Original subtitles

Previously on L .A. Law.

I have a confession, Stuart.

Now? You were right about Ned.

He's wonderful with Matthew.

I was being a chauvinist.

I had a knee -jerk reaction to a male nanny. Oh, and if you read him My Little

Pony, he goes right to sleep.

But he won't go in the bathtub without Kermit. I'd go again. You've got all the

emergency numbers by the phone, both ours and the car. See you tonight.

Papa. Need some help?

No, I got it.

Beautiful. I'm glad you like it.

Merry Christmas, Anne.

I did not kill her.

I think you did.

I think you went into a murderous rage that didn't end until she lay dead on

that floor. I'm not capable of doing something like that. I think you are.

You saw this pretty young girl with a will of her own. You couldn't break her

down, so you... Beat her to death. Your Honor, I ask that the prosecutor be

instructed to stop badgering this man. I am a professor of Russian literature.

That doesn't mean you're not a savage killer.

Stuart, I just realized I've got this deposition until five tomorrow. I'm

to have to come right home from there and change.

Change for what?

The AIDS benefit in Santa Monica.

Tomorrow night?

Honey, of course it is.

And I have my meeting with Lila Vandenberg tomorrow night. Lila

actress? Yeah. I thought that was in the afternoon.

No, she only takes evening meetings. She finds them much more civilized. Is she

a client of yours?

Well, she's represented by Susan Bloom, but they've asked me to take a look at

her finances.

So I go to the dinner alone?

No, why don't you call somebody from the firm? Maybe Douglas would want to go.

I could take you.

Very sweet of you. No, wait a minute. That's a great idea.

Who's going to take care of Matthew?

Matthew can stay with the, what do you call it, next door. The Haley's. The

Haley's. He's crazy about little... Chelsea. Little Chelsea.

He won't even know we're gone.

It's black tie, Stuart.

Oh, that's no problem. My roommate used to be a maitre d'. Actually, he owns a

tuxedo. Great. No problem. You see? No problem.

It's no problem at all. Is it, Matthew?

No problem.

Thank you.

Next up, Campus et al. versus Halifax Chemical.

We're going to trial.

This is the class action suit brought by the Hondurans? Mm -hmm. I'm co -chair

with Alex DePalma, the attorney who brought it to us. Farm workers down

used a real nasty pesticide called Z -chlor, also known as wallop, made 400

them sterile.

All up, indeed.

C -Clor was suspended by the EPA, but Halifax kept shipping tons of the stuff

Honduras. I thought this case was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds.

We appealed, and the court ruled that since Halifax is based in California, we

can try it here. Foreign workers suing in our courts.

Good luck. It's worse than you think.

De Palma is a solo practitioner from East L .A.

Halifax is represented by Breach and Spitzer. Those guys are pit bulls. Kiss

this one goodbye. Look, we know it's a long shot, but what that company did to

these people was a crime. But you can't right every wrong in the world, and this

is eating up billable hours. It's about conscience, Douglas. Come on, folks, we

have to have some physical response. Yeah, but how far are we expected to go?

Before this goes any further, I want to talk to Mr. De Palma and the class rep.

Anything else, Douglas? No.

We're done.

Gentlemen, when we took this on, you both agreed we should settle.

We asked for four million, they shot it down.

So, try again.

Mr. McKenzie, we are ready for trial. We've got a solid case on the facts.

Mr. Campos has spent six years gathering data and overseeing medical tests down

in Honduras.

These people are counting on us.

Thirty percent of the workers at my plantation are like me.

We can never have children.

But you still have to prove a link to the pesticide. We all know how hard that

is. The firm is in no position to carry this through a trial and appeals that

could take years. I didn't come here so you could broker a settlement and walk

away with a big fee.

I needed Tommy Mullaney to win. You needed an experienced firm to back you,

we're telling you to settle.

Halifax isn't interested in settling. They want a verdict to discourage other

foreign suits. The whole chemical industry is behind them. Great. Now

taking on the chemical lobby.

