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Let me off!

Let me off!

Oh, Lord Almighty.

- You don't care for me.
- Here you go.

Let me off!

Hey, don't forget
the beers. Okay?

- I ain't gonna forget the beers.
- Go!

Come on.

I'll give you a boost
if you want.

I don't need your help.

Ooh, hell, she got you, buddy.

- Toss them beers.
- Here you go.

- You got it?
- Okay, let's go.

All right, all right.

Hold up, hold up. The beer.

Take this. Take this.

Come on.

These damn shoes.

Come on in. It's warm.

Come on, buddy.

Look, you can even
wash your hair.

I washed mine last month.

- Hey. Come on.
- Hey.

- Jerk.
- Watch this. Do it to me.

Laura, Keith, come here.

Look what I found.

- Holy shit.
- What the hell is that?

What is it...

Hell you doing?

Get out of here! Now!

- Geez!
- Come on!

Goddamn kids.

Give me my damn clothes!
Come on!

Go, go, go, go!

Turn off the beam, fool.

We got, uh, Steve from Dow,

Ted from Union Carbide,
Jerry from Exxon

and Andy from Allied.

Welcome to Taft Law, gentlemen.

Before we get started,
a little housekeeping.

Um, all of you know
this young man

as the dedicated Taft associate
who, for the past eight years,

has buried himself
in the Superfund law.

I'm not paying for that cleanup.

Well, still it is my pleasure
to share with you

that just last week Rob Bilott
was welcomed as a partner

- here at Taft, Stettinius & Hollister.
- Mm-hmm.

- Good. Good.
- Congratulations.

Good morning. Taft Law.

One moment.
I'll connect you.

Good morning. Taft Law.

One moment, please.

It's the governor's office
calling for, um...

calling for Mr. Burke.

May I help you?

Wilbur Tennant
calling on Robbie Bilott.

EPA saddled them
with the whole bill,

and given your client's history
at that site,

that-that's a real possibility.

- I'll take it back to them.
- Good.

Tab 12, Middletown...

I know. I'm sorry.

- But they won't leave.
- Who's "they"?

I don't know.

They say they know you.

Um...

Robbie Bilott?

Um... yes.

They call it a landfill.

A dump's what it is.

They told my brother and me
no chemicals, just trash,

but we ain't stupid.

Made them videotapes myself.

All the proof you need.

They're poisoning the creek,
killing my animals.

- I'm in the middle of a meeting.
- So I want a lawyer.

Every damn one in Parkersburg
too yellow to take my case.

Rob, he wants you
back in there.

They're all
scared shitless of DuPont.

Well, I ain't scared of nobody.

Okay. Kathleen is my paralegal.

She's gonna give you
a directory of lawyers.

That's why I called
your grandma.

What?

My neighbor tells me,
"Call Alma White.

"Her grandson's some
fancy environment lawyer

down in Cincinnati."

Reception.

Yes, sir, he's right here.
Uh, yes...

Uh, sir,

I am a corporate
defense attorney.

So?

I defend chemical companies.

Well, now you can defend me.

Rob.

Uh, thir-thirty seconds, Tom.

- Uh, uh, I'm sorry, Mister...?
- Tennant.

I can offer you a referral,
but I'm just...

I-I just don't see how
I can be of any help to you.

You can start by watching
them tapes, for one thing.

Oh, let's go, Earl.

I'm sorry.
I-I-I-I wish you all the luck.

Don't need your damn luck, boy.

- I need your help.
- Rob!

I'll be back
for this, all right?

Okay, sure.

Come on.

I'm not arguing
with the overall analysis.

My only point is that
whatever we decide upon...

Thank you, gentlemen.

- Do you know where we're going?
- It's, uh...

- a place right around the corner.
- Yeah?

What the hell was that
all about?

He knows my grandmother.

Really?

Well, m-my mom's from
West Virginia,

uh, uh, from a town,
Parkersburg.

Not us. My-my-my father
was Air Force.

We-we moved around a lot,
but we spent the summers there.

Come on, Terp. You're buying.

Of course I am.

