"We need help!" "Help!" "Somebody help us!" "Somebody help my mom." "Mom!" "Mom!" "We need help!" "Roller coasters..." "Thrill or kill?" "Jane Nicks, 29," "A janitor and single mother dies" "When her head somehow smashes into one of the ride's beams." "The dead woman's 14-Year-Old daughter Mary" "Was sitting next to her but was unharmed." "C.E.O. Michael o'dell of pagonon corporation," "Which owns the theme park, shut the ride down" "To ensure that no one else would be hurt." "The girl's guardian had been negotiating" "A settlement with the park, but this bombshell..." "Controversial attorney Ron Trott and his firm TNT and G" "Have taken over the wrongful death suit." "The case promises to be contentious." "Lloyd Barrett of the corporate law firm Saunders and Lee" "Defends the amusement park." "Trott and Barrett have squared off many times," "And it's no secret that they detest one another." "She took her daughter out for a good time" "And went home in a body bag, Lloyd." "So make me a real offer." "Quit wasting my time." "Give me an amount that makes up" "For making a 14-Year-Old girl an orphan." "Quit being dramatic, Ron." "There's no press here." ""An orphan."" " Give me a break." " Is that funny to you?" "We're so sorry about what happened to your mom." "All we want to do is help." "We're hoping that the theme park" "Will give you enough to take care of you." "Thank you." "I just don't understand." "Why aren't they going to jail for killing my mom?" "This isn't that kind of a case." "This is a civil case." "In a civil case, money is how we make things right..." "Or at least as right as we can." "That's what we're going to do as your lawyers..." "Try to make things right." "But i thought Ms. Wallis was my lawyer." "She is." "A judge appointed her to be your legal guardian." "It's her job to look out for you," "Sort of like a parent." " But she can't do my case?" " I'm sorry." "Honey, I tried." "I really did," "But i'm a family lawyer." "Mr. Graves and his firm are trial lawyers." "But you said i wouldn't have to be in a trial." "I really don't want to talk about what happened to my mom." "Do i have to go to court and talk about it?" "We hope to settle the case, but if the park isn't fair," "We may have to." "Mary, your mother worked hard" "To give you everything that you needed." "A home, food, education." "But she's not here." "But she would still want you to have those things." "Plus..." "A good future..." "College, a career," "Your own family one day." "How do you know all this?" "You didn't know her, did you?" "No, i never met your mother," "But i have a little girl of my own" "And a son, too." "See, all mothers and fathers are the same." "We just want our kids taken care of," "And your mother would want someone" "To make sure you'll be okay." "And that's what we're here for." " You've got no case." " The girl was sitting next to her mom," "When she was killed." "She was covered with her mother's blood!" "She assumed the risk of injury the second she got on that ride." "Guys!" "Let's talk through this." "Let's talk how much a life is worth." "Let's start with the love of support" "Jane would have offered Mary had she lived." "Jane was holding down two part-Time jobs" "While attending community college..." "Which would have allowed her to buy a home," "Where this mom would have watched her daughter grow up," "Celebrated her daughter's marriage" "And played with her grandchildren..." "All of life's major events." "That's very touching, Ron," "But did you know that she ran out on her family" " When Mary was just a baby?" " She had a drug problem." "She went to rehab, took care of it." "Yeah, after mary spent six months living with grandma." "She had her live together since then." " Jane was a good mom." " Yeah, jury might not agree." "Jury might think that she was the kind of gal" "Who would have dropped out of school," "Gone back to booze and drugs," "Met some guy, dumped the kid for a year or two" "And jumped to Mexico." "What's a life like that worth?" "Not much." "You know when they say businessmen are sons of bitches?" "But you corporate law firm guys take the cake." "Fact is, jane nicks is worth more dead than alive," "Economically and to her daughter." "The offer is $500,000." "It's twice what i offered the girl's guardian." "I'm being generous." "Your settlement offer is officially rejected, lloyd." "Good." "For a second there, i was afraid you'd take it." "I'll see you in court." "Mr. O'dell..." "Mr. O'dell..." "Mr. O'dell, i have one question for you." "You're c.E.O. Of pagonon corporation." "What do