Look, why not make another offer?

Try asking for two million. That's a joke. After fees, that's barely 3 ,000

man. You'd be lucky to get that for third world workers.

Third world?

Does that mean our lives have less value than yours? I wasn't saying that. Yeah,

well, then what were you saying? Are you talking about the average wage earner?

Guys, let me have a few minutes here, okay?

I'll meet you back in my office.

Thanks.

I'm sorry I let you talk us into this. Listen, Leland, we're talking about $15

million in damages here with possible punitives beyond that.

Our split would be at least $2 .5 million. If you win, and if it holds up

appeal. We get a verdict in our favor, they'll settle big before they appeal.

I'm telling you guys, we can pull this off.

Mr. Campos, when did you find out that you were sterile? Seven years ago.

My wife and I had been married three years and still no children.

The doctor said I had no sperm.

Did the doctor offer any hope that you could ever have children? No.

He said this part of me is dead. I was 28 years old.

Can you tell us what this is, sir?

It's the tool we use to push Ziklor into the ground.

You inject the pesticide into the roots of the plant like this?

Yes. Sometimes you hit a stone and it comes back in your face and eyes, on

legs. It's like fire on the skin. It makes you so sick you vomit.

Did anyone ever warn you or the other workers that Z -Chlor could make you

sterile or was in any way harmful to your health? No, never.

Mr. Campos?

What does it mean to a Honduran man to know he can never father a child?

There is nothing worse This is not losing a hand or an eye if you cannot

children. You are not a man Thank you, sir. Nothing further

Mr. Campos, did you ever have gonorrhea?

Objection. Relevance. I'm exploring other potential causes of Mr. Campos'

sterility, Your Honor.

Overruled. The witness will answer.

Yes. I was 17 years old, but the doctor said I was completely cured and there

were no long -term effects.

And I am not the only one who is sterile. There are 400 others.

Isn't it common for men in your culture to visit prostitutes?

Objection! Irrelevant and racist!

Sustained. Watch it, Mr. Spitzer. I'm sorry, Your Honor.

Mr. Campos.

Alcohol abuse can make men infertile. How many cantinas are there in your

village? I don't know. 35, by my information. That's one bar for every 40

town. Sounds like a pretty happy place.

Objection, Mr.

Spitzer. I'll move on, Your Honor. Mr. Campos, you said you were never warned

about potential health risks from using Z -Chlor. This is a label from a drum, Z

-Chlor. As you can see, it's...

In Spanish.

Could you please translate for the jury?

Do not swallow, inhale vapors, or make contact with skin and ice.

So you were warned. But you ignored the warning and used the pesticide

carelessly. We did nothing careless.

And many men cannot read. But you can.

Mr. Campos. And as a crew leader, weren't you obligated to make sure that

everyone wore protective clothing and face masks when applying this pesticide?

asked the fruit company for these things. And I was told to use my bandana

across my face.

And I was also told if I asked more questions, I could lose my job. Well, it

sounds to me like your complaint is with the foreign company.

But I guess a Honduran fruit company doesn't have the deep pocket dinero of

American chemical giant.

Objection sustained.

Withdraw, nothing further. This is not about money. Move to strike. This is

about the kill of 400 families. Your Honor. About the sons and daughters that

we'll never have.

This is about justice.

Leonard Myatt gets a 17 -year -old girl stoned and beats the hell out of her,

and you want to offer him a deal? The witnesses say she was high as a kite

before he even got there. They heard her threaten to stab him. Oh, so she

deserves to have her teeth knocked out. That is not what I'm saying. Why don't

we just give him a medal and a parade and skip the plea bargain altogether? I

don't believe this, Margaret. Even if we plead it out, Myatt still does jail

time. Look, I just don't want to see this scum get a slap on the wrist

we're too busy or lazy to prosecute. You think that's why I want to plead it,

because I'm too busy or too lazy?

No, no, I'm sorry.

I didn't get enough sleep last night.

Well, what about last week or the week before?

You're right about Maya.

