Justice for Civility…
A Civil Action is a 1998 film directed and written by Steven Zaillian and stars John Travolta with Robert Duvall, James Gandolfini, Dan Hedaya, John Lithgow, William H. Macy, Kathleen Quinlan, and Tony Shalhoub. The film is based on the 1995 book by Jonathan Harr of the same name, that tells the true story of Woburn, Massachusetts in the 1980s, and the court case about environmental pollution surrounding the induxtrial solvent trichloroethylene. A civil lawsuit was filed over industrial operations that appeared to have caused fatal cases of leukemia and cancer, as well as a wide variety of other health problems amoung citizens in the city. The specific case the film centers on involved is Anne Anderson, et al., v. Cryovac, Inc., et al.. The first reported decision in the case is at 96 F.R.D. 431 (denial of defendants’ motion to dismiss).
![Harr lives and works in Northampton, Massachusetts, where he has taught nonfiction writing at Smith College. In 2008 he was writer-in-residence at the University of Chicago.[3] He is a former staff writer at New England Monthly and has written for The New Yorker and The New York Times Magazine.[4] Harr spent approximately seven and a half years researching and writing A Civil Action,[5] which was published in 1995, and subsequently nominated for a National Book Award, and awarded the National Book Critics Circle Award. John Travolta and Robert Duvall starred in the film of the same name, and Robert Redford was on the production team. Harr later wrote The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece in 2005, which became a best seller. The New York Times named it one of the ten best books of 2005.](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Jonathan-Harr.webp?ssl=1)
![Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a halocarbon with the formula C2HCl3, commonly used as an industrial metal degreasing solvent. It is a clear, colourless, non-flammable, volatile liquid with a chloroform-like pleasant mild smell[3] and sweet taste.[9] Its IUPAC name is trichloroethene. Trichloroethylene has been sold under a variety of trade names. Industrial abbreviations include TCE, trichlor, Trike, Tricky and tri. Under the trade names Trimar and Trilene, it was used as a volatile anesthetic and as an inhaled obstetrical analgesic. It should not be confused with the similar 1,1,1-trichloroethane, which was commonly known as chlorothene.](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Trichloroethylene-1024x1024.jpg?ssl=1)
![The residents of Woburn, Massachusetts sued Beatrice Foods, the operator of a tannery; Cryovac, a subsidiary of W. R. Grace and Company; and UniFirst, a laundry service, for dumping chemicals that contaminated nearby groundwater. The occurrence of a cancer cluster and other negative effects on health led to revelations of water polluted primarily with trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene. The first trial included contentious disputes over "splitting" the trial into separate liability and damages phases.The Court decided to let the jury decide first whether there was enough evidence to hold the defendants liable for the water contamination, and which defendants would be held responsible for any proven damages to the plaintiffs as a result of the contamination. This is called bifurcating the trial. If any of the defendants were determined by the jury to not be liable, then they would be dismissed from the second part of the trial to determine damages. W.R. Grace was found liable, and Beatrice was found not liable. Judge Walter Jay Skinner granted a motion for a mistrial put by W. R. Grace. Woburn residents then appealed that motion, along with Beatrice's not liable verdict. The Court of Appeal ordered a new trial. The district court then found that a discovery error made by Beatrice impaired the plaintiffs' preparation process, but recommended that its earlier denial of motion for relief from judgment be sustained.[clarification needed] On appeal, the circuit court judge held that: first, the district court did not abuse its discretion by its determination regarding pretrial discovery, namely, the district court had determined that the operator's failure to disclose a report during pretrial discovery did not warrant relief from judgment.[clarification needed] Second, the judge held that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it determined that the operator's nondisclosure of a report was roughly equivalent to residents' improper continuation of prosecution of their claim, and thus that monetary sanctions should not be imposed upon either party. Finally, the judge found that the operator's nondisclosure of report did not constitute “fraud on the court” which would trigger entry of default. On 22 September 1986, W.R. Grace settled with the plaintiffs for an undisclosed amount of money. However, many sources report that it was around $8 million (equivalent to roughly $22 million in 2023).](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Anderson-v.-Cryovac.jpg?ssl=1)
Despite the film being released showing promise initially in a limited release, on a wide release A Civil Action was a box office failure, earning just $56 million domestic gross against its $75 million budget. The film was released with a number of films as competition that became hits, earning between $120 and $129 million each, including Shakespeare in Love, The Prince of Egypt, Star Trek: Insurrection, You’ve Got Mail, Stepmom and Patch Adams.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three and a half out of four stars and wrote:
“Civil Action is like John Grisham for grownups.”
And while A Civil Action was a box office failure, the film received two nominations at the 71st Academy Awards in 1999, with Duvall earning an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and cinematographer Conrad L. Hall earned a nomination for Best Cinematography.
