"Um... you have no actual medical training?" "No." "I have kids." "Learned a lot right there." "I've seen nurses give my son throat cultures, and what is it?" "You stick a giant Q-tip down their throat and wait." "Urinalysis:" "You take that dipstick to see if the white count's high." " Yes, I understand." " Yeah." "I'm great with people." "You'd have to observe me to know for sure." "Trust me on that." "I'm a fast learner." "Show me in a lab once  and I've got it down." "I always wanted to go to medical school." "That was my first interest." "Then I got married  and had a kid too young and blew that." "Out of high school, I got a job  with Fleuer Engineers in Irvine." "I fell madly in love with geology." " Geology?" " Yeah." "I learned how to read maps." "Yeah." "But I lost my job because  my boy got chickenpox, 1 04 temperature." "My ex-husband was useless, so... ." "That didn't really work out." "You got a really nice office." "Thanks." "Look... ." "Oh, fuck!" "Goddamn it!" "Good morning, Mr. Masry." " Morning, Rosalind." " How are you?" " I'm fine." "And you?" " Very well." "Thank you for asking." "Good morning." "How you doing?" "Donald." "Did you see it last night?" "I taped it." "Don't tell me what happens." "It was so good." "Your nine o'clock's here already." " Remind me." " Erin Brockovich." "Car accident." "Not her fault, she says." "She was referred." " Erin, hi." " Hi." "Ed Masry." "Sorry you had to wait." "That's okay." "Here, sit." "Sit down." "Thank you." "I never thought standing could take it out of you." "Ever since that shithead hit me  it's like my body's put together wrong." "You poor thing." "Did anyone ask if you wanted coffee?" " Yeah." "I'm fine." " Good." "Listen, whoever did this to you made one hell of a mistake." "And you and me, we're gonna make him pay for it." "So, uh  why don't you tell me what happened?" "I was pulling out real slow, and out of nowhere  his Jaguar comes racing around the corner like a bat out of hell." "They took some bone from my hip and put it in my neck." "I don't have insurance  so I'm about $1 7,000 in debt right now." "I couldn't take painkillers." "They made me too groggy to take care of my kids." "Matthew's 8, and Katie's almost 6." "And Beth's just 9 months." "I just wanna be a good mom  a nice person, a decent citizen." "I just wanna take good care of my kids." "Yeah." "Yeah, I know." "Seventeen thousand in debt?" "Your ex-husband helping?" "Which one?" "There's more than one?" "Yeah, there's two." "Why?" "You must have been feeling desperate that afternoon." "What's your point?" "Broke, three kids, no job." " Doctor in a Jaguar is a meal ticket" " Objection." " Sustained." " He hit me!" "So you say." "He came tearing around the corner, out of control." "An ER doctor, who spends his days saving lives, was out of control?" "That asshole smashed in my fucking neck!" "Open and fucking shut?" "!" " Exactly the language" " It was over before that!" "I told you he might get personal." " You said I was set." " I never said that." "You told me I had a good shot!" " Let's settle down." " Fuck "settle down"!" "I've got $74." " I can't afford to settle down!" " I'm sorry, Erin." "Do they teach lawyers to apologize?" "Because you suck at it." "Hello?" " Hi." " Hi, Erin." "You're back so soon." "Were you a good girl?" "You're my little baby." "What is that?" "A little cough?" "She's got a cough." "I sat in the steam with her to try to loosen it up." " I think I've got cough medicine." " Bueno." "Listen." "I didn't wanna tell you before." " With your worries." " What?" "My daughter bought a big house with a room for me." "I'm moving in with her." " When?" " Next week." " Next week?" " I know." "But it's good for me." "Now I can help take care of my grandkids." "It's good for you." "Now with money, you can hire a good babysitter." "Not the old lady next door." "Thanks." "Matthew?" " Katie, you back here?" " Yeah." "Come on in, would ya?" " Hey, get in the house." "No dripping." " Okay!" "Sweetie." "Please don't get sick on me, please." "Let's fix dinner." "Yes, look." "Look at the water." "Goddamn it!" "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "Matthew!" "Katie!" "We're going out!" "You go ahead and order." "I'm gonna have a cheeseburger deluxe with a Coke." "Mommy, can I have a cheeseburger deluxe with no cheese and no bread?" "Did you get that?" "And she will have a cup of chicken broth and a few crackers, please." " And for you?" " Just a cup of coffee." "You're not eating?" "My lawyer took me out to a fancy lunch to celebrate, and I'm still stuffed." "How about that?" "Yes, I'm calling about the job ad in the paper." "I'm calling about the job ad." "The great personality, good voice." "I don't have any actual sales experience." "I don't really have a resume, but I can" "I don't have any computer skills." "Oh." "Well, I thought it was the local store." "Okay." "Thanks anyway." "Okay, bye." "Ed Masry, please." "Yes, I'm holding for Ed Masry." "Is he ever in the office?" "No, but I've called about a dozen times." "I'd like to leave a message." "Brockovich, B-R-O-C-K-O-V-l-C-H." "I'm a client." "I want him to call." "It's that simple." "Okay." "Goddamn it!" " Brenda!" "Brenda!" " Yeah?" "Who put that there?" "The files you asked for." "I didn't ask you to put it in the middle of the floor." "Get a towel, will you?" "Hey, hey" " Hey, what's she doing here?" " Who?" "Donald." "What's she doing here?" "She works here." "Erin." "How's it going?" "You never called me back." "I left messages." "You did?" "I didn't know that." "Donald seems to think" "There's two things that aggravate me:" "being ignored and being lied to." " I never lied." " You said things'd be fine." "They're not." "I trusted you." " I'm sorry." " I don't need pity." "I need a paycheck." "And I've looked." "When you spend 6 years raising babies, it's hard to get a job that pays." "Are you getting this down, honey?" "Or am I talking too fast for you?" "I'm sorry about that." "But we have a full staff now" "Bullshit." "If you had a full staff, you'd return a client's damn call." "I'm smart and hard-working." "I'm not leaving here without a job." "Don't make me beg." "If it doesn't work out, fire me." "Don't make me beg." "No benefits." "What we do in here is file all of the cases." "That way, at any time, we can tell the status of a file." "Where it is in the office and stuff." "Here's where we organize all the files alphabetically." " Simple enough." " Okay." " And here is your desk." " Okay." "I want to show you where the Xerox machine is." "Everybody has a code." " Do I get to pick my own code?" " We'll see." "Can you tell me who I talk to about getting an advance on my paycheck?" "Just for the weekend." "Rosalind's the office manager." "She handles the payroll and petty cash." "She's gone already." "She leaves early on Fridays." " Okay, thank you." " Oh, for Pete's sake, here." "I've only got hundreds." "I don't want your money, Mr. Masry." "Where do you think your paycheck comes from?" " Have a good weekend." " Thank you." " See you." " All right, see you." "See you Monday." "Hi, my sweetie." "Hello." "How are you?" "Matthew, Katie." " Hey, Mom." " Hi, sweetie." "How are you?" " Thanks a lot." " You're welcome." "Hey!" "Hey!" "Hello." "What are you doing making all that goddamn noise?" "Introducing ourselves to the neighbourhood, I guess." "Well, I am the neighbours." "There." "We're introduced." "So shut up." "Wait." "Hold on there." "Let's start over, okay?" "My name's George." "What's yours?" "Just think of me as the person next door who likes it quiet." "Don't be like that." "Look, we live next door." "I feel bad." "I'm sorry." "Will you accept my apology?" "We're living right next