A Civil Action

The Anderson v. Cryovac case, a landmark environmental lawsuit, centered on the alleged contamination of groundwater in Woburn, Massachusetts. Initiated in 1982, the case pit eight Woburn families, represented by attorney Jan Schlichtmann, against W.R. Grace and Beatrice Foods, owners of industrial facilities suspected of polluting local wells with trichloroethylene (TCE) and other chemicals. The plaintiffs claimed that the companies’ negligence in handling toxic waste resulted in the contamination of Wells G and H, which provided water to the community. This contamination, they argued, caused an unusually high incidence of leukemia and other health issues in their community, particularly among children.

The trial, known for its complexity and emotional intensity, featured extensive expert testimony on geology, hydrology, and toxicology. Schlichtmann’s strategy hinged on proving the link between the companies’ waste disposal practices and the contaminated groundwater despite vigorous objections and counterarguments from the defense. Judge Walter J. Skinner presided over the case, which underwent numerous procedural challenges and strategic maneuvers by both sides. Although the jury found W.R. Grace liable for contaminating the water, Beatrice Foods was exonerated.

After Schlichtmann’s failed attempt to retry the case against Beatrice in 1988, the EPA successfully made Beatrice pay for a $68 million cleanup of the polluted area, which was the largest settlement of its kind at the time. A Civil Action does not contain details on this win since it came after Schlichtmann’s involvement with the lawsuit, but it helps to contextualize what seems like an anticlimax at the book’s end.

Anderson v. Cryovac was a landmark case because it highlighted the difficulties in proving causation in environmental litigation and set a precedent for future cases involving industrial pollution and public health.