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The film “A Civil Action” directed by Steven Zaillian was released in 1998. This film follows the story of a lawyer, played by John Travolta, as he works on a case about the dumping of toxic waste. Jan Schlichtmann, Travolta’s character, never took a case he couldn’t settle out of court. When this case was bounced to him from another office he immediately went out to tell them “no” but changed his mind after seeing the area.

The town of Woburn, Massachusetts had eight families whose children died of leukemia. There was no family history of this disease, just a careless company with questionable morals. Jan has a history of not taking such cases because they lead to lengthy legal proceedings. After speaking to the parents Jan’s mind is not changed, he will not take the case.

On the way out of Woburn Jan receives a speeding ticket and sees a shack from the road. He goes to inspect the shack and sees a tannery that the parents had told him about. This inspires him to look further into the case. The tannery is owned by a larger company worth millions. Now that Jan sees the monetary gains he could make, he decides to take on the case.

Former and current workers of the tannery were interviewed about its practices for dumping toxins. An engineer was hired to see if toxins dumped by the tannery could leak to the town water supply. Finally one worker speaks out, sharing a story about one specific incident he witnessed. The worker was told to dump chemicals in the nearby river. After completing this task under a veil of darkness he hears some teenagers near the river. The teenagers were shooting off bottle rockets. While trying to shoo them away one of the bottle rockets hit the river, igniting the water. Both the teenagers and worker were terrified and ran.

Jan takes this information with him to try and settle. He refuses to take the money offered because he feels the families deserve more. All the families ask for is an apology for what occurred; they are not in it for the money. In the process of researching this case Jan has spent all of the firm’s money. All of the partners’ homes have been mortgaged. The secretary’s desk is now a cardboard box.

The film ends with the partners being paid back with some of the settlement money. Jan sends the case to another lawyer with a note that it is worthwhile. He opens his own firm and continues practicing law, though his partners will no longer work with him.

This film shows how many different aspects there can be to one court case. It shows how costly a court case can be, as well as how emotionally trying. The movie would be appropriate for all audiences. It is only based on the true story but this is enough to convey what the families in Woburn went through and how large companies can ignore the affect they have on an area.