door." "If you need a cup of a sugar" " I don't need sugar." " You don't." "Why don't I take you out to dinner to apologize?" "Give me your number." "I got your address  so you can't get away." "I'll call you up proper and ask you out." "You want my number?" "I do." "I do want your number." "Which number do you want, George?" "I like the way you say that." "How many numbers you got?" "I got numbers coming out of my ears." "For instance, 1 0." " Ten." " Yeah." "That's how many months old my baby girl is." " You got a little girl?" " Yeah." "Sexy, huh?" "How about this?" "Six." "That's my other daughter." "Eight is my son." "Two is the times I've been married and divorced." "$1 6 is what I have in my bank account." "850-3943, that's my phone number." "I'm guessing zero is the number of times you're gonna call it." "Hey, how do you remember your bank balance?" "See, that impresses me." "You're dead wrong about that zero." "How long has she been crying?" "She's got that tooth coming in." "Give her a cold washcloth to suck on." "I'll check back later." "Where's Anna?" "She's out to lunch with the girls." "I have to open a file." "Real-estate thing, pro bono." " Okay." " Know how to do that?" "Yeah, I got it." "No problem." "You're a girl." "Excuse me?" "Why aren't you out to lunch with the girls?" "You're a girl." "I guess I'm not the right kind." "Look, you may want to-- Now that you're working here" "You may want to rethink your wardrobe a little." "Why is that?" "Well, I think some of the girls are a little uncomfortable  because of what you wear." "Is that so?" "Well, it just so happens, I think I look nice." "As long as I have one ass instead of two, I'll wear what I like  if that's all right with you?" "You might wanna rethink those ties." "With real-estate stuff, could you remind me?" "I'm a little confused." "Why are there medical records and blood samples in real-estate files?" "You've been here long enough." "If you don't know how to do your job by now, I'm not gonna do it for you." "Hello?" "Hello?" "Matthew?" "Katie?" "Matthew?" "Katie?" "Matthew!" "What happened?" " Hi, Mom." " Hey." "Hungry?" "Am l--?" "They're here?" "I went to pick them up." "She came by an hour ago." "Something came up, she dropped them off." "Something came up?" "Why didn't she call?" "I don't know." "She, I was, she-- I don't know why." " That stupid bitch." " Mom!" "I just can't believe she dumps my kids off when nobody's home." "I was home." "We're fine." "We cooked burgers, had some milk." "You want a hot dog?" "There's one." " Or a cheeseburger?" " But this mustard is slippery." "Mom, what do you think about me getting a tattoo?" "One, two, three." "I got all these kings." "You win, you got a joker." "King." "Joker." "You stole a joker!" "You cheat." "What do you mean?" "You cheat!" "Get another one." "Time to go to bed." "Get ready for bed." "Brush your teeth." " Play tomorrow?" " Yeah." "Good night, buddy." "What's that?" "This is a Harley-Davidson, the best motorcycle ever." "And if I ever catch either one of you near one, knock you silly." "Brush." "And keep it down, the baby's asleep." "You got great kids." "Well, I'm sure I'll fuck 'em up eventually." "Why?" "I'm not a good judge of character, or I wouldn't have left them  with that idiot, who cost a lot and smelled like chicken fat." "And after I find her and kill her  I don't know what I'm gonna do." "If you need help with them, I could do that." " I'm not leaving my kids with you." " Why?" " I don't even know you." " What do you wanna know?" " Thanks for today" " You're welcome." "It was my pleasure." "How many decks did you have?" "We had more than enough." "Got so many friends you can't use one more?" "If you need someone to look after your kids after school, or whatever  I don't have a job now." "Oh, that's a great recommendation:" "" l'm unemployed. "" "By choice." "I work when I need to." "What do you do?" "Live off your trust fund?" "I do construction, which pays good, and I make it last by living cheap." "Is that supposed to impress me?" "Hey." "Bed." "Your little ghosts." "You always this hard on people who try to help you?" "I'm out of practice." "Well, let me remind you then." "The polite thing is to say thank you." "I'd start it off with that." "Then, " Hey, that's a really nice offer." "I don't mind taking you up on that. "" "Why do you want to watch my kids?" " I like kids." " Right." "I like hanging out with them." "They keep it simple." "You're home every afternoon?" "I'm usually working on my bike." "If it doesn't work out, you can always send them back to the chicken-fat lady." "This isn't gonna get you laid." "Get in bed." "Good, because I don't find you attractive either." "Then we're even." "I'm so glad we got that out of the way." "I feel much better." "I do too." "Because now I can just look after the kids  and I don't have to worry about you coming on to me." "Bring the phone into the changing room." "Of course they won't." "Mrs. Masry, don't be such a tease." "Hold on, just hold on." "Yeah?" "Sorry, would you mind if I investigate this?" "Investigate what?" "This real-estate thing with the Jensens." "The pro bono." "I wanna make sure I understand what I'm reading." " Yeah, yeah, sure." " You don't mind?" "Okay, great." "Thanks." "Donna Jensen?" "I'm Erin Brockovich, with Masry and Vititoe." "Oh!" "You're a lawyer?" "Hell, no." "I hate lawyers." "I just work for 'em." "Do you have a minute?" "I don't mean to be a pain to PGE after all they've done for Hinkley  but if they want this place, they're gonna have to pay for it." "You didn't put the house up for sale." "They just wanted to buy it?" "Oh, yeah, yeah." "Oh, I don't wanna move." "Uproot the kids?" "I've got a couple of girls." "Honest to God, I don't know if I have the energy." "You know, I've been sick." "Me and Pete both have." "The idea of selling, if they're not gonna pay us properly  I don't see the point." "Yeah, yeah, I can see that." "I guess the only thing that confused me" "Not that your medical problems aren't important." "How come those files are in with all the real-estate stuff?" "There's just so much correspondence, I just keep it all in one place." "I'm sorry, I just don't see why you're corresponding with PGE  about your medical problems in the first place." "Well, they paid for the doctor's visit." "They did?" "You bet." "Paid for a checkup for the whole family." "Not like with insurance, where you pay and maybe you see some money in a year." "They just took care of it." "Just like that." "We never saw a bill." "Wow." "Why'd they do that?" "The chromium." " The what?" " The chromium." "Well, that's what kicked this whole thing off." " What kind of chromium?" " There's more than one?" "There's straight-up chromium, it does good things for the body." "There's chrom three, which is fairly benign." "There's chrom six, hexavalent chromium  which, depending on the amounts, can be harmful." "Harmful how?" "What would you get?" "With repeated exposure to toxic levels, anything  from chronic headaches to respiratory disease, liver failure  heart failure, reproductive failure, bone or organ deterioration." "Plus, of course, any type of cancer." "So that stuff, it kills people." "Yeah, definitely." "Highly toxic." "Highly carcinogenic." "It gets into your DNA, so you pass the trouble to your kids." "Very bad." "Well, what's it used for?" "A rust inhibitor." "The utility plants use piston engines that get hot, they run water through." "Chromium's in the water to prevent corrosion." "How do I find out what kind of chromium they use in Hinkley?" " Been to their water board?" " What's that?" "Every county has one." "They keep records of anything in their jurisdiction." " You should find something