Schlichtmann V. Woburn Case

B. In A Civil Action, how are the attorneys on each side paid? How does the method of payment (contingency fee, hourly) affect the way the lawsuit proceeds? How does the contingency fee arrangement affect the plaintiffs’ lawyers and law firm? How does the contingency fee arrangement affect the plaintiffs, with regard to their ability to bring the lawsuit and with regard to their view of the outcome of the suit?

With the cases were settled out-of-court, the attorney fee was paid by each side. Schlichtmann and his partners charge the plaintiffs in the Woburn case by 28 percent of $8 million for the contingency fee and left around $375000 to each family. In this case, the attorneys were paid based on the contingency basis, which put Schlichtmann and the chance of winning the Woburn case on the brink. While

Grace and Beatrice have access to unlimited funds to support this case, Schlichtmann relied totally on the $1 million got from the UniFirst’s settlement and his small company to take on the case. Understand the weakness, Grace and Beatrice took that advantage, use the numerous dilatory or counterstrike motions to increase the fee and expenses of the plaintiffs as the longer the case, the more of the costs. Moreover, they also discredited Schlichtmann, threatened his law license and only stopped if he agrees to leave the case. At one point, Schlichtmann was even forced to file bankruptcy. In order to keep up with the case, Schlichtmann’s firm had to take out loan and mortgage their homes, until the banks could not afford for any more loans. Jarome Facher said, “I thought we were talking about a court of law. Come on, you've been around long enough to know that a courtroom isn't a place to look for the truth,” the lawsuits is more about the strategies than the truth, there is only winner and loser, the right does not always win. Schlichtmann believed that he would get more than just $8 million for settlement offered by Grace, but his partners were at their limit, “I don't have anything, Jan! What do I have? I've got a couple of bucks and some, some bus transfers. I've got a saving account from when I was 12 years-old. Here! There's 37 dollars in here,” James Gordon said. The outcome of the suit was the $8 million settlement out-of-court between Grace and the plaintiffs.
Question Three: Government Power
A. With regard to Madoff, Enron, and the companies in A Civil Action, the ability of Congress and/or federal regulatory agencies (such as the SEC and the EPA) to investigate played a role in attempts to bring wrongdoers to justice. Describe the investigations (and who undertook them); the apparent goals of the investigations, and whether and how the investigations succeeded in repairing the harm done to society and individual victims.
The investigation from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the Enron’s case started in 2001 as the suspicion existed on Enron’s publicly financial statement. The SEC had the right to open an investigation, at first, the investigation was conducted confidentially to protect evidence and reputations. The SEC found out that the Enron’s executives lied to the employees and investors to invest their life saving, children’s college funds and pensions into the company. Consequently, Enron collapsed, all the employees were fired and asked to leave in 30 minutes without anything in returns for their investments. After gathering enough evidence to charge the company, the investigation became publicly and SEC filed an action in court. In the Enron’s case, Enron was forced by the law to files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the ex-executives that are related to the case were later sentenced to prison. A move from SEC also led to many civil lawsuits from employees, shareholders against Enron for compensation. In the Madoff’s case, SEC confirmed internal investigation about the Ponzi scheme which was headed by financial manager Bernard Madoff. In 16 years, Madoff’s company was investigated at least 8 times by the SEC and other regulatory authorities. With multiple failures investigation of Madoff’s securities firm due to the evidences were not clear and enough to sue Madoff and his firm. However, after all, Madoff was charged with securities fraud what makes huge effect on economic growth, financial system, and investment behavior. Madoff was sentenced 150 years in prison, and were faced multiple civil lawsuits from his victims which were mostly investors. even though most of the victims got their compensation back, the effect Madoff left to the society still existed, the change in investment behavior resulted in economic setbacks and many shop were forced to close, unemployment rate increased, those were some effects that Madoff left to the community and individual victims that can only be repairing through times. finally, in Woburn case, even after the settlement out-of-court, the EPA still took an action into the case, they investigated and charged Grace Beatrice and UniFirst the amount up to $68 million to recover the river where it got contaminated.
B. What is your reaction to learning about the wrongdoing described in all four documentaries? Do you think that anything could have been done by the government to prevent the wrongdoing (and thus the harm)? Do you feel that we have adequate methods for dealing with alleged wrongdoing after the fact? Do you feel that wrongdoing and harm is “business as usual” that we have to endure in a capitalist system and that there is little we can do to prevent or combat it?
All the wrongdoing in four documentaries due to the lack of knowledge from the investors and employees, also due to negligent of some companies like Grace and Beatrice.

In order to prevent the wrongdoing occur, the government should put more attention on creating law that can possibly prevent wrongdoing from not happening, not for the punishment when it already occurred. In Madoff’s case, even with the investigation from the SEC, Madoff’s company was still able to grow and expand in more than 10 years before they finally got caught and brought to the court. Also, beside the facts, the lawsuit is nothing more than a war, with either you take everything or you lost everything, just like in the civil action, the lawsuit is more about strategies than just a law itself. I don’t feel that we have adequate methods for dealing with alleged wrongdoing after the fact. it is hard to admit, but I see business like a war, you do business for profit, same goes to everyone else, conflict between company and company is always a thing in the economic world. There is one thing we can do at first, defense yourself by doing business in the right ways and follow the

law.