Class Action

The principle, Your Honor,

is informed waiver,

a concept deeply embedded

in the black-letter law of this state.

This is a simple case of a contract

willingly and completely executed.

Appeals to the contrary, based on emotion,

have no place in a court of law.

- Objection!

- Order, order!

This is not a court of law.

You did not enter through a doorway.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the rabbit hole

and we, like so many Alices,

have plunged through it

directly into Wonderland.

Behold the Queen of Hearts,

Carraghan Chemical.

A company that has spewed its bile

into the Leffingwell River for 17 years.

Plants wither. Children die.

And there isn't a court in the land

that can stop them.

Finally, one man has had enough.

Frustrated, desperate, he slams

his truck into the plant manager's office

and for one bright, shining day,

that hellhole of a factory shuts down.

Do we honor him?

Do we throw him a parade?

Do we even say thank you?

No. He is put on trial.

- Welcome to the Mad Hatter's tea party.

- Objection!

Objection? Why not "Off with their heads"?

...paid him fully, according to the contract.

But now he wants more and he intends

to get it by harassing my client.

Yes, the plaintiff is

a man of moderate means.

Yes, Xydex is a very successful corporation.

But the law, not charity,

must dictate our course today.

Yes, yes.

He rammed through that wall.

And, yes, he did shut

that hellish factory down for one day.

And, yes, he is responsible

for damages in the amount of $427,000.

How high a price is that to pay

if he saved just one single life?

Madam, I will give you $427,000

for your child. Deal?

And you, madam.

Same price for your husband.

And you, counselor. How about half

a million bucks for your precious hide?

- Objection!

- Order!

- The counsel is out of line.

- Sustained.

Mr Ward, sit down.

Order, order!

Defense is prepared to mount its case.

We have witnesses,

depositions and evidence

to prove my client acted fairly.

But to what end? The plaintiff has

put no viable case before this court.

Defense moves for nonsuit.

Submitted, Your Honor.

Would you go next door and remind them

thatjustice is blind, and not deaf?

As to your motion, counsel...

12 minutes.

12 minutes!

Eight and a half days

it took those idiots to mount their case!

- Too bad you mispronounced "harassing. "

- It's too bad you didn't get a chance to.

Counselor, where will you be

spending your vacation?

- I have no vacation.

- Maggie! You must have three or four weeks.

No. I hear something big's

happening on Argo Motors.

- Do you know anything about it?

- No.

Have you?

I haven't heard.

You guys wanna be big-time lawyers,

learn to lie better.

Maggie! Lawyers never lie.

We just tell the truth judiciously

to guarantee utter confusion.

Damn, you could lose your hand

in one of this things.

Mr Ward, excuse me.

Howard Crayhill.

I've read all your books.

I've read Civil Rights on Trial twice.

Congratulations.

You found a copy they hadn't burned.

Grateful client?

No, it's a present for your mother.

Anniversary.

Hard to believe we've been together 34 years.

You're biting your fingernails again, Margaret.

Don't.

Minor flesh wound.

He didn't even draw blood.

Brian, my father always draws blood.

I was getting ready to make a left.

I had the blinker on.

I saw the other car coming towards me,

in the rearview mirror.

And I couldn't move.

I couldn't get out of the way.

I just watched him, in slow motion.

At first, I couldn't believe it was happening.

It was like watching TV or something.

And then the guy hit me.

The carjust... Itjust exploded.

There was fire everywhere.

My wife started screaming,

and my baby boy...

- Son of a b*tch.

- I'm sorry.

You have nothing to apologize for.

What happened to you...

I'm so goddamned tired of this.

Those bastards think

they can do anything they want.

Lie, kill, destroy whatever

they touch and get away with it.

Let me tell you something, Steven.

They don't always get away with it.

Once in a while, people like us,

this law firm, we stop them.

This is going to be one of those times.

Mr Ward, I'm very grateful.

I just wish that I had been

with your firm from the beginning.

We're here now.

Good afternoon.

Quinn Califan and Lunt.

I'm sorry, he's away from his desk right now.

May I take a message?

Hold on one second.

Maggie!

- Maggie, Mr Grazier wants to see you.

- Now?

OK, tell me what you know

about Argo Motors.

They're our biggest client.

21% of last year's billing.

26. They're headed up by Eugene Forrest.

He came aboard two years ago...

In a hostile takeover. Thinks the future

of automobiles is in computerization.

Rumor is now that he's looking

to merge with a Silicon Valley type.

Wrong. He found it.

LorCoTron Electronics.

Jeez. Big time.

But there's a catch.

And this is where we come in.

Three years ago, a class action suit

was filed against Argo,

claiming that their 1985 station wagon,

the Meridian, blew up on impact.

- So? Lawsuits are a dime a dozen.

- Did they have a case?

No. I've handled Argo since that car was

still on the drawing boards. It's totally clean.

We persuaded the other side's attorneys

that they couldn't win.

But now another firm has re-filed.

A much more aggressive firm.

The new American way.

Find the guy who built it, then rob him blind.

- So what do we do, guys?

- Settle, for chump change.

- Confidentiality clause, don't tell the papers.

- No, we have to win in public.

LorCoTron is a very conscientious

company, very consumer-oriented.

This LorCoTron thing is time-critical.

You can't...

OK, OK!

If I decide we fight it,

one of you will be on point.

It's good input.

Thanks for your time.

My hobby is rebuilding American cars...

Get outta here!

Michael.

You have to give me this case.

I know Argo backwards and forwards.

I'm a better litigator

than any other associate

and you're too busy to go to court

on all the prep work.

Bernstein has a lot going for him.

He's a team player.

Second team.

Maggie!

Please! This is the partnership express.

I deserve this.

- Why are you throwing lightweights at me?

- Look. OK. OK!

I want you on this one.

There's no question.

- There's a problem.

- What?

Plaintiff's attorney's your father.

Yeah? What's wrong?

- We got no case.

- Sure we have a case. Look at the facts.

I've looked. Looked at the probability charts

backwards and forwards, Jed.

The facts are that Argo built a half a million

Meridians and a few of them blew up.

132 cars?

On a half a million built,

that's only a few cars.

That's not that many more

than would have blown up no matter what.

Maybe Argo designed it wrong, maybe they

didn't. But that doesn't make a case.

Hey, I got a car that blows up, people

like Steven who almost died in 'em.

I got a car company that doesn't give a sh*t.

To me that makes a case.

Rosenberg Blittman had everything

that we have. They had it for three years.

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