there." " County water board." " Alrighty." "Well, thanks." " Good luck." "I wouldn't advertise what you're looking for." "Incriminating records have a way of disappearing when people smell trouble." "I'll remember that." "Thanks." "This guy's too smart." "It's only a matter of time until he makes his move." "He positions women employees in such a way  that they have no choice but to respond or lose theirjobs" " That's a heavy door." " Let me give you a hand." "Thank you very much." "Aren't you a gentleman, Mr... ?" " Scott." " Mr. Scott." "Pleased to meet you." "I'm Erin." "Erin." "Erin." "Cool." "What can I do for you, Erin?" "Believe it or not, I'm on the prowl for some water records." "You come to the right place." "I guess I did." "Just tell me what you wanna look at, and I'd be glad to dig 'em out." "I wish I knew." "It's for my boss." "He's in this water dispute  and he wants me to find all kinds of papers, from all kinds of places." "You know, it would probably be easiest  if I squeezed back there and poked around myself." " Would that be all right with you?" " Come on back." " I'm gonna need you to sign in here." " Oh, sure." " " Pattee, " is that your middle name?" " No, maiden." "Oh, you're married?" "Not anymore." " Can I just... ?" " Yeah." "I love your pants." "Oh, well, yeah, thanks." "Well, this is it." "It's impressive." "I'll call you if I need anything." " All right." " Okay." " Thank you." " Okay." "Where's my stuff?" "Where have you been?" "Where the fuck is my stuff?" "Don't you use language like that with" "Someone took my stuff." " Nice to see you." " I had photos of my kids" "Toothbrush, toothpaste, mousse and deodorant." "What's going on?" "This isn't a job where you can disappear for days at a time." "You don't do the work, you don't get to stay." "All I've been doing is working." "Ask Mr. Masry." "You ask Mr. Masry." "He fired you." "You said to fire me?" "I'll call you back." "You've been gone for a week." "I left a message." "I was gonna write a whole damn report." "That's not how we work." "You don't leave a message and take off." " Want me to check in every second?" " It's called accountability." "I'm not talking to you, bitch!" "That's enough!" "Look, Erin, this incident aside, I don't think this is the right  place for you." "So I'm gonna make a few calls, find you something else." "Don't bother." "I'm trying to help." "You're trying not to feel guilty about firing someone with 3 kids." "Fuck if I'm gonna help you do that." "Get back to work!" "What the hell are you doing here?" "I'm fixing the leak." "Damn it, I don't ask you to do things like that." "Look at this mess that you've made." " I'm not done with that yet." " Well, get it out." " Relax." " Shit!" "Where did it go?" "Where is it?" "Back there." "Behind your foot." " Going up your leg now." " Jesus!" "Who fucking lives like this, George?" "Who lets their kids run around in a place with bugs the size of house cats?" "All you have to do is call an exterminator." "I can't call an exterminator." "I can't afford one." "I can't even afford my phone." "I got fired." "What?" "What do you mean, you got fired?" "You're working so hard." "Doesn't matter." "Doesn't make one fucking bit of difference." "I don't know what happened to me." "I mean... ." "God, I was Miss Wichita, for chrissake." "Did I tell you that?" "You are living next door to a real, live fucking beauty queen." "I still have my tiara." "And I thought it meant I was gonna do something important with my life." "That it meant I was someone." "You're someone to me." "Are you gonna be something else that I have to survive?" "Because I'll tell you the truth  I'm not up to it." "I get up in the centre of the stage  and I have the big bouquet of flowers." "I had my foot out like this, and I said:" "" I will devote my entire reign as Miss Wichita  to bringing an end to world hunger." "And to the creation of a peaceful earth  for every man, woman and child. "" " How long were you Miss Wichita?" " One year." "By the time I got through opening new supermarkets  I..." "Iy had a few wee..." "left to work on hunger..." " ... and world peace." " World peace." "I don't know what I was thinking." "What about you, huh?" "What about me?" "Let me tell you something." "Let me get that out of your hair." " Thank you." " Nice." "You're a very special lady." "Don't be too nice to me, okay?" "Why?" "Makes me nervous." "It's some slim pickings here, baby." "Maybe that's Ed McMahon." "Let's go see." "Wrong Ed." "What are you doing here?" "I had an interesting call this afternoon from Dr. Frankel..." " ... from UCLA." " Oh, yeah?" "He wanted you to know that the " legal limit for hexavalent chromium  is.05 parts per million  and at the rate you mentioned, . 58, it could be  responsible for the cancers" in that family you asked about  the Jensens." "Well." "Wasn't that nice of him?" "Funny how some people help people, and others just fire them." "I'm sorry." "You were gone." "I assumed you were off having fun." "Why the hell would you assume that?" "Maybe you look like someone who has a lot of fun." "By that standard, I assume you never get laid." "I'm married." "Look, what is this" " What's the story on this cancer stuff?" "You wanna know, you have to hire me back." "I got a ton of bills to pay." "Fine." "Fine." "Donna just put in these new cabinets, stained the wood and all  when she gets a call from PGE, saying a freeway's gonna be built  and they wanna buy her house for an off-ramp." "The husband's sick with Hodgkin's." "She keeps getting tumours  believing one has nothing to do with the other." "Because PGE told her about the chromium?" "They had a seminar." "They invited 200 people from the area  had it at the plant  about chromium three and how good it is  when they're using chromium six." "That document you found at the water board  the one that says about the bad chromium... ." "You didn't happen to make a copy, did you?" "Of course I did." "Could I have a look?" "I want a raise." "And benefits, including dental." "It's not how I do business." " What way is that?" " Extortion." "A 5% raise, we'll talk about benefits later." "Ten." "There are lots of other places I could get work." "1 0% raise and benefits, but that's it." "I'm drawing the line." "He's drawing the line." "This the only thing you got?" "Well, the place is a pigsty." "There's probably more." "I know how those things are run." "What makes you think you can just walk in there  and find what we need?" "They're called boobs, Ed." "Yes, I'm sure it is." "I understand." "I agree." "I agree." "I'm going to." "Right now." "I'm almost done." "Look." "How are we doing?" "We're doing great." "Good." "Well, you've got quite a lot done already." "So... ." "Sorry, we need to have those records back now." "No." "These papers are public record." "I'm not leaving  until they're copied." "Fax these to this number, okay?" " All of them?" " All of them." "An on-site monitoring well?" " That means it was" " It's on the PGE property." "And you say that this stuff, this hexavalent chromium... ." " Well, it's poisonous." " Yeah." "It's gotta be different than what's in our water, because ours is okay." "The guys from PGE told me." "They sat right in the kitchen and told me that it was fine." "I know." "But the toxicologist that I've been talking to  he gave me a list of problems that come from hexavalent chromium exposure." "Everything you all have is on that list." "No, no, no." "That's not what-- That's not what our doctor said." "He said that... ." "Well, that one's got absolutely nothing to do with the other." "But PGE paid for that doctor." "Ashley!" "Shanna!" "Get out of the pool!" " How come?" " I said so, that's why." "The minute Brenda