you say to the little girl" "Who lost her mother?" "Well, so often in business" "We're afraid to say we're sorry." "I'm not." "The all-American face of corporate america." "He's you without a law degree." "You know, I think it's interesting" "That Mr. Trott refers to hislient as a victim." "Victim?" "Jane Nicks not only abandoned her child," "She abused drugs and committed crimes, including theft." "It's a juvenile shoplifting conviction that was expunged." " Inadmissible at trial." " This confirms their strategy..." "Blame jane." "They're hoping if they dirty her up enough," "They won't have to pay as much at trial." "We expected this from Ron Trott and TNT and G." "They care more about winning cases" "Than keeping good companies in business" "And employing good people." "Listen to lloyd." "And they say i spin." "The corporation's the victim?" "That's not gonna sell with the jury." "I'm not hearing a good story from them yet." "There's no way they can win with what they're putting out now." "We're not gonna put up with mr." "Trott's antics," "Because the fact is," "Jane nicks' death was the result of a suicide." "Thank you." "What did he just say?" "That jane killed herself on the roller coaster." "They're saying that they don't owe mary a thing?" "That's their story?" "That they're not liable because she staged her own death?" "That son of a bitch." "Lloyd wanted a war." "He's got one." "'TNTeam' présente" "Like i always say," "If you got the right lawyer with you," "We've got the greatest legal system in the world." "I'm sorry you had to hear that stuff about your mom, Mary." "My mom didn't kill herself." "She didn't I was sitting right next to her." " We know, Mary." "We're sorry." "My mom said we were best friends." "Why didn't she just tell me" "That she had been convicted of a crime or that she used drugs." "That she dumped me off at grandma's?" "Maybe she just didn't want you to think she was a bad person, Mary." "She should have still told me." "I wouldn't have cared." "Parents don't think kids should know everything." "Your mother made a mistake when she was young." "People do that." "I haven't told my kids everything i've done." "Well, you should." "It sucks to have to hear it from other people." "She doesn't want to go through with this, does she?" "Can you blame her?" "She's afraid of what else might come out about her mother." "Okay, what's our story, ron?" "Our story is the theme park is to blame for Jane's death." "We don't know why they're to blame." "We don't know how the accident even happened." "All we know is jane died as a result" "Of her head somehow hitting the roller coaster beam." "At least we know their story..." "Jane committed suicide." "It's kind of a bizarre way to commit suicide." "Luther, do we know if jane was suicidal?" "We're still looking," "But at this point, nothing suggests she was." " Do they know something we don't?" " We need to find out." "Remember, this is a civil case," "Which means the burden is on us" "To prove the park is to blame for this." "If we don't, we lose this case and get nothing." "They're probably going to say" "She staged the accident for money, but it went too far." "She intended to hit the beam?" "How are they gonna prove that?" "The accident report says that Jane's seat belt was unbuckled" "When park security showed up, so that they're either gonna say" "She never buckled it or unbuckled it during the ride." "Plenty of other people could have unbuckled the belt after the accident." "Paramedics who showed up on the scene, the ride operator." "Maybe the ride operator failed to make sure" "It was on properly to start with." "If so, this is employee negligence." "Alden, track down who was operating the ride that day," "And we're going to need a reenactment," "Show the jury what happened." "The bloodier, the better." "Luther, you're the firm's resident family man." "You prep mary for trial and deposition." "Tom, look into pagonon." "See if there were prior lawsuits filed against the park." "Get ahold of the company minutes," "Public filings, employee handbooks, annual reports." "I want to know how these guys operate," "And i'll deal with trial." "Wait, you're gonna try this case?" "You don't try cases, Ron." "Civil cases are about going after a corporate monster" "On behalf of the little guy." "People want a bare-Knuckle brawler" "Who isn't afraid to get down and dirty." "Believe me, i may not have great appeal in criminal cases," "But civil juries love me." "Hey, Alden, Dr. Kirkland," "How's the accident reenactment?" "We've run tests on the ride at the