Grace Vs Shlichtmann Case Brief

The plaintiffs of the Court Case W.R.Grace and Beatrice Foods vs. Schlichtmann consisted of six families. In total, 8 children had died from leukemia in the small town of Woburn, Boston, causing families Kane, Tumez, Sullinger, Robbin, Aufiero and Anderson to file a civil action lawsuit with Schlichtmann, Conway and Crowley Law Office as their attorney. In order to prove that W.R. Grace and Beatrice Foods contaminated Woburn's waterways, causing the surge of leukemia, Schlichtmann hired a team of scientists to scavenge through John Riley’s land (former owner of an involved leather tannery), where most of the waste was presumably manufactured and dumped. As more geologists and doctors are called upon, Schlichtmann begins to rack up an impressive $1.4 million deficit, forcing

While waiting for the court’s final decision, Facher proposes a final offer, “...20 million dollars. Now, that would put things into perspective for you, wouldn’t it?” [3]. Counting the established settlement between Beatrice and Schlichtmann as well as Grace and Schlichtmann, the closing payment would be a whopping $65 million. Instead of agreeing to this offer, Jan Schlichtmann sets his destiny, as well as his clients, by ripping the twenty dollars produced by Facher in half, ultimately declining the offer. Back in the courtroom, Judge Skinner rules, “With respect to W.R. Grace, the jury has answered ‘yes’ to question 1 regarding trichloroethylene contamination, requiring we proceed further in the case against Grace to a second stage of this trial. In regard to Beatrice, the jury has answered ‘no’ to question 1, in all it’s points pertaining to contamination. Which renders question 2 and 3 inapplicable.” [4] By losing Beatrice, Schlichtmann forfeited 45 million dollars, ultimately only gaining $375,000 for each of the families. All in all, Jan Schlichtmann was unable to provide the plaintiffs with a successful