Let's plead it out.

Wait, wait, wait, Margaret.

This is exactly what I'm talking about.

Two minutes ago, you want to crucify the guy, and now you want to plead it out.

What is going on?

It's personal.

I've been seeing a therapist. This is a stressful job. It has nothing to do with

the job.

I've been remembering things about my sister, Colleen.

I didn't know you had a sister.

I don't.

She died when I was aged. She was only 14.

I'm sorry.

My parents said she choked to death on a...

Piece of candy in her slate, but... I could never really remember it.

And we slept in the same room.

Oh, I should have saved her.

You were just a child.

About a month ago, these images started popping in my head. Taking a shower,

eating dinner, talking to a witness.

I just, I couldn't make him stop.

He was standing over her, holding her pillow, and he, uh... Who was?

I thought he was going to kiss her goodnight, but he... He didn't. He...

Put the pillow over her face, and he, um...

Decided to prosecute him.

Who? Who are you talking about?

My father.

I watched my father murder my sister.

You know, I remember the first movie I ever saw her in was Venus Rising.

I was 11 years old and I stumbled into the movie theater by mistake. I thought

was seeing a film about astronomy.

What do you think of this one?

Oh, I like that one too, hon. Yeah, I like them all.

I think she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I fell hopelessly in

love with her.

Must have lasted a good three or four weeks.

You don't think this is too frivolous? Maybe something more sedate?

No. No, I think it's fine. I think you'll look gorgeous.

You look pretty good yourself.

I thought you got over Lila Vandenberg when you were 11.

Annie, this meeting is strictly business. You got nothing to worry

Mm -hmm.

Dr. Maitland, in a university study, you exposed lab rats to Z -Chlor.

What happened to these rats?

At high doses, 90 % of the rats had a sperm count of zero.

And how did the Environmental Protection Agency respond to your study?

Well, they immediately suspended Z -Chlor's registration pending further

studies. And what did these studies find?

They were never done.

Halifax withdrew Z -Chlor from the U .S. market, so no more tests were required.

But Halifax was free to sell Z -Chlor overseas?

Yes. There are almost no restrictions on exported pesticides.

And before a suspension in the U .S., were there restrictions on Z -chlor?

Z -chlor is a known animal carcinogen.

Objection. Irrelevant. The issue here is sterility.

Sustained. Could these Honduran workers have received such high doses?

If it was splashing on their skin day after day, they could have absorbed

hundreds, even thousands of milligrams.

Doctor, in your opinion...

If a person were exposed to those levels of Z -chlor, would they become sterile?

Yes. What happened to my rats would happen to those men.

Nothing further.

In this study of yours, what happened to rats receiving low doses of Z -chlor?

There were no observable effects.

Exactly what level were the farm workers exposed to?

No field tests were done at the time. So you don't know.

Tell me, Doctor, have there been any studies showing Z -chlor causes

in people?

Of course not.

We don't experiment on people. But isn't it true that before concluding a

chemical has a probable effect on humans, the effect must be shown in two

different animal species?

That is generally accepted.

Has Z -chlor been shown to cause sterility in animals other than rats?

I don't know of any such test.

So you can't conclude that Zichlor made these men sterile, can you? When 400 men

in the same village suddenly become sterile, there's a reason. The common

is obviously their exposure to Zichlor. Is it?

Plantation records show that along with Z -chlor, the workers used a fungicide

called lysine, not made by Halifax. Are you aware lysine has been shown to cause

sterility in rats also?

Only at extremely high doses.

Exactly what level of lysine were these workers exposed to?

As I said, no field tests were done. There's no way to know. Doctor, if you

don't know how much of either pesticide these workers were exposed to, how can

you say which one made them sterile? In all probability... I'm not asking

probabilities, Doctor. Can you say for sure which one made them sterile?

No. Thank you.

Nothing further.

Flanagan made that statement to the Attorney General.

Did you know about it?

I told her to talk to you first. Well, she didn't.