same speed" "And weight distribution as when Jane and Mary rode the coaster." "The only problem is it's not working." "Take a look." "We've input all the correct data," "But jane's head isn't hitting the beam." "She was nearly decapitated, Alden." "But it wasn't the beam's fault." "According to the ride's design, the beam wasn't too low." "If it was, other people would have hit it." "In other words, we can't argue to the jury that the ride's design" " Was to blame for jane's death." " What about the force of the ride?" "Can we argue it caused her to lift out of her seat" " And hit the beam?" " Negative acceleration was created," "But not enough to propel the woman out of her seat." "So her seat belt malfunctioned?" " We tested the belt." "It didn't malfunction." " Well, it must have things fail." "We crash-Tested it a hundred times, Tom." " It didn't fail, not once." " Okay." "Can the park argue that Jane never buckled her belt, that it was part" " of her plan to stage the accident?" " I don't think so." "This was jane's seat belt." "The ride operator was supposed to make sure she buckled it." "If she hadn't, a light would have gone off" "On the control panel over there." "Okay, do we know whether the control panel was working that day?" "We checked with the park's maintenance records" "And ran tests, and it seemed to be working." "Does the train automatically disable if the light goes on?" "No, it can still run on the track." "So if none of the equipment failed," "Then it must be employee negligence." "I mean, maybe somebody failed to make sure Jane's seat belt was on right." " Who was the operator that day?" " His name's jeremy pierce." "All right, let's check him out." "Maybe he screwed up." "Or maybe the park's right..." "She did unbuckle her belt during the ride." "We have to consider that." "With trial just weeks away," "Ron trott and his partners face an enormous challenge." "The burden of proof is on them..." "My name?" "Ron Trott." "I'm the plaintiff's lawyer on the case." "Look, either i get on the show, or i report you to the f.C.C." "I can't get on bloom's show." "These financial networks" "Never want to talk to plaintiffs' lawyers," "But the minute lloyd wants to get something on the show," " He does." " Why don't you spin on another show?" "Or do you want to get on Susan Hirasuna's show" "Because Lloyd has?" "I know lloyd's been getting under your skin, always has." "You only took this case" "Because you knew he was on the other side." "That, and we can make a lot of money off of it." "Beating lloyd was just a bonus..." "A big bonus." "But somehow he always ends up looking like the winner." "It drives me crazy." "Even when i beat him," "The guy still thinks he's better than me," "Because i'm just a criminal lawyer." "No matter how many civil cases i win," "No matter how many million-Dollar verdicts i get," "I'm the guy who gets guilty people off." "But when guys like him get in trouble" "For driving drunk or whatever," "I'm the guy they call." "Why?" "Because i'm not afraid to get my hands dirty for my client." "But everyone keeps treating lloyd" "Like he's some kind of royalty." "He's the kind of lawyer who gets on the county museum board," "Who gets the judgeships." "You want to be a judge, Ron?" "Hell, no." "But i'd like to be asked." "Was it fair to say you were a poor student" " Even before your mom died?" " Objection..." "Relevance." "Goes to damages." "You're claiming her grades have fallen since the accident." "But your objection's noted." "You can take it up with the judge at trial." "So were you a poor student?" "You're gonna need to speak up for the court reporter." "I used to get c's." "Now i get d's." "You also argued with your mom, didn't you?" "We talked to your friends, mary." "What?" "Hold on." "You talked to my friends?" "They said you often got upset with your mom," "Like when she brought men home." "Is that true?" " My god, how can you ask that?" " How?" "Mr. Trott, would you please explain to this woman how civil trials work?" "You're doing surveillance on 14 year olds now, Lloyd?" "Let the record reflect that pagonon chief executive officer" "Michael o'dell just joined us." "Mary, let me just say how sorry I am..." "Turn off the tape before i break the camera." " We're off the record." " Keep the tape rolling." "I'm not gonna let you create some public apology" "To be played on tonight's news." "Are we clear?" "!" "What are you gonna offer her," " A lifetime pass to your theme parks?" " Oh, what, Ron?" " You think you're the only one who can spin?" " Turn that camera off now!" "And