You can be from
West Virginia, Rob.

I won't tell anyone.

All right, gentlemen.
Morton's it is.

Three martini lunch.

Still deign to eat
with us lowly associates?

You can't drive
an American car.

Taft-Hartley, union busting?

We practically invented it.

"We"? Besides, I know
a highly esteemed partner

who still drives American.

Some real clunkers, too.

Okay, yeah,
but-but he collects them.

That's different.

Like his no-name college
and law school.

- No offense.
- Are you listening to this?

H-Hey, you guys go ahead,
all right?

Hey, look, I-I didn't mean
anything by it.

Oh, no, I got to make a call.

It's all right.
I'll see you there.

- Okay, we'll save you a fish log.
- Yeah.

You can be such an asshole.

Karla, it was a joke.

- Yeah.
- We always joke.

Oh, yeah, you guys
are a couple of jokesters.

Anyway...

You've reached
the residence of Alma White.

I can't come to the phone
right now...

He's good.

He's home early tonight,
actually.

Tell
him I say, "Howdy, partner."

She says, "Howdy, partner."

Are we ever gonna
see him again on Sundays?

Yes, he can still come
to Sunday dinners, Mom.

He's a partner, not the
President of the United States.

I want to make...
Oh, do you have my bundt pan?

- Returned it.
- Where? I looked under the counter.

It's in the right-hand
cupboard, in the plastic.

- Yeah.
- Oh. I-I thought...

- Okay, well, we just sat down.
- All right, dear.

- So I got to go.
- Love to Rob and Teddy.

All right, see you Sunday.

- Love to Dad.
- Talk to you later.

Can you pretend to be
surprised about the cake?

She wants it to be
very special.

Oh, and the granite samples
came in.

Can you pick them up
on your way home tomorrow?

- Mm.
- Rob?

Hmm? Oh, sure.

Father, Son
and the Spirit. Thank you.

You okay?

Yes.

Bless us, our Lord,

and these thy gifts
which we are about to receive

from thy bounty,
through Christ our Lord.

Amen. Thank you, God,
for our food.

Thank you for family.

Mm...

Thank you.

Hi, Grammers.

What on earth?

- I...
- I tried to call, but you weren't picking up.

Oh, well, you know me.

My two fake knees.

What are you doing here?

A, uh, farmer came to see me.

Wilbur Tennant?

You do know him.

I don't socialize with him,
if that's what you mean.

Inez Graham owned the farm
next to his.

I used to take you and Beth
over there

when you were little.

That's the place?

- You rode that pony.
- Ah.

I loved that place.

You saw a cow
for the first time.

Learned to milk it.

I remember you
sitting there for hours

making sure you got
every last drop.

Just like you.

There.

Mm.

So, you gonna help him?

Huh?

You come up the holler.

Dump's up the hill.

Since I started complaining
about my creek, fence goes up.

All blocked off.

Hi. I'm Rob.

Sandra.

The state,
and every veterinarian

I called in Parkersburg,

they will not return
my phone calls.

- Like I bite the hand that feeds.
- No, it's all right.

- I've already...
- This here's a gall.

Look at the size of it.

Ain't never seen
no gall that big.

Bigger than the heart.

That your cow's?

Look at them teeth.

Black as night. Here.

Hoof, all turned in on itself.

Half my calves born
hooves like that.

Tumor I done cut off
the back a heifer.

How'd you like that
on your table?

What am I looking for?

You blind, boy?

Stones as white
as the hairs on my head.

Bleached. That's chemicals,
I'm telling you.

My animals drink this water,
cool off in there.

Get them bloody welts,
them dead eyes.

Charge at me, crazy-like.

Animals that used to eat
out of my own hand.

Where are the rest of them?

Come on.

In the beginning,
I'd bury 'em, each one.

They're family.

It got to be so many,
pile 'em up, set fire to...

How many did you lose?

A hundred... ninety.

190 cows?

You tell me
nothing's wrong here.

And...

this landfill
wasn't always here?

No.

My brother Jim
used to dig ditches

over at DuPont plant.

