A Civil Action
Cover to the paperback edition
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| Author | Jonathan Harr |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Published | August 29, 1995 |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) |
| Pages | 500 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 31969453 |
| LC Class | KF228.A667 H37 1996 |
| Followed by | The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece |
A Civil Action is a 1995 work of non-fiction by Jonathan Harr about a water contamination case in Woburn, Massachusetts, in the 1980s. The book became a best-seller and won the National Book Critics Circle Award for nonfiction.
The case is Anderson v. Cryovac. The first reported decision in the case is at 96 F.R.D. 431 (denial of defendants' motion to dismiss).
A 1998 film of the same name, starring John Travolta as Jan Schlichtmann and Robert Duvall as Jerome Facher, was based on the book.
After finding that her child is diagnosed with leukemia, Anne Anderson notices a high incidence of leukemia, a relatively rare disease, in her city. Eventually she gathers other families and seeks a lawyer, Jan Schlichtmann, to consider their options.
Schlichtmann originally decides not to take the case due to both the lack of evidence and a clear defendant. 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. R. Grace; and another company named Unifirst.
In the course of the lawsuit Schlichtmann gets other attorneys to assist him. He spends lavishly as he had in his prior lawsuits, but the length of the discovery process and trial stretch all of their assets to their limit.
Though Unifirst settles for a little over $1 million, the money immediately is invested in the case against Grace and Beatrice. The plaintiffs' case against Grace is far stronger for two reasons: (1) Schlichtmann has personal testimony of a former employee of Grace who had witnessed dumping, and (2) a river between Beatrice's tannery and the contaminated wells make their contribution to the contamination less plausible. The jury finds Beatrice not liable. Though Schlichtmann's firm anticipates a much higher settlement, the dire state of its finances forces it to accept settlement from W.R. Grace for $8 million.
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Wikipedia