give me that tape, or we can talk to the court about it." "Now give me the tape, or i'll spin to the press" "Why your first wife left you, Lloyd." "You're a real class act, Ron." " Nice going, Ron." " What do you want from me?" "Depositions sometimes get ugly." "I wouldn't be surprised if Lloyd goes after her even worse." "He wants her to crack." "That's how he wins his cases, by destroying the plaintiff and this one's only 14." "You never told me you had some personal issue with him." "Personal issues have nothing to do with it." "It's a civil case." "There's money at stake." " That's why it's so rough." " Which is why you should have settled the case." "That's why i came to you." "I want to spare mary the pain of trial." "Her psychiatrist said forcing her to relive the experience" " Could devastate her." " You know, we are all trying" " To look out for mary's best interests." " I should have settled the case when i had the chance." "For what they offered you?" "$250,000?" "What happens when that money runs out and mary's on the street?" "A $10 million verdict lets her buy a house" "And employ court-Appointed caregivers" "Who would actually look after her." "What they offered buys her long-Term foster care." "You know what foster care is." "A $10 million reward would also mean a huge payday for you." "Right?" " You get a third of whatever mary gets?" " You're damn right." "Run mary's depo by the mock jury." "I want to know how the jury's gonna react to mary's testimony." "Where is mary?" "Can we talk to her?" "I'm having her driven back to school." "She's had enough of this case for one day." " Can they really go after her even worse?" " Yes, they can." "Look, i'm really sorry about what happened today," "But we have to do this." "Otherwise, she's going to end up with nothing." "Tell her she did a good job today." "And tell her we're proud." "Keep looking!" "Let's check the track again." "Bingo." " She said it happened before?" " That's what the girl's guardian said," " But never for this long." " So we don't tell ron unless we have to." "He's under a lot of pressure." "He spent the whole day memorizing coaster design plans." "Mr. Trott gets pretty tense when he tries cases, huh?" "Yeah, he does." "The only guy who can beat Ron is Ron." "Sometimes he takes it too far." "Tom, listen to Alden." "It's great." "See that camera?" "It takes pictures of people as they go down the roller coaster," "And them the park sells them to customers as they get off the ride." "It's the only part of the ride they upgraded" " In the past ten years." " Why not?" "They make money off it." "The camera was pointing at the beam that jane collided with," "And i found these buried in the documents" "The theme park turned over to us." " Photos taken by the camera?" " Yeah, they date back five years," "So i ran them through the computer" "To look at them sequentially like a flip book." "And look what I found." "The beam that Jane hit had been dropping over the last few years." "Our expert thinks that the weight of the beam" "Caused these bolts to burrow down on the posts," "So we can argue it's possible that the beam dropped" "To a fatally low position the day jane was killed." "So there was nothing wrong with the ride's design." "What was wrong is how they maintained the ride." "Why didn't our reenactment show that?" "The beam was replaced and raised during the time that o'dell shut down the ride" " After Jane died." " What a scumbag." "He didn't shut down the ride to protect his customers." "He did it to alter the scene of the accident." "He knew they screwed up." "But the law won't let us tell the jury they fixed the beam..." "The subsequent remedial measures rule," "Otherwise known as the "if it's broke, fix it" rule." "It says that if a physical hazard causes an injury," "The person responsible can fix the hazard after the injury" "Without it being held against them in court." "We can still introduce photos from before the accident." "Do we have photos from the day of the accident?" "No, the park claims they discarded them" "To protect the privacy of the other customers" "Who rode the roller coaster that day." "I love it..." "Evidence of a cover-Up." "Go on ebay and post a request for photos from the day of the accident" "Some of the people who bought pictures that day might be" " Willing to sell them to us." " It could put our case over the top." "I bet lloyd told them to lose the photos." "I'm gonna win this case and get him disbarred." "Get mary on the phone." "I want to tell her she's gonna be one rich girl." "I didn't want to