A civil action is a 1996 work of nonfiction by jonathan harr about a water contamination case in woburn, massachusetts, in the 1980s. The book details the dedication and triumphs of the citizens action group, the stress, strain, and disdain of the plaintiffs, the legal maneuvering. Feb, 2012 a civil action negotiation scene rb012088. A civil action is the story of that lawsuit, and, more generally, of how the moral rightness of a cause can be rendered irrelevant by a trip through americas legal system. Harrs 1995 book is a firstrate nonfiction account, fully deserving of the.
A civil action is a detailed and at times difficult. Sep 22, 2011 so, so long as youre already in law school or out in the larger, harsher legal world, my next piece of advice would be to buy yourself a copy of a civil action, and read it carefully. Jonathan harrs a civil action is based on the true story of the 1986 court case anderson v. A thirtyoneyearold woman named teresa padro is waiting at a bar for a friend. Macy and tony shalhoub descend into the case, the unbridled sense of power and money is abandoned. This 3page paper is a summary and response to the movie a civil action in terms of control theory. A civil action, the bookdespite its length and scrupulous detailreads like a gripping novel. When i was a wee baby attorney not even, i was a firstyear summer associate. With john travolta, robert duvall, kathleen quinlan, tony shalhoub.
Casting a stalwart john travolta again diverges from the book, which right from the opening pages showed us a schlichtmann with feet of clay. In the end, both companies agreed to finance an expensive cleanup plan. A tenacious lawyer takes on a case involving a major company responsible for causing several people to be diagnosed with leukemia due to the towns water supply being contaminated, at the risk of bankrupting his firm and career. A civil action is a nonfiction book by jonathan harr about a water contamination case in woburn, massachusetts, in the 1980s. The real story a civil action is a new york times best seller turned movie with john travolta in the leading role. A civil action overview in this short, culminating activity, students view an excerpt from the 1998 film a civil action, which is based on the 1996 nonfiction account of a water contamination case in woburn, massachusetts. Buy a cheap copy of a civil action book by jonathan harr. With a class action lawsuit to file, jan willingly puts himself and his firm as representatives of those families. A civil action trial procedure and elements of negligence essay. Jul 31, 20 a civil action provides us with an opportunity to consider how evidentiary systems and civil pleading rules are designed to narrow, not broaden, the focus of the finder of fact.
The book became a bestseller and won the national book critics circle award for nonfiction. Get a printable copy pdf file of the complete article 842k, or click on a page image below to browse page by page. Even though a civil action is based on a reallife, environmental civil lawsuit, it just proves something that john grisham knows all too well. If you go into this new movie having read the book, it is possible that you might have some questions regarding the original text, notably regarding the little women movie ending and how it. A civil action is a nonfiction book by jonathan harr about a water.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The case is presented in the clearest manner possible and reflects the procedures and machinations that take place in the development and prosecution of the trial. Starring john travolta and robert duvall, it tells the true story of a court case about environmental pollution that took place in woburn, massachusetts, in the 1980s. From a comic book standpoint, steve rogers has a long history of going underground and. Described as a pageturner filled with greed, duplicity, heartache, and bareknuckle legal brinksmanship by the new york times, a civil action is the searing, compelling tale of a legal system gone awryone in which greed and power fight an unending struggle against justice. With an unstoppable narrative power reminiscent of truman capotes in cold blood, a civil action is an unforgettable reading experience that will leave the reader both shocked and enlightened.
A civil action by jonathan harr the new york times. Eventually she gathers other families and seeks a lawyer, jan schlichtmann, to consider their. In the late 1970s, civil engineers discovered that local wells g and h were contaminated with several suspected carcinogens, including trichloroethylene tce. You can read the facts and a brief summary of the a civil action of jonathan harr right now. A civil action focuses on a liability lawsuit filed by eight woburn families. Grace and beatrice foods had been dumping a cancercausing industrial solvent into the water. A civil action essaynegligence college business law. A civil action attorney jan schlichtmann at barry school of law, april 20 duration. Jonathan harrs a civil action is a nonfiction account of the legal case between several families in woburn, massachusetts, and two corporations, beatrice foods and w. A civil action is a 1998 american legal drama film written and directed by steven zaillian, based on the book of the same name by jonathan harr. He is a former staff writer at the new england monthly and has written for the new yorker and the new york times magazine. A civil action is also about the gulf between skill and justice. This is a case in which the material really is better served in book form.
