Environmental toxicants in the city of
Woburn,
Massachusetts, contaminate the area's water supply and become linked to a number of deaths of local children. Cocky
Boston attorney Jan Schlichtmann and his small firm of
personal injury lawyers are asked by Woburn resident Anne Anderson to take legal action against those responsible. After originally rejecting a seemingly unprofitable case, Jan finds a major
environmental issue involving groundwater contamination that has great legal potential and realizes the local
tanneries could be responsible for several deadly cases of
leukemia. Jan decides to go forward against two giant corporations that own the tanneries—
Beatrice Foods and
W. R. Grace and Company—thinking the case could possibly earn him millions of dollars and boost his firm's reputation. Bringing a
class action lawsuit in federal court, Jan represents families who demand an apology and a clean up of contaminated areas. However, the case develops a life of its own and takes over the lives of Jan and his firm. The lawyers for Beatrice and Grace are not easy to intimidate, a judge makes a key ruling against the plaintiffs, and soon Jan and his partners find themselves in a position where their professional and financial survival has been staked on the outcome of the case. Jan stubbornly declines
settlement offers, gradually coming to believe the case is about more than just money. He allows his pride to take over, making outrageous demands and deciding he must win at all costs. Pressures take their toll, with Jan and his partners going deeply into debt. After a lengthy trial, the jury returns a verdict in favor of Beatrice after Jan turned down an offer of $20 million from Beatrice attorney Jerry Facher during jury deliberations. The plaintiffs are forced to accept a settlement with Grace that barely covers the expense involved in trying the case, leaving Jan and his partners broke. The families are deeply disappointed, and Jan's partners dissolve their partnership, effectively breaking up the firm. Jan ends up alone, living in a small apartment and running a small-time law practice. He manages to find the last key witness to the case but lacks resources and courage to
appeal the judgment. The files are archived while Jan later files for
bankruptcy. A postscript reveals the
EPA, building on Jan's work on the case, later brought its own enforcement action against Beatrice and Grace, forcing them to pay millions to clean up the land and the groundwater. It takes Jan several years to settle his debts, and he now practices
environmental law in
New Jersey. ==Cast==