say anything," "Because i thought it might not be a problem," "But, hum, Luther is looking for her with some of our investigators." "What?" "Mary's run away." "Linda says she's done it before" "Since her mother died, just never this long." "How'd you guys find me so fast?" "Are you like the FBI or something?" "Well, we have pretty sharp private investigators." "And it's not that hard to find a 14 year old." "The lawyers from the other side came by my school." "They asked my friends if i did drugs or had sex." "Some of the boys who heard about it" "Wanted to know if i'd do it with them." "I couldn't go back." "So you ran away." "Mary..." "Don't act tough." "Be tough." "They want you to break." "If you do, they win." "Let's go." "Ron, she is never going to stand up in court." "We have to settle." "Lloyd's an ass, but he never went after a 14 year old before." "Call susan hirasuna." "Tell her i've got a bombshell." "If she doesn't want it, i'm going to "wall street journal."" "I'm going to force her to put me on." "This is going to cost the corporation billions." "They'll have to settle." "Ron Trott, founder of TNT and G, is one week away from trial" "In his lawsuit against roller planet amusement park." " Pagonon." "We're not suing a happy theme park." "We're suing a giant corporation" "That owns and operates it for profit." "Do you feel you can prove your case?" "We can prove the park is not only to blame," "Butthattheytried to cover it up" "By altering the defective beam after the accident." "And i can't believe we've got the only victim." "I think there's a good chance pagonon could be facing" "A class action suit by year-End." "Wait, a class action suit against pagonon, the parent company?" "They own other parks." "That's why Michael O'Dell, pagonon's C.E.O.," "Had dodged our request to ask him questions under oath in a deposition." "He'd rather do press conferences than face his victims." "And they say lawyers spin." "Not like corporations." "They're the worst." "Why is ron on a business show?" "Why not a network with more viewers?" "Most jurors don't watch this." "We're not trying to influence the jury." "When you're suing a corporation," "You try to influence its board through its stock price." "Institutional investors and money managers" "Control most of pagonon's stock." "They watch this show." "They'll see Ron on TV and might begin to believe that pagonon is in real legal trouble." "So they'll call to start selling off their pagonon shares." "It will only take about a minute for the price to drop." "If the stock price drops low enough," "It could pressure pagonon's board to settle this case with a check big enough to save mary the pain of trial." "Did we just hire new paralegals?" " I thought Ron said we couldn't, to keep costs down." " Apparently not." "Ron's trying a case, and he wants them." "He just hired ten new ones to staff up this case." " You know, he called me again in the middle of the night." " Well, you know Ron." "When he's a trying a case, we're on 24/7." "Yeah, well, when i'm trying a case," "We're on all the time, too, but i don't call" "At 3:00 in the morning for mock jury results." " How'd we do?" " It's weird." "Jane's dead," "Killed as a result of corporate negligence," "But the mock jury's just not connecting with her case." "Maybe it's the shoplifting conviction, the drug abuse." "They're just not finding her sympathetic." "Meaning Mary doesn't deserve any money." "We also got mock jury results on mary's deposition tape." "She bombed." "Mock jurors thought she came across as cold and distant." "Her mother's dead." "She's still not in a good place emotionally," "And this case isn't helping." "She's only a kid." "If we don't settle, Ron wants to call her to testify." "He wants Lloyd to have to destroy her on the stand." "Says he'll have no choice," "And the jury will hate him for it." "Yes, it might be our best shot to win." "You did the research." "Since o'dell's been c.E.O.," "Pagonon has beaten every personal injury suit it's faced," "Mostly through o'dell's charm and skill" "Outmaneuvering lawyers on the other side." "Ron's been baiting him pretty good." " What if o'dell takes the stand?" " Ron's sure he won't." "Someone who was riding the roller coaster" "On the day of the accident sold us their photo on ebay." "What does the photo show, Alden?" "The guy was sitting two cars in front of jane." "It shows jane just moments before she passed under the beam." "Her seat belt is unbuckled." "This is bad." "It fits the other side's story" "That she killed herself." "They'll say she unbuckled