She went straight to the AG. Then he called me and asked what the hell is

on. Well, we can't prosecute. It's a conflict of interest. She's asking the

state to charge her father with a 30 -year -old murder that may never have

happened.

The AG wanted to know if she was a burnout case.

I know it's bizarre, but she really believed it. She believed Earl Williams

a murderer, too. She was so convinced she misused evidence. Have you talked to

Margaret? I tried.

You know what she said?

She wants a police investigation, but she won't let it interfere with her

unquote. She's trying to cope, Ruby. I could see that. She was calm.

She was rational.

And I had the distinct impression she was going off the edge.

So you're going to put her on leave?

What do you suggest I do?

Well... I think I can talk her out of going to the police right away. I'll

the sister's death certificate myself.

And if there's no evidence of a murder, what then?

Dr. Benson, I sympathize.

You got labeled a whistleblower and it hurt your career, but I'm asking you to

look at the bigger picture.

We need you.

Look, don't jump to conclusions.

Doctor, you're not listening.

No, please don't.

Guy who used to work for Halifax?

At least you found him.

Yeah, great, except he won't testify.

Maybe we can leverage him. Maybe he smoked pot in college or he cheats on

wife. Tommy, the case is headed south. They impeached our expert.

We have to have Benson. Okay, so you'll leverage him.

You put him up there, you got a hostile witness.

He's going to lie or he's going to waffle. Either way, you're in worse

with the jury than you were before.

And come on, I'll let you know better.

Tactics like that never work.

What about Halifax? What about their tactics?

First they stonewall, then they bury us in paper. And when we beat jurisdiction

and it looks like we have a shot, what do they do?

They offer me a job.

All I have to do is dump compost on his farm workers.

Okay, their sleaze.

But you play the game their way, all you get is more like them. So what do we

do, roll over and lose?

No, we got more choices than that. Like what?

I could call Benson.

I can be a very charming guy.

I hope we're

not late.

Excuse me, we're looking for the AIDS benefit.

It was very night.

It was also last night.

Oh, no.

Are you sure?

No. Elizabeth Taylor and Magic Johnson drop by every night.

Now, if you'll excuse me.

Lila is donating some of her memorabilia to USC.

She's been going through this stuff for weeks.

Well, it's a nice little place.

It was once owned by Errol Flynn.

He used to swing stark naked from the ballroom chandelier.

Susan tells me you're one of the best tax attorneys in the state.

Oh, dear.

Well, I'm pretty sure I can straighten things out for you. I never had a good

head for business.

My third husband embezzled from me for five years.

I never found out about it until the two -faced bastard was dead.

I wanted to dig him up and bring him to trial, but they said it wasn't

practical.

I'd love to stay, but I'm meeting Diller at nine.

Oh. I can find my own way out.

Stuart, you take good care of her.

Hospital pasta.

Bye.

So, uh... Susan gave him your...

Corporate spreadsheets. But she said you had your personal statements here at

home. So I do.

Come along.

I took them back when I fired my last business manager.

I think they're over here.

Oh, wow.

Is this the dress you wore in Summer Serenade?

Hmm. Back when I had cleavage.

Good heavens.

I haven't seen this in 40 years.

What is it?

It's a fork I used to fend off Howard Hughes.

He lunged at me once over dinner.

Great.

Which movie do you wear this one in?

I bought that for my wedding.

To Kent Taylor.

Oh, I didn't know you were married to Kent Taylor.

I wasn't. He was going to leave his wife and we planned to elope.

He got as far as filing the divorce papers.

Before he backed out.

Are you married, Mr. Marquardt?

Yes, I am.

Is she the only person you ever really loved?

Yeah.

I envy you.

Pesto smells delicious. How did you learn to cook?

Sophomore year in college.

After a year of dorm food, I decided the only way to make it out alive was get

an apartment with a stove.

That's when you learned to cook, not how.

An old girlfriend.

We were poor, so we ate in a lot.

Mmm.

What do you think?

Perfect.

You're being such a good sport about this.

I drag you out on your one night off and I...