sent that fax  I'm saying, the second she pressed the "send" button  PGE's claim department was on the phone to me  scheduling a meeting." "So you think that-- Let me do it." "You're driving me nuts." "You think we scared them?" "Taking the trouble to send someone  sounds like they're sitting up and taking notice." "Mr. Foil?" "In the interest of putting this to rest  PGE is willing to offer the Jensens $250,000 for their home." "$250,000?" "In terms of land value in Hinkley  we feel that's a more than fair price." "How about in terms of medical expenses?" "$250,000 isn't gonna come close to what this family's gonna spend on doctors." "I understand they've had bad luck, health-wise." "They have my sympathies." "But that's not PGE's fault." "You're kidding, right?" "Look at these readings." "PGE's own technicians documented  toxic levels of hexavalent chromium in those wells  on numerous occasions." "Everything the Jensens have had  is proven reaction to exposure to hexavalent chromium." "They have had... ." "They have had... ." "Breast cysts, uterine cancer, Hodgkin's, immune deficiencies  asthma, nosebleeds" "A million things could cause those problems." "Poor diet, bad genes, irresponsible lifestyle." "Our offer is final and more than fair." "Wait a minute." "I thought we were negotiating here." "$250,000 is all I'm authorized to offer." "I'll present your offer to my clients." "I doubt they'll accept." "Before you go off on a crusade  remember who you're dealing with." "PGE's a 28 billion dollar corporation." "28 billion dollars?" "I didn't know it was that much!" "Wow!" "Twenty-eight billion!" "Holy cow!" "They made an offer." "No, a million would have been an offer." "They send that  mail clerk down to jerk me off, waste my time." "Why?" "You heard what that kid said." "They have 28 billion dollars." "They can afford to waste time." " You can't?" " Am I made of money?" " Why are you yelling?" " I'm pissed." " Fuck you!" " Fuck you back!" "I really hate you sometimes." "No." "You love me." "You've been reading for hours." "I'm a slow reader." "Excuse me." " Are you Erin Brockovich?" " Yeah." "I'm Tom Robinson." "This is my wife, Mandy." "We used to live across the street from the Jensens." "I think you know Donna." "PGE bought our house last year." "Well, the vet said they had a bunch of tumours and stuff." "Well, you can see they couldn't really walk." "How many were born like this?" "Twelve or 1 3 or so." "When Donna told us what you told her about the chromium  we figured it might have something to do with this." "Yeah, it might." "Really, may I keep these?" " Yeah." " Okay, great." "Thank you so much." "I really appreciate it." "There's something else too." "What?" "Mandy, here, has had  five miscarriages." "I'm so sorry." "I figured it was something I did." "Like, when I smoked marijuana, maybe  or took birth control pills  but then Donna said that you thought  this chromium might be to blame for her problems." "So I figured maybe  it wasn't just me." "I have to take a bath." "You should go in." "They're not asleep?" "Beth and Katie are." " How was school?" " Fine." " Did you do your homework?" " Yeah." "Any problems?" "I know you're upset, but the way this job is  things come up at the last minute." "Things that I gotta deal with." "Fine!" "Please don't be mad at me." "I'm doing this for us." "I know it's hard for you to understand  but don't you want Mommy to be good at her job?" "I don't miss dinner all the time." "We all ate together last night." "You were reading the whole time." "There's something about this thing I don't understand, Mr. Masry." "If PGE messed with our water  why would they say anything about it to us at all?" "Why not just keep quiet about it?" "To establish a statute of limitations." "In a case like this, you only have one year  from the time you learn about the problem to file suit." "So PGE figures  "We'll let the cat out of the bag." "Tell them the water isn't perfect." "If we can ride out the year with no one suing  we'll be in the clear forever. "" "But they told us more than a year ago." " That's okay." "We're not suing." " Not yet." "All we're doing is using this information  to get you a nice purchase price on your house." "And you two, a comparable retroactive bonus on your sale price." "PGE still looks good to their shareholders." "They're not in a lawsuit." "All they're doing is buying property." "Doesn't say how much this thing's gonna cost us." "My fee is 40% of whatever you get awarded." "Boy, do I know how you feel." "The first time I heard that number, I said, "You're kidding me. "" "Forty goddamned percent?" "I'm the one that's injured, and this joker sits at a desk all day  and he wants almost half of my reward?" " Erin, can l--?" " But then  I asked him  what he makes if I don't get anything." "Then I don't get anything either." "Plus, he's out all the costs." "So I realized  he's taking a chance too." "You got a pen, honey?" "All right, then." "Oh, I made a bundt cake." "Who would like coffee and cake?" " I do." " Thanks, but we have to get back." "Have a fucking cup of coffee, Ed." "Coffee will be great." "Thank you." " All right." " I'll help you." "My wife makes really good bundt cake." "I love bundt cake." "Well, it seems like everybody in the family ended up with a rash somehow." "It seemed like no matter what we did, it always came back." "Over what kind of period of time?" "Oh, long time, you know, years." "I never did keep track of it." "Kids are sick." "Animals need to be fed." "Just couldn't get rid of it." "Well, Mrs. De Soto said  that she wasn't exactly sure what you had." "We know what it is." " It's gastrointestinal" " Gastrointestinal cancer." " She got sick about nine months ago" " Nine months ago." "And they operated on her about six months ago." " The intestine." " Right." " Hi." "I'm Erin Brock" " I know who you are." "Donna called me." "Can I come in?" "We're not interested in getting involved." "Can I ask why?" "What's the point?" "Donna told me that you've been sick and that your kids were sick" "You people don't give a shit." "Anything to get what you want." "Thanks for having me" "It's a good day to come by." "She's feeling good." "Well, Mike Ambrosino had remembered  that he had seen you folks at the hospital." "That's what brought me out here." "Yeah, we've been there from time to time." "And you!" "Wooftie!" "Ain't you a beauty?" "You drive all the boys crazy, don't you?" "I can see it in your eyes." "You drive them wild." "You do, don't you?" "Torture them." "It's good for them." "Don't teach her anything too early." "Yeah, she can't wait to get on her new dress." "She wants to go to school." "We're trying to do that, in a few months." "Yeah, get her out of her nightgown here." "She's gonna do it." "Absolutely not." " Why not?" " Because I said no." "The reason PGE even talks to us  is because this is a quiet real-estate dispute." "We add plaintiffs, we're in the middle of a toxic-trot  with a statute problem, against a massive utility." "No, thank you." "Okay, so here's what I'll do." "I'll go to the Daniels', the nicest people you'll ever meet  who watch their girl fight like a dog against cancer." "I'll tell them  we can't help them, because you just don't wanna work that hard." "Work hard?" "Let me tell you something." "I've worked all my life." "I've built a firm and kept it alive through lawsuits and injunctions." "I've survived a quadruple bypass, cancer  being born with one kidney and diabetes." "I personally managed to save a million dollars  over 30 years, getting clients 1 0 times that." "Don't tell me I don't work hard!" "Don't tell me I can't stop, take a breath and enjoy life." "What the hell do you know about any of