it during the ride." "We can still argue the ride operator" "Didn't check her belt, and it came undone." "We also have the falling beam." "We can argue that it contributed to her death as well." "That photo helps the other side." "They could argue" "That she undid the belt to get money from the park," "And under civil discovery rules, we now have to turn the photo over to them." "Great." "We actually paid for evidence that could hurt our case." "Mary, i'm looking for things that we can show the jury," "So they'll understand who your mother was" "And that she wouldn't have hurt herself." "The manager who runs the public storage" "Said i have to get all this stuff out by tomorrow." "He said the last check i wrote him" "Bounced or something." "I think i messed up balancing the checkbook." "It was probably that last rent check i wrote" "Before mom died." "You were the one who paid the bills?" "Well, mom was busy with work and school," "Plus she wasn't good with bills or deadlines." "Mary..." "Did your mother seem like she wanted to kill herself?" "No." "It wasn't even her idea to go to the park." "It was mine." "Please don't go through my mom's stuff!" "Was your mother seeing a doctor, Mary?" "We didn't have a doctor." "We went to the free clinic." "That's where those came from." "Saunders  Lee is suing you and Mary and me for $100 million?" "They said you spread lies about pagonon on television" " To deflate its stock and exert pressure in the case." " They're trying to scare you." "Well, it worked!" "I'm scared..." "For mary!" "What you said on the show isn't covered by the litigation privilege." "I asked another attorney." "The privilege shields lawyers for being sued for things they say in court." "Not on tv!" "I'm familiar with the litigation privilege." "Litigation is what I do." " I never violate the privilege ever." " You have to trust us." "Ron always has reasons for doing what he does." " We're gonna win this." " Not if he's still in charge." "Have you got $100 million?" "Then you've got nothing to worry about." "We've got a problem." "Jane was diagnosed with ovarian cancer" "Six months before the accident." "Doctor said she didn't want to live anymore." "He told her she had a responsibility to Mary" "And prescribed antidepressants and painkillers." "Said her mental state had improved." "What if it didn't?" " Is it possible she did commit suicide?" " How bad was her cancer?" "She had a few months to live." "She'd been putting off going to the doctor," "But mary was the one who finally made the appointment for her." "Lloyd knew Jane was sick." "That explains why he lowballed us on the settlement offer." "He's gonna use this to prove that Jane staged the accident" "So her estate could sue" "As a way of providing for Mary after her death." "Damn!" "Legally, the value of Jane's life just went down to zero." "Answer what they ask, just what they ask." "And don't get smart with them." "But most of all, no matter what, don't cry." "Not a tear." "You understand?" "You're the only one who can testify" "About what happened on the coaster that day." "We're depending on you." "I'm doing the handshake." "You serious?" "It works." "If the jury sees o'dell shake my hand," "They'll think i must not be such a bad guy." "But if o'dell refuses, then he's the jerk." "Pleasure to see you again." "Lloyd." "How are you, sweetie?" " Okay." " You all right?" "Mom and I were holding hands," "'Cause, you know, we did that on scary rides." "Hold hands." "And did she say anything to you?" "No, she was just screaming, and..." "Like, you know, when you're on a roller coaster." "She was laughing, too." "She snorted when she laughed." "I do, too." "We..." "We were having fun." "I remember when we went down the ride that..." "She squeezed my hand tighter," "And then i felt her hand let go." "and then I didn't hear her anymore." "Mary, you testified that while you were on the roller coaster, your mom was holding tight to your hand." "Was she doing that with bh of her hands" " or just one?" " Just one." " Which one?" " Her right hand." "Now when you go on roller coasters," "Do you usually look ahead at the track or sideways?" "At the track most of the time." "So while you were looking at the track," "And your mom was using her right hand to hold your hand," "You don't know for sure what she was doing with her left hand," " Do you?" " I guess not." "So it's possible" "That she used her left hand to unbuckle her seat belt" "During the ride, and you just didn't see it." "Yeah, I guess, but she didn't." "That's what you want to believe, isn't