A Civil Action

Seeing the movie, A Civil Action, puts into action the material we have learned in the course involving before, during, and after a trial. At the beginning of the film, a young man serves the summons and complaint to the defendants. The complaint was served personally to the various defendants, at the place of work. Serving the defendants the lawsuit paperwork notifies them that there has been a complaint filed against them. Another tactic that is seen in the film for pre-trial is how they are using the tools of discovery to find evidence against the other party. The plaintiff’s lawyer, Jan Schlichtmann, questions potential witnesses and employees of W.R Grace and Beatrice Foods in this law firm, to see if they are willing to testify against…

In the movie A Civil Action, based on a true story, a family and many others are affected by unclean, polluted water. The city/town had been drinking this water and it had led to many medical issues. Especially for one specific family, the Anderson family. The Anderson family comes to Jan Schlichtman to fight their side. He isn’t onboard until he sees what looks to be the root of all the health problems. The case is long and it’s the first he doesn’t succeed but as soon as has hard proof, he…

A Civil Action is a 1998 film depicting an attorney, Jan Schlichtmann, played by John Travolta, and how he battles it out against two companies that ha accused of dumping toxic and harmful waste into the nearby bodies of water and the ground. The plaintiff of this case is the families that were affected by the dumping of the waste; five families in which a child of theirs died from leukemia, and so Anne Anderson, also a victim, reached out to Schlichtmann to take on this case. The companies…

The film A Civil Action is about the court case of multiple families that have lost their children to leukemia. These families believed that the city’s tap water was contaminated with trichloroethylene which ultimately lead to these children’s untimely death. The main family that brought this concern into light was Anne Anderson, when her toddler died of leukemia. The lawsuit, which was made by the plaintiff’s law Jan Schlichtmann, was against industrial operations. Even though only one out of…

In A Civil Action you witness how different characters lived their life’s with different principles. There are three characters that can be examined by Henry David Thoreau essay “Life Without Principle”, which are Jan Schlichtmann, Jerry Facher, and Anne Anderson. Jan Schlichtmann, is a successful personal-injury attorney and lives his life by using his clients’ injuries and pain in order to advance financially. Jerry Facher, who was also an attorney, knew how to win a case. He lived his life…

A Civil Action: response “The truth? I thought we were talking about a court of law. C’mon you’ve been around long enough to know the court isn't the place to look for the truth. You're lucky to find anything here that in any way resembles the truth.” A Civil Action starring John Travolta (aka my long lost father) was an interesting (long) film that I actually enjoyed. I invited my parents to watch it with me and of course they fell asleep mostly because I couldn’t find the CC button but I was…

A Civil Action Jonathan Harr wrote a book titled, A Civil Action. The book tells the true story about the legal case of Anderson vs. Cryovac. The case was about water contamination done by 2 companies in a small town, Woburn, MA. The story tells how the water contamination affected several families in the town and also how the lawsuit affects the lawyer who tries the case. There are children in the town getting leukemia and dying. A woman in town named, Anne Anderson has a 3-year…

Litigation is defined as a lawsuit. Hence, criminal litigation (or lawsuit/action) means taking legal action against a criminal claim or prosecuting a criminal case. Civil litigation means taking legal action against a non-criminal case, most likely to reimburse wrong doing by the means of money. Civil actions include products liability actions, personal injury suits, probate actions, environmental law, education law, and domestic relations. Most cases in the country are variations of civil…

Civil versus Criminal Actions The legal system in the U.S recognizes two types of cases; Civil and criminal cases. It is worth noting the difference between the two actions. Civil actions involve private conflicts between individuals or organizations whereas Criminal action is a public offense that requires trial and punishment (Mann, 1992). The difference may occur in different stages such as the objectives, the remedies, and outcomes, the administration of each action and the subjects…

The story by Mr. Harr captures vividly, the civil justice system as discussed in the class text “May it Please the Court” by Brian L. Porto. According to Porto, there are five main actors in the judicial process, especially in a civil proceeding. These players include the plaintiff tell me what they do, the defendants here too, the lawyers for the plaintiff and the defendants’ side, as well as the judge who presides over the civil case. For instance, the case in A Civil Action by Mr. Harr…