this?" "Something like this, Erin, it could take forever." "They're a huge corporation!" "They'll bury us in paperwork for years." "I'm just a guy with a small, private firm!" "Who knows they poisoned people and lied about it." "We can get these people." "With a little effort, I think we can nail their asses to the wall." "With your legal expertise, you believe that?" " Don't you ever just know?" " Do you know about money?" "They settle due to lack of money." "You know what toxicologists and geology experts cost?" "We're looking at $1 00,000 a month." " I've already spent some of my savings." " We'll figure it out." "I don't know shit, but I know the difference between right and wrong!" " Lovers' quarrel?" " Bite my ass, Krispy Kreme." "I feel you looking at me." "I'm sorry." "How many families are we talking about?" "Four more." "Eleven people so far." "There's more?" "I found a document at the water board, a toxic test well reading from 1 967." "More people have lived there since then." "This is a whole different ball game." "A much bigger deal." "Kind of like David and what's-his-name." "Kind of like David and what's- his-name's whole fucking family." "Here's the deal." "If, and only if, you find all the evidence to back this up, I'll do it." "You're doing the right thing." "Remind me of that when I'm filing for bankruptcy." "Of course, gathering evidence is a big job." "Hell of a lot bigger than just filing." "I'll be working a lot harder  taking on a lot more responsibility." " I don't believe this." " A raise wouldn't hurt." "I'll spend more time in my car  so I'll probably be needing one of those cell phones." " I don't believe this." " Just a little phone." "Thank you!" "Whoever is behind you." "Just play." "Go, roll the dice and play." "Come on, aren't you gonna play?" "Roll the dice." "Come on." "Hello." "Is this the Erin Brockovich that's been snooping around the water board?" "Yeah." "Who's this?" "You should watch your step." "A young lady with three young children really should think again." "Who is this?" "Do you understand what I'm saying?" "Who is it?" "It's okay." "I'm not gonna quit because of one creepy phone call, George." "Come on, Erin." "A job shouldn't put you in danger." "I'm not in danger." " The phone might be tapped but" " What?" "That's usual." "We've got a dead bolt, it's not a big deal." "You don't think you're a little out of your league?" "That's what those PGE fucks want me to think." "But they're wrong." "Erin, there are plenty of jobs out there." "How would you know?" "What that's supposed to mean?" "You got a problem with me caring for your kids instead of a job?" "I can get a job." "You can leave the kids with the chicken-fat lady again." "I said I'm sorry." "Keep your voice down." "I know what these kids can sleep through, better than you." "Scott, tell me something." "Does PGE pay you to cover their ass?" "Or do you just do it out of the kindness of your heart?" "I don't know what you're talking about." "Nobody calls me Pattee." "That sicko that called could've only found out about me from you." "People are dying, Scott." "You've got document after document  that says why, and you haven't said one word about it." "I wanna know how the hell you sleep at night." "I'm about to drive off the road, I'm so tired." "Keep me awake." "What do you want, a joke?" "No, I don't want a joke." "Tell me about what went on back there." "Come to think of it, we had a big event around here." "Beth started talking." "What?" "Beth?" "My Beth?" "We were sitting around  and she pointed at a ball and said:" "" Ball. "" "Out of the blue like that." "It was pretty intense." "You know, seeing somebody's first word." "Of all the words in her life, that's the first word she says. : "ball. "" "She pointed her little finger  with her beautiful, soft, chubby little arm  and her cheeks." "It's like she'd been looking at it for months  and couldn't get it out, but knowing what it was." "She didn't look away or anything." "She was just sitting there with her arm out." "You should've seen Matthew and Katie and me." "Ourjaws just dropped." "We must've stood there for three or four minutes andjust looked at her." "She just had her arm out like that. "Ball. "" "And, you know, her little lips wrapped around it." "It was great." "It was intense." "I brought some stuff that you might be interested in." "My name's Erin, and I'll be here all day." "Let's go over to these nice ladies." "Hi." " How are you?" " Good." "I brought some information today, if you wanna have a look at it." "If you have any questions, let me know." "Hi." "Excuse me, ladies, I'm Ed Masry." "I'm the lawyer involved in the case." "You might like to read these." "If you have questions, I'm here all day." " Sounds good." "Thank you." " Thanks so much." "Is your phone number in this?" "There's more important information than that in there." "I'm bored." "So are the kids." "I'm a little busy, honey." "We invited these people." "Ed and I have to" "I'm sorry." "You know what?" "Please, I have an idea." "Can you take her?" "She's getting heavy, and I'll work faster if you take her." "Got a knee for me?" " Hello." " Hello, sweetness." " Guess what?" " What?" "I would like to go home." "Everything's done?" "We got a lot done." "Did you?" "I think I ate three watermelons." "Piggyback!" "Let's go, brother." "Get on." "Careful." "Here, get on me, now." "Erin, excuse me." "This is Nelson Perez, he works at the compressor station." " Hi, nice to meet you." " PGE." "Oh, hi." " I've come at a bad time." " No." " Can you just give me one--?" " Of course." "Sure." "Thank you." "You know what?" "Why don't you guys go ahead without me, and I'll get a ride with Ed." " No, Mom." " No, sweetie, I'll be right behind you." "I'll be right behind you, all right?" " I really" " This is so" " Fine." "Go, go, go." "Get down, bud." "Hang on tight there." "Help your sister with her shoes." "Let's go." "This is so helpful." "Is it okay if I write this down?" "I have so many questions." "I wanna know about how the plant works and the cooling towers, just everything." "I wanna know about how the plant works and the cooling towers, just everything." "They use the hexachrome here, in these cooling towers, as an anticorrosive." "Then they dump the excess water into these ponds." "I don't remember seeing any ponds up there." "They've been covered over, and not too carefully." "If you dig one inch under the surface  dirt's as green as a fucking shamrock." "And that's what caused the contamination?" "It didn't help, but no." "The problem started on the bottom." "According to  this  in most cases you would line these ponds  so the shit didn't seep into the ground." " But guess what?" " They skipped that step?" "Here are the ponds, the plume comes down  and Hinkley is down here  it's 1 4 years of hexachrome flowing into the groundwater." "Jesus." "This guy just offered all this information?" "Well, yeah." "Nelson cares what's in those ponds." "He used to spend time wading around them." "That was his job." "Shit." "What's the matter?" "I don't know if we can pull this off." "This is a monster case." "We're up to 41 1 plaintiffs." "We've taken 1 62 declarations." "Probably hundreds more out there have moved away." "We have to find them, it's taking time." "Money's going out, nothing's coming in." "I have to take a second mortgage." " So?" " So!" "I have to tell you." "I've been making inquiries with other firms  bigger firms to share some of the cost." "They all said no, said they don't have it." "We got PGE by the balls." "PGE Hinkley, but nobody'll get rich unless we pin this on Corporate..." " ... in San Francisco." " What do you mean?" "PGE Corporate claims they didn't know about