cancer cluster
A 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.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
Walter Jay Skinner (September 12, 1927 – May 8, 2005) was a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Education and career
Born in Washington, D.C., Skinne ...
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
Discovery may refer to:
* Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown
* Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown
* Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence
Discovery, The Discovery ...
error made by Beatrice impaired the plaintiffs' preparation process, but recommended that its earlier denial of motion for relief from judgment be sustained. 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. 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
William Russell Grace (May 10, 1832 – March 21, 1904) was an Irish-American politician, the first Roman Catholic mayor of New York City, and the founder of W. R. Grace and Company.
Early life
Grace was born in Ireland in Riverstown near the ...
settled with the plaintiffs for an undisclosed amount of money, however many sources report that it was around $8 million (equivalent to roughly $ million in ).
Follow-up
On January 28, 1987,
W.R. Grace
William Russell Grace (May 10, 1832 – March 21, 1904) was an Irish-American politician, the first Roman Catholic mayor of New York City, and the founder of W. R. Grace and Company.
Early life
Grace was born in Ireland in Riverstown near the ...
was indicted by a grand jury of lying to the
EPA
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
Anderson Regional Transportation Center
Anderson Regional Transportation Center (RTC) (noted on MBTA schedules and maps as Anderson/Woburn, and on Amtrak schedules and maps as Woburn–Anderson) is a train and bus station located at 100 Atlantic Avenue, off Commerce Way, in Woburn, Mas ...
was later built on the site and named in memory of James R. "Jimmy" Anderson (1968–1981), whose mother Anne was the main plaintiff.
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes ''Carrie'' (19 ...
as plaintiffs' lawyer Jan Schlichtmann, was drawn from the book and loosely based on the case and related events.
Bibliography
*A Civil Action: A Documentary Companion, By Lewis A Grossman, Robert G Vaughn (West 2008) ()
*''Anderson v. Cryovac'', C.A. No. 82-1672-S (D. Mass); (''Anne Anderson et al. v. Cryovac Inc. W.R. Grace Inc., John J. Riley Company Inc., Beatrice Inc. et al.'' Superior Court Civil Action #82-2444, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Filed May 14, 1982.)
*''Anderson v. Cryovac, Inc.'', 96 F.R.D. 431 ( D. Mass. 1983)
*''Anderson v. W.R. Grace & Co.'' 628 F. Supp. 1219 (D. Mass. 1986)
*''Anderson v. Cryovac, Inc.'' 805 F.2d 1 (1st Cir. Mass. 1986)
*''Anderson v. Cryovac, Inc.'' 862 F.2d 910 (1st Cir. Mass. 1988), on remand, ''Anderson v. Beatrice Foods Co.'', 127 F.R.D. 1 ( D. Mass. 1989)
*''Anderson v. Beatrice Foods Co.'', 129 F.R.D. 394 (D. Mass. 1989), aff'd 900 F.2d 388 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 891 (1990)