Get the day wrong.

I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing.

Anne, I really care for you.

I'm married, Ned.

Happily married last time I looked.

Yeah, I know.

I don't know what to do with everything I feel for you.

Not this.

I think you'd better go home.

Stuart, I think we may have a problem with Ned.

What's he say?

No, he's got sort of a crush on me.

Well, of course he does. Who wouldn't?

I'm serious.

I think he's in love with me.

Yeah, and he's 23 years old. You're old enough to be his... Sister.

Yeah, his younger sister.

Stuart, last night, he acted like I was his date.

You were?

You know what I mean.

Think I should challenge him to a duel?

I'm not taking this very seriously.

All right.

You want me to fire him?

No. Of course not.

Never find anybody better with Matthew. No, we wouldn't.

And if he's got this crush on you, I think we should ignore it.

It's going to go away.

Okay?

Mr. Bremmer, as CEO of Halifax Chemical, how did you respond to this rat study

we've heard about?

Well, I was very concerned until I saw the data.

But the levels that those rats were exposed to were so high, it was just

completely unrealistic.

There was no way a worker could get that kind of dose.

Objection, Your Honor. Mr. Bremer isn't a scientist.

Overruled. What about the tests on Z -chlor done in your own laboratories?

Oh, now, they showed that at reasonable doses, there was no evidence that Z

-chlor caused sterility.

And if you believed Z -chlor was safe, why did you withdraw it from the U .S.

market? We were planning to replace it.

Our research team had developed a new pesticide that was cheaper and more

effective. So the decision to stop marketing Z -Chlor here was purely

Purely economical.

And when you sold the remaining stock of Z -Chlor overseas, you felt it was

safe? When used responsibly, yes.

You know, chemical companies are always the bad guy.

You never hear anybody talk about how...

a pesticide like Z -chlor can benefit agriculture in a developing nation.

I mean, at the plantation where these men worked, the banana yield tripled

the first year that Z -chlor had been introduced. So, of course, that meant

food and more jobs for the whole area.

Thank you. Nothing further?

When the EPA suspended Z -chlor, how much of it did you have in stock?

I don't know.

Maybe 800 ,000 barrels. What kind of investment did that represent?

Roughly 70 million. 70 million.

That's a lot of money.

And the only place you could sell the stuff was to countries with little or no

pesticide regulation, correct?

No, we sold it to countries who needed it and wanted it. Did you tell your

foreign buyers that Z -Chlor made rats sterile?

I don't recall.

Did you inform foreign regulatory agencies that in the U .S., applicators

protective clothes and respirators? Who are we to tell a foreign government how

to regulate use in their own country?

You'll consider it, aren't you? The fact is, you knew Z -Chlor would never pass

the next round of EPA tests, didn't you? Wasn't that the real reason you

withdrew it from the U .S. market?

No. Didn't you stop production because you were afraid it would make your own

workers sterile? Absolutely not.

Didn't you ship 800 ,000...

Barrels of this poison overseas, knowing it could sterilize foreign workers?

Objection. He's badgering. Sustained. The answer to that is no.

Nothing further at this time.

The witness is excused.

Your Honor, the defense rests.

Your Honor, we'd like to call a rebuttal witness, Dr.

Harold Benson.

We object.

I'm going to allow it. We'll hear from Dr.

Benson this afternoon.

What's the word?

Well, I've been going over Lila Vandenberg's finances and they make the

the Hesperus look like a fender bender.

What are her assets?

Well, that's the problem. She doesn't have any.

Well, her house is paid off and it's worth $3 million, but she's been

against it. She liquidated most of her stocks years ago. She has $2 ,000 or $3

,000 in a savings account, a little more in a checking account, but in terms of

liquid assets, nothing.

What are her liabilities?

Those she's got.

She's overextended on her credit cards $80 ,000, so the interest alone on that

is $12 ,000 a year. She throws these huge parties. She shops on Rodeo Drive

she's got the Pentagon budget. She drives three cars, two Jags and a

Great.