Got sick,
couldn't do it no more.

One day, they come to him,

offering to buy his land
right up that holler.

They promised no chemicals.

And I assume
you reached out to DuPont?

DuPont, the state, the Feds.

I called everybody there is
dozens of times.

EPA finally comes out here.

- Oh, they did?
- Well, all for some report.

What did it say?

You think they're
gonna show me?

Oh, hey.

He's been like this all day.

- Okay. Go on.
- Come here. Aw.

Aw.

Of course you're
a perfect angel for Daddy.

Did you get the tile?

Um, I'm sorry. No.

Rob.

I didn't drive into town today.
I'm sorry.

Wh-What do you mean,
you didn't drive into town?

I-I... I had to go to Parkersburg.

Parkersburg? Why'd you have
to go to Parkersburg?

Uh...

I-I-I may have a client there.

In West Virginia?

What kind of a case
would you have...?

He's a farmer.
He knows my grammer.

- Not well, but...
- So, you saw her?

- Was your mother there?
- Oh, come on, Sarah.

I didn't... I didn't sneak off
to see my mother.

So, why did you sneak off?

I didn't.

Our speaker tonight's
no stranger to the Taft family.

Phillip Donnelly... Phil to us...

serves as in-house
corporate counsel at DuPont.

Not only one of America's most
revered chemical companies,

but one of the few giants
of the industry

that Taft doesn't represent.

Not yet, anyway.

That's the spirit, James.

We asked Phil here tonight

not just to show him
what he's missing,

but to hear how a renowned
leader of our industry

stays that way.

Please welcome Phil Donnelly.

Wish me luck.

Go get 'em, Phil.

Thank you.

At DuPont, w-we're not

producing chemicals
for chemicals' sake.

We're producing them
for people's sake.

To make folks' lives easier,

happier, longer.

That's why "better living
through chemistry"

is not just a slogan at DuPont.

It's our DNA.

- Hey, Rob.
- Hello, Phil.

Is it true what Tom tells me?

- Yeah, it's true.
- Well, good on them.

- They're lucky to have you.
- Thanks, Phil.

Like I always tell
my young associates,

just keep your head down
and do the work.

Thanks. Uh, Phil, can I ask you
sort of an odd question?

Shoot.

Does the name Wilbur Tennant
ring a bell?

- Tennet, did you say?
- Tennant.

No, not that I recall.

Mr. Tennant's a-a farmer
from West Virginia.

His property abuts one
of your landfills, Dry Run.

And his cows have been
getting sick,

he thinks possibly
because of the runoff

from the landfill
into his creek.

You're kidding.
How did this come to you?

- Hey, Phil.
- Uh...

He's a... a farmer. He's...

My grandmother's
from Parkersburg.

Really?

Washington Works.
Great plant.

Right.
She knows the Tennants.

So, Grandma's
on your back, huh?

- Something like that.
- Mm-hmm.

Anyway, uh...

the farmer said the EPA
came out, took a look around.

I-I wondered...

- The name of the landfill again?
- Dry Run.

Dry Run. Dry...

You know, that does ring a bell,
now that you mention it.

We may have even sent
some folks out there,

if I remember correctly,
to help EPA check it out.

Th-Th-That's got to be it.

So, I-I'd love to share
whatever came of that

with, uh, Mr. Tennant,
help settle his nerves.

Absolutely. Soon as I'm back
in Wilmington, I'll take a look.

Thanks, Phil.
I-I really appreciate it.

Happy to do it.

Now, let's get a drink
and toast you, my friend. You.

- All right.
- Okay, then.

Mr. Tennant!

Mr. Tennant.

I have the report.

Sons of bitches.

Who the hell
they think they are?

Who gives them the right?!

- It's an evaluation.
- "Evalu..."

Hatchet job's what it is.

I've been farming
my entire life.

Entire life!

You read that.

You tell me
you recognize my farm.

- Mr. Tennant...
- Read it!

"The herd health investigation

"revealed deficiency
in herd management,

"including poor nutrition,

"inadequate veterinary care

and lack of fly control."

You see any flies here?