![The 71st Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best of 1998 in film and took place on March 21, 1999, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 24 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Gil Cates and directed by Louis J. Horvitz.[3][4] Actress Whoopi Goldberg hosted the show for the third time.[5] She first hosted the 66th ceremony held in 1994 and had last hosted the 68th ceremony in 1996.[6] Nearly a month earlier in a ceremony held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on February 27, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Anne Heche.[7] Shakespeare in Love won 7 awards, including Best Picture.[8] Other winners included Saving Private Ryan with 5 awards, Life Is Beautiful with 3, and Affliction, Bunny, Election Night, Elizabeth, Gods and Monsters, The Last Days, The Personals: Improvisations on Romance in the Golden Years, The Prince of Egypt, and What Dreams May Come with 1. The telecast garnered nearly 46 million viewers in the United States.](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/71st-Academy-Awards.jpeg?ssl=1)
![Conrad Lafcadio Hall, ASC (June 21, 1926 – January 4, 2003) was a French Polynesian-born American cinematographer.[1] Named after writers Joseph Conrad and Lafcadio Hearn, he became widely prominent as a cinematographer earning numerous accolades including three Academy Awards (with ten nominations), three BAFTA Awards and five American Society of Cinematographers Awards. Hall won three Academy Awards for Best Cinematography for his work on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), American Beauty (1999), and Road to Perdition (2002). He was also Oscar-nominated for Morituri (1965), The Professionals (1966), In Cold Blood (1967), The Day of the Locust (1975), Tequila Sunrise (1988), Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993), and A Civil Action (1998). He is also known for Cool Hand Luke (1967), Fat City (1972), and Marathon Man (1976). In 2003, Hall was judged to be one of history's ten most influential cinematographers in a survey of the members of the International Cinematographers Guild.[2] He has been given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Conrad-Hall-1024x667.jpg?ssl=1)
A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr about the contamination case in Woburn, Mass. became a best-seller. It also won the National Book Critics Circle Award for nonfiction.
![The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".[1] The first NBCC awards were announced and presented January 16, 1976.[2] Six awards are presented annually to books published in the U.S. during the preceding calendar year, in six categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Memoir/Autobiography, Biography, and Criticism. Four of them span the entire NBCC award history; Memoir/Autobiography and Biography were recognized by one "Autobiography/Biography" award for publication years 1983 to 2004, then replaced by two awards. Beginning in 2014, the NBCC also presents a special "first book" award across all six categories, named the John Leonard Award in honor of literary critic and NBCC founding member John Leonard, who died in 2008.[3] Books previously published in English are not eligible, such as re-issues and paperback editions. Nor does the NBC Circle consider "cookbooks, self help books (including inspirational literature), reference books, picture books or children's books". They do consider "translations, short story and essay collections, self published books, and any titles that fall under the general categories".[4] The judges are the volunteer directors of the NBCC who are 24 members serving rotating three-year terms, with eight elected annually by the voting members,[5] namely "professional book review editors and book reviewers".[6] Winners of the awards are announced each year at the NBCC awards ceremony in conjunction with the yearly membership meeting, which takes place in March.](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/National-Book-Critics-Circle-Award.png?resize=525%2C263&ssl=1)
Anderson v. Cryovac was a federal lawsuit concerning toxic contamination of groundwater in 1986 in Woburn, Massachusetts. The residents of Woburn, Massachusetts sued Beatrice Foods, the operator of a tannery; Cryovac, a subsidiary of W. R. Grace and Company; and UniFirst, a laundry service, for dumping chemicals that contaminated nearby groundwater. The occurrence of a cancer cluster and other negative effects on health led to revelations of water polluted primarily with trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene.