What are we going to do?

Well, I see nothing short of liquidating her house and maybe her art collection.

She'll never agree to that. Susan, you've got to make her agree to that.

She's playing a pyramid game here, and it's all about to fall apart on her.

Stuart, you don't know her like I do. She is not going to take this well.

Well, we can't just ignore her. We've got to do something.

Well, damned if I know what.

I did a study on rats in the summer of 1980.

On August 15th of that year, I turned in the results.

To who?

The then vice president of operations, Al Bremer.

What did your rat study find?

Within three months, males exposed to moderate to high doses of Z -chlor were

sterile.

I then did similar tests on rabbits and got the same results. That's a lie.

Please control your client, Mr. Spitzer.

Did you give Mr.

Brenner the results of your rabbit study?

Yes.

Along with a recommendation that the production and sale of Z -chlor be

That's pretty extreme.

Z -chlor was shown to cause sterility in two animal species.

There was a strong probability it would do the same in humans.

What did Halifax do with your test results, Doctor? They ignored them.

Three months later, I was fired.

Thank you, Doctor.

Your Honor, if I can have leave to continue cross after deposition, I'd

ask the Doctor a few questions now.

Go ahead.

Isn't it a fact, sir, that you were fired from your position at Halifax

of incompetence? That's what Halifax claimed, but it was because I wouldn't

falsify my data. Your results were preliminary, weren't they, doctor? I

them very carefully. They were valid.

Isn't it true that your research colleagues at Halifax didn't concur?

They concurred. They were just too scared to tell Bremer. But there's no

record whatsoever of these experiments. Of yours, correct?

Of course there isn't.

They just got rid of it to cover their asses.

What have you been promised by the plaintiff or his counsel to deliver this

testimony?

Nothing. Who paid for your airfare?

I did.

Your Honor, I'll continue with Dr. Benson after his deposition.

Good idea.

I hope this is a serious offer, Russ. It's been a long day.

Ten million serious enough?

That's double your last offer.

Assuming you take a one -third cut, that leaves nearly seven million for the

workers.

That's roughly $17 ,000, or 80 ,000 Honduran Lempura per man.

Sounds better in Lempura.

Of course, we want a standard release from all injuries and diseases present

future. We also want the class bound by the settlement terms to be expanded.

You want to include other workers?

We want to include everyone in the province.

I don't understand.

They want all the people in the province to join you in the suit.

That way they settle all claims now, and no one can sue them in the future.

Yeah, but the whole idea of a class is the members all got something in common.

Now, are we saying the whole population's been exposed to Z -Chlor?

pesticides, Z -Chlor persists in the environment at low levels.

We've all seen the studies.

It's not enough to cause any damage, but that won't keep people from suing my

client. Especially after word gets out we've given 10 million to these farm

workers. I'm willing to resolve this. I just don't want to open myself up to 50

bogus lawsuits later on. I'm not saying we're interested.

But if we are, you've got to up the ante.

What's the population of your province?

In all, less than 100 ,000. We'll set up a fund, an additional $2 million, to

cover any future claims of sterility from exposure to Z -chlor.

This would include any workers outside your group who find out they're sterile

in the future. They can go to the fund for compensation.

Give us a minute.

It's good.

It's not 15, but it's close.

Yeah, but the expanded class thing for 12 million, they get a liability release

from 100 ,000 people. Tommy, I've seen the data.

The level of the communities exposed to are well below the accepted safety

standards. So what are they worried about?

We got them on the ropes.

I say turn them down, go for 15 million and a clean win. No.

If you reject this, I may go home with nothing. We accept it, and nobody in

province will ever get another dime from Halifax. Alex, please, tell him this is

too good to reject.

It's more than I ever thought we'd get.

I think we should go for it. Look, Dr. Benson heard him. The jury's

There's no reason to give up now. I'm not giving up.

This settlement gives each worker $17 ,000. That may not seem like much to

but to us, it is almost a lifetime of earnings. And there will be more money

others in the future.