Hinkley." "They knew." "They had to know." "Show me the document to prove it." "Then they didn't know." "If so, we can't hit them with punitive damages." "With punitive damages, it's a sum of money that can  have some effect on these people's lives." "So what do we do now?" "Let's assume there are documents connecting PGE Hinkley and Corporate  and they know about them." "We take our 400 or so plaintiffs and everything you've dug up  we file a lawsuit to provoke a reaction." "See if they offer a reasonable settlement, or throw more paper at us." "Sounds great." "Let's do that." "There's a downside." "PGE will submit a demurrer." "A list attacking each complaint  claiming that each cause of action has no merit." "And if the judge agrees with them  he'll dismiss our case." "PGE will have no reason to settle." "Then it's all over." "So basically it all comes down to  what this one judge decides." "Basically, yeah." "Jesus." "Well, I'd got so used to having them come up benign." "Guess I just didn't expect it." "I sure wish I would've had longer to get used to the idea." "You think if you got no uterus  and no breasts  you're still technically a woman?" "Sure you are." "Yeah, you just" "You're actually a happier woman." "No need to worry about maxi-pads and underwire." "We're gonna get them, aren't we?" "You gotta promise me that we're gonna get them." "I have before me a complaint on behalf of residents  of Hinkley, California, who have filed against PGE." "For damages, medical expenses and personal trauma  due to contamination of the ground water in their area by the defendant." "And I have here 84 motions to strike and demurrers  submitted by representatives of Pacific Gas  Electric." "Each one attacking the validity of this complaint." "I have reviewed all of the information carefully." "I'm ready to give my decision." "Before I do, is there anything anyone wants to say?" " No, Your Honour." " No, Your Honour." "Very well." "In the matter of the plaintiffs of Hinkley, California vs. PGE  it is the order of this court that each of the 84 motions to strike  and demurrers are denied." "And the causes of action against Pacific Gas and Electric are upheld." "On a more personal note  as a resident here in Barstow, which is not far from Hinkley  I am disturbed by reference  to evidence that suggests that not only was hexavalent chromium used  but that your clients actually sent these residents  pamphlets telling them that it was good for them." "Tell your clients they're going to trial." "Jesus." "They look like the Secret Service." "Intimidation." "Let the games begin." "Show them into the conference room." "Donald, Anna  I wanna..." "Ik to you for a minute." "Counsellors." "Counsellors." "Let's be honest." "$20,000,000 is more than these people have ever dreamed of." "Now that pisses me off." "First of all, since the demurrer, we have more than 400 plaintiffs." "Let's be honest, we know there's more." "They may not be sophisticated, but they can divide  and $20,000,000 isn't shit after splitting it." "Second of all  they don't dream of being rich." "They dream about watching their kids in a pool  without worrying that they'll have a hysterectomy at 20." "Like Rosa Diaz, our client." "Or have their spine deteriorate, like Stan Bloom, another client of ours." "So before you come back here with another lame-ass offer  I want you to think..." "I hard about what your spine is worth." "Or what you expect someone to pay you for your uterus." "Then take out your calculator and multiply that number by 1 00." "Anything less than that is a waste of our time." "We had that water brought in special for you folks." "Came from Hinkley." "I think this meeting's over." "Damn right it is." "What the fuck?" "Did a bomb blow up?" "You letting the kids run wild?" "What's that?" "I saw them in a mall one day." "I said, " Damn  they'll look good on those beautiful ears. "" "I bought them and I said, "When Erin does something nice, I'll surprise her. "" "You know how long ago that was?" "Six months ago." " I'm sorry, I've just" " And so what I'm thinking is... ." "Either you gotta find a different job or a different guy." "I mean... ." "There may be many men out there who don't mind being the maid  and getting nothing." "But I ain't one of them." "I can't leave my job, George." "Yes, you can." "People do it all the time." "How can you ask me to do that?" "This job... ." "For the first time in my life, I got people respecting me." "Up in Hinkley  I..." "Ik into a room, everybody shuts up to hear what I have to say." "I never had that before, ever." "Please, don't ask me to give it up." "What about your kids?" "I'm doing more for them now than I did living with my parents." "One day they'll see it." " Well, what about me?" " What about you?" "You think the men who gave me those children  asked me what I wanted before walking away?" "All I've ever done is bend my life around  what men decide they need." "Well, not now." "I'm sorry." "I won't do it." "Well... ." "Erin, I'm not them." "So... ." "What more can I do to prove that to you?" "Stay." "What for?" "I mean, you got a raise." "You can afford daycare." "You don't need me." "Hi." "We can get them, Pamela." "We can." "I don't wanna feel it all over again  and then not have it come out right." "I don't know if I could handle that." "Put the kids through that." "The thing is, it doesn't matter whether you win, lose or draw here." "You were lied to." "You're sick and your kids are sick because of those lies." "You all have to come together  to stand up in a courtroom and say that." "I'd bring the kids into the hospital  with towels soaked from their nosebleeds." "They called County Services because they assumed the kids were abused." "Am I gonna get the best behaviour in the office?" "No." "What's with the attitude?" "I just need cool, I need quiet." "Hello." "Am I alone in the car?" "Yes?" " I don't understand why" " I don't wanna talk about it now." " The other moms gave permission." " I don't care." " So when can I get a friggin' answer?" " Don't talk to me like that!" "Randy's mom said yes." "Goddamn it, Randy's mom doesn't work, and his dad didn't leave her!" "Figuring out who takes him to roller hockey  is probably easier at Randy's house." "Now cool it." "I'll be as quick as I can." "Matthew, can you watch your sister?" " Matthew." " All right, fine." "Come here, Beth." " Can I come with you?" " No, baby, I'll just be a second." "Thank you." "I'm only sorry you couldn't meet Erin." " I will." " You will." "We have a lot of work to do together." "Thanks for coming." "Erin, I was just talking about you." "Meet our new partner, Kurt Potter." "He'll handle Hinkley." "I see what you mean about a secret weapon." "Erin, it's great to meet you." "You've done a fabulous job." " I'll be seeing you." " Thanks, I appreciate you coming over." "What?" "Our new partner?" "When was I gonna hear about this?" "Just listen." "Did I ever tell you about that airline case?" "What the fuck are you talking about?" "A few years back, I was trying this airline case  and I got my ass kicked by this guy." "He buried me in paper, brutal." "He's the toughest I'd ever been up against." "Make a point!" "It was Kurt Potter." "After the judge's decision, I asked him to partner, he didn't hesitate." "He wouldn't hesitate now, we did all the work." "Where was he before?" "Will you listen to me?" "It doesn't matter." "You wanna win this?" "He gave me this check." "It covers all our expenses to date  and he's got more toxic tort experience than anyone." "This is good news!" "I got Pamela Duncan." "I'll open, Mommy." "You wanna open the can for Mommy?" "Well, here, I'll help you." "You turn it?" " Hi, George." " Hi, George." "Let's go