It's snowing.

Can't stop making excuses
for 'em, can you?

It could be pests.
They-they consulted a vet.

Whose vet? DuPont?!

Look at yourself.

Swallowing whole whatever
they've been feeding you.

Can't tell truth from lie.

You even watch them tapes
I gave you?

Sir, I am trying to help.

Quiet.

Trying to help.

Stop moving.

Easy, now. Easy.

Get in.

Slow.

Forgive me, girl.

Jesus.

Need something
to warm you up right about now?

Well, how about this?

One thing or another.

This cow's eyes
are cloudy with...

the pink eye
is what they'll call it.

Anyway, her eyes are sunk
way back in her head.

She's poor as a whip-poor-will.

And I'm gonna cut her open

and find out what caused her
to... to die.

'Cause I was feeding her
enough feed

that she should've gained weight

instead of losing weight.

This is what her teeth
looks like.

That's the upper one.

But this one here,

I've never seen any-anything
like it in my lifetime.

Even the veterinarian,
he'd been in it,

he would've never saw anything
like this before

in his life, either.

So, what...

are you proposing we do?

File a claim,
trigger discovery,

and find out
what's in that landfill.

You want to sue DuPont?

Targeted. Property dispute.

- Routine stuff.
- Not routine.

Not around here.

I know, but, Tom,
if you'd actually seen it.

H-His farm is like a graveyard.

There-there's something
very wrong.

So he should hire
a local lawyer.

None of them will do it.

Th-They're all terrified
of DuPont.

- Well, what does that tell you?
- We know DuPont.

They're gonna want to hear if

some of their local guys
are screwing something up.

Oh, oh, oh, so-so-so they're
gonna thank us for suing them?

Better us than the EPA.

I mean, new partners
are supposed to

bring in business, right?

So your farmer can swing
$275 an hour?

It'd be, uh, on-on contingency.

Jesus.

What are we,
coupon chasers now?

It's a small matter
for a family friend.

I'll get in, and I'll get out.

Help a guy who needs it.

Who? The farmer or you?

Surgical. You hear me?

Absolutely. Thank you.

Come on, Rob.

Of course I'm gonna
take your call.

Even though I was, I admit,

a little surprised.

I mean, getting sued
by Taft Law?

It's not every day...
or any day, frankly.

I know. I'm sorry.

Look, you and I are friends.
This is a minor issue.

No reason it should get messy.

Uh, thank you.
I, uh, totally agree.

Yeah, I'm putting you on speakerphone.

So, you want to know
if we violated our permits.

Pretty much, yeah.

Okay, then.
I'll have our guys send over

anything related
to hazardous waste at Dry Run,

and I'll tell them
to hurry it up this time.

- How's that?
- Thank you.

- That sounds great.
- And don't stress.

- I forgive you.
- Thanks, Phil.

You took your baby
into the office.

I needed a bigger trunk.

Why?

- Discovery for the Tennant case came in today.
- Oh.

Oh, you started before me.

- You're so fast!
- Oh, you like that?

What do you think about that?

Good boy.

Rob's missing
such a lovely day.

Law's a jealous mistress, Mom.

Means it comes
with the territory.

Let's go over here!

Nice! Thank you.

That's what I'm talking
about right there.

No score, just underway

in the top of the first.

All right, let's go.
One more, one more.

All right.

"Poly."

What's that?

No.

Mm...

How's my favorite
plaintiff's attorney?

Hey, help me out, will you?

You're a run-of-a-mill dump,
nothing but trash.

You sound like
my first girlfriend.

Why a requisition order
for 55-gallon containers?

Conspiracy.

Standard-size drums.

Ash, ash by-product,

glass tubing,
plastic, paper waste.

It's just trash.

You pile it onto a truck,
drive it away.

You don't pack it into drums.

So they've got liquid waste.

Not hazardous.

Or they'd have to disclose it.

So, what-what is
killing these cows?

- It's not paper and ash.
- Well, maybe it's human error.

They're dumping something in
there they don't know is toxic.

Kim, it's DuPont.

They-they know more
than the EPA does.