Two million is not much for 100 ,000 people.

They may never be hurt by this.

We've been hurt, Mr. Mullaney. Our families end with us. Without this

village will die. I want to take their offer.

Look, I think that we can nail Myatt after all. I spent last night going over

these witness statements.

And I think we need something.

Margaret, let's talk about that later.

You got the death certificate?

It's not what you want to hear.

Your sister wasn't murdered.

Then the death certificate's wrong because it wasn't an accident.

Margaret, Colleen overdosed.

On alcohol and a tranquilizer called Miltown. It was suicide.

It's ridiculous.

Maybe your parents thought that the choking story would be easier for you

your brother to accept.

I'm so sorry. It's not true.

Colleen always looked out for me. My parents didn't care, but she did. She

just never have left me. There was an autopsy and a police report.

Then my father made it look like suicide. Your father wasn't even in town

night she died. He'd gone on a business trip.

I saw him. I saw the pillow.

It was still warm from where she was laying on it.

It smells like shampoo.

He's pushing on the pillow with all his weight, and I'm trying to take this.

Little breath.

I'm afraid the feathers are going to go up my nose and into my brain. You said

it was your sister.

He tells me not to tell anybody.

He puts a pillow over my face to show me what will happen if I do.

He's getting into bed with me.

Oh, he's pushing my nightgown up around my waist.

Oh, he tells me to be quiet.

He's going to hurt me.

Because Herbie's going to do those things that he does to Colleen when she

and begs him not to.

Oh, God.

Oh, he did those things to me, too.

He did those things to me, too.

Oh, God.

Oh, good, you're here.

I got the rough on the papers here.

Someplace... Greg.

Leland and Doug were ecstatic. They did cartwheels when they heard about the

settlement. And they've been asking questions about you.

What do you mean, questions?

Dad, I'll let a guy go.

We got an opening here.

A job, Alex. If you're interested, I think they want you.

Could be a big step.

You always take good news like this? Who says it's good news? They probably

think I'm some first -year flunky that can get for cheap and work hard. Hey,

they're impressed with you.

Impressed?

Tommy, get off it. To them, I was some third -world charity case. Hey.

What the hell is the matter with you?

I gotta tell you something.

Lila.

Look, I apologize.

Susan got hung up this afternoon at Paramount. Oh, you're all late these

We prided ourselves on punctuality.

I'm always on time for a call.

Here, please, sit down. Oh, thank you.

So, I've been going over your records and, well, to

be blunt, you're in debt.

Deeper than a lot of countries.

I thought you were advising me about my taxes.

Right, I am.

1983 is a problem, but I think we can reach an accommodation with the IRS.

mean another payout probably over five years.

Fine. No, Lila, it's not fine.

You have no income.

You have nothing coming in. And you're already making massive interest

and the bottom line is you're... Broke?

Yeah, broke.

You know this?

Of course.

Well, then you realize how urgent it is to reduce your expenses.

Nonsense. I'll just take out another trust deed on the house. No, you can't

out of debt by getting deeper in. What you have to do is minimize the bottom

line, and I have a plan.

George, when I started out in this business, I was told a star did certain

things, maintained a certain image, lived a certain life, and all of that

just as important to her career as the career itself.

Lila, you don't have a career anymore.

Then all the more reason for keeping up appearances.

I'm not going to live forever.

And I have no family left.

And when I die, my house will be sold, my belongings auctioned off, and my

creditors paid.

But it might work another way.

See, I think you're going to live a very long time. Until then, I would like to

live the rest of my days.

In the same manner as the best of my days.

Contact the IRS and work out those accommodations.

And I'll make arrangements to pay them.

And thank you for your concern.

You're a very sweet man.

Come in.

Hi. What's wrong?

Is Matthew all right? Oh, no, he's fine. He's overplaying with Chelsea.

I figured we could talk better here.

I want to apologize for the other night. I was way out of line.

God, I feel like an idiot.

You don't have to. No, I do.

I can't deny that I have feelings for you.

But that's not your problem. It's mine.