see." "Erin Brockovich?" "Package from Masry and Vititoe." " Thank you." " Thank you." " What's in here?" " Baby." "There's no baby in here." " What is it?" " A dolly." "It's a dolly?" "It's" "Lookit." "" Lookit" is right." "Do you see that?" " I want that." " I want that too." "It's our lucky day." "Matthew, Katie!" "PGE has requested that we submit to binding arbitration." "What's that?" "That's where we try the case without a jury, before a judge." "It's called a test trial." "The judge's decision is final." "There's no appeal." " How many plaintiffs do you have?" " 634." "They'll never try that many all at once." "So we need to get them together in groups of 20 or 30." "Worst cases, the most life-threatened, the sickest first and so on." "Each one gets a go before the judge to determine damages." "PGE proposes that they're liable  anywhere between 50 and 400 million." "So wait a minute." "Let me just get this straight." "If we went to trial  PGE could stretch this over 1 0 years with appeal after appeal." " Those people would" " These people expect a trial." "That's what we told them, you and me." "They won't understand this." "Kurt thinks it's the best way to go." "Look, I promise you that we'll be very sensitive on this point." "We'll make sure they see  that this is the only way we can go forward at this time." "But we have a lot of work to do  before we even broach that subject." "I'll take Erin down the hall  so we can start on this stuff, and I'll fill her in on the details." " Those are my files." " Yeah." "We had them couriered over." "Listen, good work." "They're a great start." "We'll just spend some time filling in the holes in your research." "Excuse me" " Theresa, is it?" "There are no holes in my research." "There are things we need you probably didn't know to ask." "Don't talk to me like I'm an idiot." "I spent 1 8 months on this case  and I know more about the plaintiffs than you ever will." "You don't even have phone numbers." "Whose number do you need?" "Everyone's." "We need to be able to contact the plaintiffs." "I said whose number do you need?" "You don't know 600 numbers by heart." "Annabelle Daniels." "Annabelle Daniels. 71 4-454-9346." "Ten years old." "Lived on the plume since birth." "Wanted to be a synchronized swimmer, so she spent every minute in the pool." "They detected a tumour in her brain." "An operation shrunk it, with radiation after that." "Her parents are Ted and Rita." "Ted's got Crohn's disease." "Rita has headaches and underwent a hysterectomy." "Ted grew up in Hinkley." "His brother and his wife and their kids  Robbie Jr. , Martha, Ed, Rose and Peter also lived on the plume." "Their number is 454-9554." "You want their diseases?" "I think we got off on the wrong foot." "That's all you got, lady, two wrong feet in fucking ugly shoes." " She insulted me." " Bullshit." "It was a misunderstanding." "Instead of being polite and treating her with respect" "Why should I respect her?" "Just because she's not supporting kids with no husband, she's not an idiot!" "Just because she dresses like a lawyer  doesn't mean she didn't work her ass off in law school." "Excuse me for not going to law school." "Law school?" "At this point, I'd settle for charm school!" "Mr. Linwood!" "Bob?" "6086 Ridge Road  Hinkley, California. 71 4  455... ." "Okay, now, if you could walk me through  all of the elements of Annabelle's illnesses." "Specific details  when the symptoms began, prior to the first medical visit." "If you could reserve sentimental embellishments, I'd appreciate it  because they won't help you in court." "I just need facts, dates, time." "I know Theresa isn't real warm, but she's a good lawyer." "She asks the same questions you did." "I told you everything." "I don't want her coming to the house again." "She upsets Annabelle." "Okay, if you don't like Theresa, that's okay." "You know how important Annabelle is to me." "Ed and I are still here for you." "I called Ed two days ago, Erin." "He still hasn't called me back." "Now, I hate to say this, but  everyone's upset about this arbitration thing." "What?" "Pamela has written a letter  telling everybody to get new lawyers." "That we've been lied to." " Is it true?" " No." "Did you?" "I'm telling you the truth, and I'll get to the bottom of all of this." "Don't lie to us." "I will take care of this." " Now, we're trusting you here, so... ." " Thanks." "I'll talk to you soon, okay?" "I'm not saying it's not a strong case." "Otherwise, they wouldn't have dropped the demurrers." "I wouldn't be here." "What I am saying is, we don't have a smoking gun  that ties San Francisco to Hinkley." "Something that proves that prior to 1 987  PGE Corporate knew the water was bad there and did nothing about it." " Erin, I thought you took a sick day." " So did I." " What's going on in there?" " Meeting about the PGE thing." " Are you sure?" " Yep." "We can find it, or we don't have a big win." "Can I take a brief break here for a moment?" "I'll be right back." " You told me you weren't feeling great." " Bullshit!" "If I was on my deathbed, if it helped you, you'd drag me out of it!" "How could you take this away from me?" " Nobody's taking anything." " Bullshit!" "You stuck me in Siberia!" "Dictating to some goddamned clerk so you could finish this without me." "They screwed up, Erin!" "They screwed up and they admit it." "The arbitration proposal  could've been written in Sanskrit, for all the sense it made." "I know." "I spoke to Ted." "Pamela Duncan wouldn't even get on the phone with me!" "Pamela made everybody mad with that letter." "She called us thieves." " The whole thing's falling apart." " Why?" "Because before we go to arbitration, the plaintiffs must agree!" " How many?" " Usually they require about 70%." "PGE is demanding 90." "In other words, everybody." "Do you understand?" "This is serious." "And, what, Ed?" "I'm not serious?" "You're emotional, you're erratic." "You say anything, you make this personal, and it isn't." "Not personal?" "That is my work!" "My sweat!" "My time away from my kids!" "If that's not personal, I don't know what is." "Hey, come on." "Come on." "Go home." "Get well." "Because you're no good to me sick." "I need you, all right?" "This case needs you." "Did you tell them that?" "Binding arbitration isn't that different from a trial." "It's overseen by a judge." "Evidence is presented in much the same way." "And then a jury decides?" "Sorry, I forgot to mention that there's no jury in binding arbitration." "No jury and no appeal." "What option do we have if we don't like the result?" "None." "The judge's decision is final." "Not a good answer." "No, but we don't anticipate that being a problem." "As I already told you  it's definitely between 50 and 400,000,000 dollars." "Well, which?" "There's a big difference." "I wouldn't like to speculate." " Well, how does it get divided?" " Yeah, who gets what?" "My medical bills started two years ago, before some of the other people here." "My daughter was in and out of hospitals more than his." "It shouldn't matter when it started." "People, listen, please!" "The point we have to address tonight is getting everyone to agree  that binding arbitration is better than a trial  that could go on for 1 0 years before you see any money." "Maybe some of us wanna wait 1 0 years!" "Everyone has to agree, or no one has a chance!" "Those of you about to leave, I'd like you to keep this date in mind: 1 978!" "That's the year of the Love Canal controversy." "They're still waiting for their money!" "Think about where you'll be in 1 5 or 20 years." "Now, look, everyone." "Is this a big decision?" "Absolutely!" "But I do not believe this is a sell-out." "This is the best shot to get