Complaint Filed on Toxic Pollution in Woburn
On this day in 1984, lawyer Jan Schlichtmann filed the first motion in the case made famous by the book and film "A Civil Action." For over a decade, children in Woburn had been falling ill and dying of leukemia in unusually high numbers. The victims' families became convinced that the town's polluted drinking water was to blame. It took years for them to find a lawyer, but finally Jan Schlichtmann agreed to represent them. He was out-spent and out-maneuvered by the high-powered defense attorneys hired by corporate giants W.R. Grace and Beatrice Foods. After two frustrating years of litigation, Schlictmann settled out of court. But the Environmental Protection Agency forced Grace and Beatrice to pay for the nation's most expensive toxic cleanup.
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