A civil action by jonathan harr goodreads share book. The questions, discussion topics, and author biography that follow are intended to enhance your groups reading of jonathan harrs a civil action. The woburn families from 1966 to 1986, more than a dozen cases of childhood leukemia hit the small town of woburn, massachusetts. We hope they will enrich your understanding of this fascinating chronicle of an epic courtroom battle. Photo gallery of actors attending a boston charity screening of locally filmed a civil action. From perry mason to the verdict, the public has always loved a good lawyers story, and the unfolding, and unraveling, of anderson et al. Nov 14, 2016 a civil action summary in 1976, at the age of four, robbie robbins was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia. His mother, anne anderson, believes it is just a cold. The residents were fighting against powerful conglomerates, the government and great odds. A brief summary of a civil action chapters 1 and 2. The plot of a civil action is based on a true story of the successful personal injury ambulance chaser characters words lawyer, otherwise unfulfilled, secretly hoping for that one big case. A civil action is the true story of a 1980s court case involving contaminated water in a town in massachusetts.
In the law as in chess, the better player usually wins. The story begins when a woman named anne anderson discovers that her son has leukemia. A civil actor john travolta talks about his role as a controversial attorney in a civil action. A welldressed man enters the bar and approaches her. This is a rare disease, but she soon finds that there are many other cases of leukemia in her town. Jun, 20 jonathan harr is the author of the national bestseller a civil action, winner of the national book critics circle award for nonfiction, and the lost painting, a new york times bestseller. The true story of a lawyer bringing a civil suit on behalf of 8 families of childhood leukemia victims in woburn, massachusetts doubles as a lesson in lawyering.
When the book begins, a young boy named jimmy anderson gets sick. In america, when somebody does you wrong, you take em to court. A civil action both the book and the movie is a lawyers story. Full text full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version. What makes us human is that we sometimes choose not to. Harrs presentation make a civil action a book that. The movie being there by jerzy kosinksi is a unique novel about a man named chauncey gardiner, also known as chance, who is forced to move out of the only environment hes ever known in his life, the old mans house.
A civil action reads like a fastpaced legal thriller and brilliantly captures the high. The central characters of a civil action are jan schlichtmann, anne anderson, jerome facher, walter skinner, and william cheeseman jan schlichtmann. The film a civil action is about an attorney, played by john travolta, who takes on a challenging case of representing the families of twelve children who have died from toxic poisons polluted by companies grace and beatrice. A civil action has been a classic account of a mass tort case for years. It has nothing to do with which is the better person. The scene explains how difficult the appeals process is for a plaintiff with little ressources and puts a big question mark on how we in the western socalled. This tale of a somewhat quixotic quest by an idealistic young. This synopsis contains no spoilers, in the same way that real life stories reported widely in the news contain no spoilers, only smoking guns. A civil action was made into a movie starring john travolta and robert duvall. He became one 28 children who contracted the disease between 1964 and 1986 in woburn, massachusetts, a boston suburb of 35,000 people. Much of the suspense, aside from the harrs concise and fluid writing style, is derived from the nature of the case itself. A civil action summary and study guide supersummary.
Civil war ending and post credits scenes explained. After finding that her child is diagnosed with leukemia, anne anderson notices a high prevalence of leukemia, a relatively rare disease, in her city. Throughout the book, the tragedies of individuals facing disease and. The author, jonathan harr, was a writer for the late, lamented new england monthly, a magazine that spawned more than its share of gifted young nonfiction writers. The first reported decision in the case is at 96 f. Yet it is also the story of how one man can ultimately make a. A civil action is a nonfiction book by jonathan harr about a water contamination case in. Like many personal injury cases, the woburn case pits corporations against private citizens.