![Beatrice Foods Company was a major American food conglomerate founded in 1894.[1][2] One of the best-known food processing companies in the U.S., Beatrice owned many well-known brands such as Tropicana, Krispy Kreme, Jolly Rancher, Orville Redenbacher's, Swiss Miss, Peter Pan, Avis, Milk Duds, Samsonite, Playtex, La Choy and Dannon.[3][4] In 1987, its international food operations were sold to Reginald Lewis, a corporate attorney, creating TLC Beatrice International, after which the majority of its domestic (U.S.) brands and assets were acquired by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts,[5] with the bulk of its holdings sold off. By 1990, the remaining operations were ultimately acquired by ConAgra Foods.](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Beatrice-FOods.jpg?ssl=1)
![W. R. Grace and Co. is an American chemical business based in Columbia, Maryland. It produces specialty chemicals and specialty materials in two divisions: Grace Catalysts Technologies, which makes polyethylene and polypropylene catalysts and related products and technologies used in petrochemical, refining, and other chemical manufacturing applications, and Grace Materials and Chemicals, which makes specialty materials, including silica-based and silica-alumina-based materials, which are used in commercial products such as sunscreen[2] and in chemical process applications.[1] For much of its early history, Grace's main business was in South America, in maritime shipping, railroads, agriculture, and silver mining, with 30,000 employees in Peru. In the 1950s, Grace began to diversify and grew into a Fortune 100 worldwide conglomerate. After emerging from a prolonged bankruptcy period of 12 years in 2014, the company spun off its other major operating divisions. In 2015, Grace separated into two independent public companies. Its Catalysts and Material Technologies business segments remained in Grace, and what would later become GCP Applied Technologies Inc. held its Construction Products and Darex Packaging Technologies businesses. In September 2021, Standard Industries acquired Grace (the Catalysts and Material Technologies business segments).](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/W.R-Grace-and-COmpany.png?ssl=1)
![SEE, legally the Sealed Air Corporation, is a packaging company known for its brands: Cryovac food packaging and Bubble Wrap cushioning packaging.[2][3][4] With over $5.5+ billion in revenues in 2023, it is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, led by Chief Operating Officer Emile Chammas, President, Dustin Semach, and CEO Patrick Kivits](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Cryovac-1024x683.jpg?ssl=1)
![cancer cluster is a disease cluster in which a high number of cancer cases occurs in a group of people in a particular geographic area over a limited period of time.[1] Historical examples of work-related cancer clusters are well documented in the medical literature. Notable examples include: scrotal cancer among chimney sweeps in 18th-century London; osteosarcoma among female watch dial painters in the 20th century; skin cancer in farmers; bladder cancer in dye workers exposed to aniline compounds; and leukemia and lymphoma in chemical workers exposed to benzene.[2] Cancer cluster suspicions usually arise when members of the general public report that their family members, friends, neighbors, or coworkers have been diagnosed with the same or related cancers. State or local health departments will investigate the possibility of a cancer cluster when a claim is filed.[3] In order to justify investigating such claims, health departments conduct a preliminary review. Data will be collected and verified regarding: the types of cancer reported, numbers of cases, geographic area of the cases, and the patients clinical history. At this point, a committee of medical professionals will examine the data and determine whether or not an investigation (often lengthy and expensive) is justified.[4] In the U.S., state and local health departments respond to more than 1,000 inquiries about suspected cancer clusters each year. It is possible that a suspected cancer cluster may be due to chance alone; however, only clusters that have a disease rate that is statistically significantly greater than the disease rate of the general population are investigated. Given the number of inquiries it is likely that many of these are due to chance alone. It is a well-known problem in interpreting data that random cases of cancer can appear to form clumps that are misinterpreted as a cluster.[5] A cluster is less likely to be coincidental if the case consists of one type of cancer, a rare type of cancer, or a type of cancer that is not usually found in a certain age group. Between 5% and 15% of suspected cancer clusters are statistically significant.](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Cancer-Cluster-1024x538.jpg?ssl=1)
![Tetrachloroethylene, also known as perchloroethylene[a] or under the systematic name tetrachloroethene, and abbreviations such as perc (or PERC), and PCE, is a chlorocarbon with the formula Cl2C=CCl2. It is a non-flammable, stable, colorless and heavy liquid widely used for dry cleaning of fabrics. It also has its uses as an effective automotive brake cleaner. It has a mild sweet, sharp odor, detectable by most people at a concentration of 50 ppm.[6] Tetrachloroethylene is regarded as a toxic substance, a human health hazard, and an environmental hazard.[5][7] In 2020, the United States Environmental Protection Agency stated that "tetrachloroethylene exposure may harm the nervous system, liver, kidneys, and reproductive system, and may be harmful to unborn children", and reported that numerous toxicology agencies regard it as a carcinogen.](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/perchloroethylene.webp?ssl=1)
A Civil Action is the Featured Film Blog of the month for December, for its historical class action lawsuit in Woburn, Mass. You can expect to read a critique of the 1998 film that evaluates Anderson v. Cryovac. You can also read a recommendation for the film with an included biography on Jan Schlictmann, the lawyer played by Travolta in the film. There is also a review of Jonathn Harr’s book of the same name that the film was based on. For the interview, author Jonathn Harr, director/screenwriter Steven Zaillian, and star of the film, John Travolta discuss A Civil Action with Charlie Rose. There is also a Top Ten List to commemorate the film being a Featured Film Blog of the month, and for A Civil Action, the topic of the list is My Top Ten John Travolta Movies! And finally, as a Featured Film Blog of the month, you can watch the Official Trailer for A Civil Action, and then plan on renting it tonight on your preferred streaming platform!
SCROLL DOWN AND WATCH THE OFFICIAL TRAILER!
A Civil Action is available now to rent on all streaming platforms!
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