And I'll deal with it.

Ned, I can't say I'm not flattered.

I am.

And if we were two different people, who knows?

But I love my husband.

I know.

Anne, I need this job.

I don't want to lose it or your friendship or Stuart's.

Can we just go on with our lives and pretend I didn't make such a fool of

myself?

Sure.

No harm done.

Thanks.

Gentlemen, first let's talk about revising the figures.

Revising?

We had an agreement.

That was before we knew we were set up.

What the hell is he talking about?

Settlement was rigged. Right, Mr. Brummer?

Oh, it was a real attractive offer, too, wasn't it? Money for the workers, money

for us.

But whenever I thought about the expanded Claire, I got nervous.

So I made a call to Honduras, to the toxicologist who did the environmental

study we based the suit on. Only thing is, there's a section missing from our

draft. A section describing tests of 15 water wells in Mr. Campos' province.

All 15 show levels of Z -chlor nearly 100 times EPA safety standards.

This is the complete copy.

Check out the numbers, Russ.

It's in the water table.

That's why you wanted the class expanded. You knew you had a lot bigger

than 400 farm workers. You poisoned the whole damn province. That's absurd.

And we're not just talking about fertility damages.

10, 15 years down the line, this place could have cancer rates 20 times the

norm, but you'd be insulated from liability because you settled back in

I categorically deny all these charges.

Tommy, I had no idea.

But you would, wouldn't you?

You brought us the data.

You're the only one who could have pulled out the well tests.

Bremer made a deal with you to keep us in the dark.

If he had to settle, you'd agree to expanding the class, and that would get

off the hook for everything.

How much, Alvaro?

How much did he pay you to sell out your people? He told me I could never win.

Shut up. No foreigner ever won before. My duty was to my workers.

He said, if I take out the water test, that we'd be paid a million dollars.

Even if we lose, if we help them to settle, we get much more.

And the question is, what are we going to do about this?

Well, let's hear it. Resettle.

$15 million for the sterilized workers, $30 million for the fund to cover future

sterility and cancer claims, and we add another $10 million for cleaning up the

contaminated wells.

Bringing the grand total to $55 million.

Now, that puts a dent in Halifax's first quarter earnings, but I'm sure you'll

come up with a creative explanation for your shareholders.

Do what you have to do.

Let's hammer this out in my office.

I believed in you.

I really thought you were out to do something for your people. I was.

When they offered me a million dollars guaranteed, I had to take it. You used

me.

And you sold out a hundred thousand of your neighbors. I was trying to help men

whose lives are ruined today.

Not from some maybe cancers in ten years. I know why you did it.

You wanted a sure thing.

Why couldn't you trust me?

I don't have to tell you how hard it is to base a case on repressed memory.

They changed the law. A civil suit can be filed when the memory surfaces, no

matter how long after the crime.

Still his word against yours about things that may or may not have happened

years ago.

It'll come down to who the jury believes.

Are you saying that you won't take the case?

What can you win, Margaret?

He won't go to jail.

He probably won't even admit molesting you.

All you can get is money.

My father started raping me when I was eight years old.

He raped my sister and drove her to suicide.

I want him exposed for what he is.

Have you told this to anyone in your family?

My mother and brother.

They don't believe me. That's just the beginning. If you take them to court,

they'll be angry and resentful. Not of him.

Of you.

I prosecuted incest cases before I know what happens.

His lawyer will say you have a grudge.

He'll paint you as a frustrated, divorced woman with long -standing

towards your father.

Your so -called memories will be fantasies, the delusions of a sick mind.

They'll harp on the fact that you wanted to charge your father with murder.

You don't get it, do you?

Nothing can happen to me that's worse than what he already did.

I've never been able to trust a man.

I've never had a healthy relationship.

My God, I can't even stand to look at myself in the mirror.

I'm going ahead with this whether you represent me or not.

All right.

I'll take the case.

Good.

Margaret.

Why me?

Because you're ruthless.

And charming and dangerous.

Just like my father.

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