it?" "I know my mom wouldn't kill herself." "She was a good mom." "The kind of mom" "Who would do whatever she had to do" "To provide for her daughter." "It was my idea to go to the park." "Mine." "I begged to go, but she said we couldn't afford it." "I kept on begging, and it's my fault she's dead." "Mary," "Did your lawyers go over with you" "How you should act on the stand?" "Did they say you should cry?" "No." "They don't me lot be cry" "Get ready to see the ride operator go down in flames." "Yeah, but, Ron, just don't push it, all right?" "Just make your point and get off." "We're winning." "The hammer works." "Don't bring out the shotgun." "Relax." "I've done this a few times." "Lloyd is squirming." "Now it's time to make him crawl." "Jeremy, were you the ride operator responsible for checking people's seat belts on the day Jane Nicks died?" "Yes, I was." "And that meant making sure everyone was properly buckled?" " Yes." " I assume that before that day," "You might have failed to do that on occasion..." "Check to see people's belts were on right." " No, sir." " Never, not once?" "No, sir." "I was careful to follow" "Our roller coaster safety procedures at all times." "That meant checking everyone's seat belt." "We talked to your former coworkers." "They said your safety training consisted of a 20-Minute video" "You were supposed to watch on your first day of work." "The person you were supposed to watch it with, said you were talking on your cell phone the whole time." "He also said that while on the job," "You were more interested in girls than checking people's belts." "Not only that," "But that you often showed up to work drunk or high on drugs." "Sir, I've never had a bad write-up" "The whole time i've worked at roller planet, not one." "Shocking, but not surprising." "How often did you have a supervisor in the boarding station with you?" "How often?" "Let me help you." "Five minutes of every shift." "Isn't that right?" "So who would know if you were screwing around on the job?" "Sir, i know i checked that woman's seat belt that day." "Really?" "You know how many people boarded the ride during your shift that day?" "Thousands!" "Do you remember whether you checked their seat belts, too?" "It was what i did as a matter of course, sir." "Sit down, Ron!" ""As a matter of course."" "Now who's coaching witnesses?" "I have the person who sat in front of Mrs Nicks the day you killed her." " Objection, your honor!" " He says you didn't check" " His seat belt either!" " Mr. Trott!" "Now you want to change your story?" "I said "objection"!" "Tell that paralegal to get back to work." "Do you have to pull that trick in every case?" "Why not?" "It works every time." "Maybe too well." "They're gonna blame Jeremy for this whole thing." "Mr. Trott made a lot of good points." "So we're clear :" "Did anyone from the company tell you it was okay to show up to work intoxicated or that it was okay to ignore the safety video, or that it was okay to talk to girls instead of doing your job?" "No, sir." "No on from the company said any of those things were okay." "In fact, you were told expressly that all of those things were in direct violation of company policy." "Yes, I was." "Hum, it's, euh..." "It's in the employee handbook, isn't it?" "All fireable offences." "Correct." "So if you did any of those things," "You did so on your own," "Unbeknownst to theme park management." "That's right." "In violation of the trust that the company, and millions of families that visited that park put in you." "Is that right, sir?" "Yeah." "Thanks for opening the door so I could dump on the ride operator, Ron." "It's nice to know i can always depend on your utter lack of proportion." "I went too far." "You gave Lloyd an inch, and he took a mile." "And the jury now blames Jeremy" "And not the park for what happened," "And as long as you keep trying this case," "He's got the advantage." "There's a reason you created this firm, Ron." "We're a team." "Why don't you use us?" "Let's refocus the jury on the theme park as the wrongdoer." "We need to show this was corporate negligence" " Through o'Dell, the company c.E.O." " Ron, come on." "You don't want to cross this guy." "He teaches other c.E.O.S how to spin." "Are you sure you want to give this guy a shot" "On selling himself to the jury?" "He's a self-Made businessman." "Juries love that." "He hasn't lost a case in which he's testified." " He's smart and very smooth." " We have smart and smooth, too." "Tom..." "He'll do the cross." "Use this." "The employee handbook." "Check out the introduction." "O'Dell