was rejected by other firms.

Jan initially dismissed the case, as he did not see a significant payoff. He reevaluated the case after realizing that the contaminated stream water could be tracked back to Beatrice Foods or W.R. Grace. Jan’s law firm gets into a lot of debt after the case is decided to be too high. Anne Anderson, the locals and even the court were not happy with the settlement because they did not get an apology from the responsible parties. Jan loses his entire life in the pursuit of justice; his friends, his house, and his car. Jan uncovers additional evidence after a period of time. This implicates J.R. Riley Leather, Beatrice Foods and other companies. He sends the new evidence along with the old archives of the case to the Environment Protection Agency. The EPA is then asked to re-examine the evidence. W.R. Grace & Beatrice Foods paid a huge sum to settle the case.

The film portrays business negatively. The entire film shows a collection of evidence against the two main organizations responsible for contaminating water in the city. The film shows that organizations don’t care about the environment or for individuals. W.R. Grace in Woburn and J Riley Leather in nearby towns dumped harmful solvents and did not care to clean it up or stop the spread of the substance. These organizations are showing a lack of care for the environment and their neighbors. This shows a lack of concern for the environment and the people in the neighborhood. These organizations tried to hide their illegal activities.

The film also depicts lawyers and suit procedures in an unfavorable light. Jan Schlichtmann’s character initially rejects the suit and only reconsiders after realizing that the respondents may have ‘profound pocket’. Anne Anderson and neighbors did not need a monetary repayment but rather a statement from those who were aware. The case was dismissed by many law offices because they failed to see the potential for a large result. Even Jan says in the film that a lawyer who shares the pain of his client is a grave insult. Jan believes that a legal advisor should not have sympathy for his clients. Jan says that ‘the purpose of any claim is to settle it or get the other party to settle. Spending more money than you need to will force the other side to do the same. Whoever wakes up before them loses. Mr. Faber also says that ‘the courtroom is not a place to seek truth…’ These remarks are all shown in the film as a degenerate view of preliminary proceedings and prosecutions. Equity hasn’t been visually impaired. Instead, it is being bought by those with the highest bids.

Mr. Granger was also viewed with moral dilemma as he drove for a local trucking company. J. Riley Leather Company hired him to drive a truck that emptied barrels of toxic solvents into the waterway. He knew that J. Riley Leather Company was facing a large amount of evidence but never stepped in to observe the proceedings. Jan uncovers that J. Riley Leather didn’t dump the toxic waste themselves, but instead contracted someone else to do so. Jan then reveals that the trucking company received payments in installments. He refuses the revelations of Mr. Granger. The latter reveals that the owner of J. Riley Leather Company Mr. Riley had given him Boston Celtics tickets in exchange for him keeping his mouth sealed about the waste transportation. Granger’s declaration will force the EPA, which is responsible for environmental contamination, to retest Beatrice Foods. This is the parent company of J. Riley Company.

According to my opinion, Mr. Granger could have approached the situation in a way that resembled a witness when he realized there were growing evidences against J. Riley. He should have given back the Celtics Tickets and stopped keeping quiet for so long about what he was aware of. Jan had a W.R. Grace witness, but he had none for Beatrice Foods. Granger approaching would have given a much stronger argument and likely not been rejected. If I were you, I would not have accepted the tickets for free and instead approach the court as a witness. I understand how complicated Mr. Granger’s life was. J. Riley Company, the longest standing business in Woburn with deep ties to the network, was J. Riley Company. It also employed a lot of local residents and remained in Woburn when other organizations left. Mr. Grover was probably loyal to Mr. Riley, and didn’t want to lie about the local organization. He would have been wise to put his reservations aside, and work with the local network. They had suffered a lot because of what he did.

This film taught me a great deal about civil litigation and the ethics of trial proceedings. In this film, Beatrice Foods was exonerated by the jury but W.R. Grace had been indicted. Grace also sealed a deal before the second trial started. WR. was able to reach a settlement for 8 million dollars. Grace, Grace received less than $500,000. The trial costs a totaled $26 million, while the legal fees amounted to 2.2 million. I have a better understanding of the cost of lawsuits and how much money may be required to file a lawsuit. The film helped me understand the corporate world and how they pollute cities without considering the long-term effects. I learned in life that taking shortcuts is not always a good idea because they can cost a lot of money.