everyone some money now." "You and I both know  there are people in this room who can't afford to wait." "To take that chance." "Are you gonna make them wait?" "So how many altogether?" "We got just about everybody that came here, but it leaves us about 1 50 short." "Oh, shit." "We'll have to go door-to-door." "I gotta go pick up my kids." " You need a hand with that?" " No." "You did good." "We'll see." "Thanks for coming." "Don't take them anywhere on your bike." "I'll give you money for a cab." "I got money." "So how long is this gonna take?" "I don't know." "A few days." "Got your own room." "I am really sorry, George." "Have the kids eaten?" "No." "Wanna get some pancakes?" "Come on, let's go." "Everybody up today." "All right." "Come on, baby." " What time is it?" " It's early." "We're taking your car to go get breakfast." " No, I need my car." " We'll be back in a minute." "Get some sleep." "Matt, buddy." "Put that down." "Let's go." "I'll be there in a minute." "Let's go get some pancakes, girly." "Come on." "Don't play with that." "It took me so long to get organized." "Would you put that back, please?" "This girl's the same age as me." "Is she sick?" "She is, but that's why I'm helping her." "We'll make her feel better." "Why can't her own mama help her?" "Because she's real sick too." "I'll bring you back some breakfast." "You want eggs?" "Eggs would be great." "Eggs would be perfect." " Hey, Matt." " Hey, Erin." "How are you?" " You been at this all day?" " Yeah." " You want some coffee?" " I'd love some." " I'll make a fresh pot." " Thanks." "Don't I know you?" "I don't think so." "Sure, you were at the barbecue in Hinkley." "And at the town meeting." "I was watching you." "I had my eye on you." "Nice." "You were talking to everybody and writing down a lot of stuff." "When I saw you, I said to myself, "There's something about her." "I really like that girl. "" " Matt, can I get that coffee to go?" " Sure thing." "I feel like I can talk to you too." "Like you're the type of person I could say anything to." " Here you go." " Great." "What do I owe you?" " There's no charge." " Thanks, Matt." "Well, nice talking to you." "Would it be important if, when I worked at the plant, I destroyed documents?" "Maybe." "What's your name?" "Charles Embry." "Charles." "Erin." "Nice to meet you." "Can you excuse me for a quick-- I'm just gonna run to the... ." "Oh, come on." "Oh, you fucking piece of crap with no signal!" "Fuck!" "Ed." "Ed, oh, my God." "This guy said he destroyed records." "He worked there." "Slow down." "I'm trying to relax." "This Charles Embry" " Who?" " Charles Embry." "I thought he was trying to kill me or pick me up  but why would he use that, say that?" "It's crazy." "Shit." "Go back and see if he'll make a declaration." "A declaration." "But be careful." "Don't scare him off." "And stay calm." "Stay calm." "If it weren't for you, I'd be in Palm Springs now." "You're good at talking people into things." "Don't pepper him with questions." "Don't do that." "Just" "People wanna tell their story." "Just let him talk." "Let him  do all the talking." "All right?" "Oh, sorry." "Would you like another beer, or... ." "My cousin passed away yesterday." "He had kidney tumours  no colon, his intestines were eaten away." "Forty-one years old." "I remember seeing him over at the plant." "He'd be cleaning the cooling towers, wearing... ." "What do you call them?" " A mask?" " Yeah, doctors' masks." "And it'd be soaked in red from the nosebleeds." "I was working in the compressor." "The supervisor calls me up to the office and says:" ""We'll give you a shredder  and send you to the warehouse to shred the documents we stored. "" "He say why?" "Nope." "And I didn't ask." "Did you look at the stuff you destroyed?" "It was a lot of dull vacation schedules and stuff." "Then there were memos about the holding ponds, the water in them." "And readings from the test wells, stuff like that." "You were told to destroy those?" "That's right." "Course, as it turns out  I wasn't a very good employee." " Good morning!" " Morning." "Ed." "Erin, what's this?" " May I?" " Yep." "Go ahead." "Well, you know what, Mr. Potter?" "We completely forgot your birthday this year." "Seeing as how you've been so good to me, it's a terrible oversight." "So Ed and I have been putting together a present for you." "Six-hundred and thirty-four." "They're signed, every one." "Holy shit." "Now, don't go getting jealous, Theresa." "We have something for you." "Internal PGE documents, all about the contamination." "The one I like best says  I'm paraphrasing here, but it says, "The water's poisonous  but it's best if this wasn't discussed with the neighbours. "" "It's to Hinkley from PGE headquarters." "Stamp received March 1 966." "How did you do this?" "Seeing as how I have no brains or legal expertise  and Ed was losing all faith." "Completely." "No faith." "I went out there and performed sexual favours. 634 blowjobs in five days." "I'm really quite tired." "Oh, thank you." "Why did you want me to come?" "I wanna show you what you helped to do." " How are you feeling today?" " Good." " It's a good day." " Oh, I'm glad." "Well, come on in." "What a nice surprise this is." "Donna." "I wanted to come out here instead of calling  because the judge came back with a number." "For the whole group, or for us?" "Both." "He's gonna make them pay 333 million." " And... ." " Oh, my God." "He's gonna make them give 5 million of that to your family." "Five million dollars?" "Five million dollars." "I don't even know how much money that is." "Well, it's enough." "It's enough for whatever you could ever need  or what your girls need, or your girls' girls." "It'll be enough." "Oh, Erin." "Oh, God." "Thank you so much." "It's okay." "I don't know what I'd have done without you." "It's a good day." "This is too much." "Masry and Vititoe, can l--?" "Shoot!" "Delivery for Ed Masry." "Last office down the corridor, on the right." "Thank you." "Masry and Vititoe" "Damn it!" "Does anyone know anything about these phones?" "Everybody loves the desk  you picked out for me." "It's great." "Guess who's on the cover of Los Angeles Lawyer magazine?" "Talk to you later, baby." "Bye." " Thank you." " You're welcome." "I'd rather walk her through this in person, to show her  visual aids, documents and stuff." "Tell her I won't take up too much of her time." "It's a little more complicated than Hinkley, so let me do that." "Say I'm not a lawyer." "That may help." "Great." "Why don't you give me the address now?" "Just in case." "All right." "Thanks so much." "Bye." "What's up?" "I have your bonus check." "I want you to be prepared." "The figure's not exactly what we discussed." "Why not?" "Because, after careful consideration, I felt  that figure was not appropriate." "Although you may not agree  you have to trust my" "Trust?" "You want me to trust you?" "Don't use big words you don't understand." " It's a complicated issue" " I did a job." "You should reward me accordingly." "It's not complicated." "All you lawyers do is complicate situations that aren't complicated." "Do you know why people think lawyers are scumbags?" "Because they are." "I can't believe you're doing this to me  when I'm up to my ass in Kettleman plaintiffs  which looks to be double the amount of Hinkley." "You expect me to leave my kids with strangers, knock on doors  get these people to trust you, and you're screwing me!" "I want you to know, it's not about the number!" "It is about the way my work is valued." "No matter what I do, you're not" "As I was saying  I decided that the figure you proposed  was inappropriate." "So I increased it." "Do they teach beauty queens how to apologize?" "Because you suck at it."