wrote it." "Your honor, at this time, we would like to call pagonon chief executive officer :" "Michael O'dell." "Mr. O'dell," "It says in your employee handbook that all of your employees make up the pagonon corporation family." "Let's talk about Jeremy Pierce." "He's part of the corporate family, too, right?" " To a point." " To a point?" "Well, he's as much a part of the corporate family as you." "I mean, if you can't hold the corporation liable for its employees' actions who can you hold accountable, Mr. O'dell?" "The corporation is responsible for implementing policies" "That are supposed to ensure customer safety." "Whether employees like Jeremy choose to ignore those policies is oftentimes beyond our control." "Okay." "Let's talk about those things" "That were within your control" "Things you did before the accident." "As C.E.O., you mandated cost-Cutting measures that resulted in the firing of hundreds of maintenance workers across all of your theme parks." "Isn't that right?" " They were people we didn't need." " Really?" "This is the beam that Jane's head hit that day." "These photographs are proof it was falling over time." "Do you think a few more maintenance people would've kept that beam from falling?" "I would never put financial considerations above the safety of the people who attend our parks." "The ride is 20 years old." "And yet its safety features have never been upgraded..." "Not once." "The ride still uses manual seat belts instead of over-The-Shoulder restraints." "Why?" "Customers told us they liked the vintage feeling of seat belts." "We still have safety measures in place." "The control panel on the ride, signals when a belt is unbuckled." "A light is supposed to flicker." "So why didn't you install a mechanism that prevents the train from moving unless all of the seat belts are properly buckled?" "That train can still run even if that light is flickering." "We relied on our employees to act properly on the ground..." "To monitor the control panel we had." "Well, I'm talking about your actions now, Mr. O'dell." "Not Jeremy Pierce's." "This is the kind of control panel that prevents a train from running if it detects a seat belt is unbuckled." "You knew that such a panel existed prior to the accident," "Didn't you, sir?" "I was made aware of such a panel, yes." "Right." "By one of your senior managers," "Who told you it would be safer to use this kind of panel." "Instead of the panel you had." "Why didn't you install it?" "I don't recall." "Let me refresh your recollection." "I have the minutes from a recent pagonon shareholder meeting at which you spoke." "During that meeting, you said that quote :" ""Containing costs" ""And maximizing shareholder profit" "Were your highest priorities."" "That's what a c.E.O. Does." "It's my job." "A nickel." "If you would've taken 5 cents worth of profit, from every ticket sold between the hours of 9:00 (AM) and 2:00 (PM), on the day Jane Nicks was killed..." "You could've paid for the installation of that control panel on the ride." "A nickel!" "That's all it would've taken to prevent Jane's death." "Instead, you used it to contain costs and maximize shareholder profit, didn't you, sir?" "You can keep the nickel, Mr. O'dell." "What is taking the jury so long?" "It was a complicated case." "Yeah, we made it too complicated." "If you two are just gonna fret, please leave." "You're killing the buzz I'm feeling from winning the case." "You're planning for the victory party before you even get the verdict?" "How else are we gonna make sure the jurors get their invites before leaving court?" "We're gonna win this, Tom." "I saw it in the jurors' eyes." "Maybe they're taking so long because I screwed up." "Yeah, probably." "That's not why." "You were... perfect." "Yeah?" "Okay." "The jury's back." "The clerk will record the verdict." "In the matter of Mary Nicks vs. Pagonon, et al," "Cacv-06-01011," "How say you?" "We the jury find for the plaintiff," "Mary Nicks..." "In the amount of $30 million." "They believed us?" "Yes." " Thank you." " Luther, I need Mary." "If we hurry, we can make the 4:00 news." "Ron, let me take out the back, please." "Okay." "Thank you." "This was fun, Lloyd." "We'll have to do it again." "This is a bittersweet day for Mary Nicks." "No amount of money can bring her mother back." "But we now have 30 million reasons to believe this won't happen again." "The fact is, pagonon couldn't hide the truth from the jury, who saw through the company's smear campaign..." "A campaign that tried to reduce the life of Jane Nicks to zero."