Everyone knows
more than the EPA does.

Why else would they let us
regulate ourselves?

What?

Do we?

Do we what?

The EPA only started
regulating chemicals in '76.

- Yeah?
- They grandfather in

every existing chemical
nonhazardous

unless they knew
it was hazardous

or a company told them it was.

- We're saying the same thing.
- No, we're not.

I'm saying,
what if a company didn't tell?

What if the reason

Phil Donnelly agreed
to discovery on hazardous

is because he knows
whatever's in that landfill

isn't even regulated?

Okay, now you are sounding
like a plaintiff's attorney.

I've got a meeting.

Hey. Oh, wait one second.

Have you... have you heard
of this, um, PFOA?

No.

Uh, you know,
it's mentioned here,

but I-I can't find
anything about it

in any of the literature.

I don't even know
if it's a chemical.

Ask Phil.

Well, thank you.

As I said,

Mr. Donnelly is still
out of town.

Well, I-I called last week
and left two messages

and haven't heard back
from him.

I will be sure to
tell him that you called again.

Okay. Damn it.

Your tickets to the Chemical Alliance dinner.

And no, dark suit is not
the same as black tie.

Wouldn't he be going?

I don't know if Rob told you,

but I was a receptionist
at Taft before law school.

- Is that right?
- Yeah. But, well,

I think the right Bilott
ended up there.

- Harold, you're not getting away from me.
- Oh.

- Would you excuse me?
- Sure, it was...

It's great to see you.

Uh, when is the...

That's funny.

Ah. Right away, I saw
a little of myself in Rob.

- Oh.
- One black sheep to another.

My dad was a steelworker,
you know.

- Was he? - Yeah.
- Have-have you seen Phil?

No.

So, you're an attorney?

Oh, uh, recovering.

I represented employers
in workmen comp disputes,

but now I stay at home
with our baby.

Well, that's
the thing with lady lawyers.

- Oh. Oh, Gerald!
- Oh.

I want to say hi to the
Dow folks. Have you seen them?

No, I've been...
I've been looking for Phil.

Did I tell you
they sent me some work?

Dow? That's great.

Just a small project,
like a tryout,

but if I impress them, can you
imagine if I brought on Dow?

Uh, n-none for me, thank you.

You're not...?

I'm, um...

You're...?

- She's... You...
- I'm...

I'm gonna wait as long as I can
to tell the firm, obviously.

Would you excuse us
for a moment?

These lady lawyers
need a quick sidebar.

- Congratulations.
- Thank you.

- Of course.
- No, no, no...

He probably signs your paycheck.

- Be nice to him.
- Don't leave me.

Congratulations.

I know. I can't believe it.

Uh, uh, excuse me.

Uh, Rob, how are you?

Yeah, Phil, I've been...
been trying to reach you.

So sorry, all this traveling.

How about I give you
a shout tomorrow?

We're gonna need
to broaden discovery

to everything in that landfill,
hazardous or not.

Turns out, good lawyer.
Turned out...

Excuse me.

You kidding me?

No. Um...

I-I think whatever's
causing problems in there

isn't something the EPA
regulates or knows to regulate.

Sorry?

I'm-I'm seeing things
in your documents

I don't understand.

Y-You're seeing ghosts
is what you're seeing.

And, frankly, you're making
an ass of yourself.

O-Okay, then...
then help me out.

I mean... I mean, like this.

I mean, what...
what is this, uh, PFOA?

What's that stand for?

Jesus.

You're on a goddamn
fishing expedition.

You want to...
you want to flush your career

down the toilet
for some cowhand?

Be my guest.
I'm done helping you.

Phil, I need to insist
on broadening discovery.

- Sue me!
- I'm...

- already suing you.
- Welcome, everyone,

to the 14th annual
Ohio Chemical Alliance...

- Fuck you!
- ...awards dinner.

Hick.

So, let's get the fun started!

I'm sorry.

You're not the only one
who's sacrificed.

I just hope you know
what you're doing.

You know the difference between
business and pleasure, right?

So, why on earth
would you engage

in business conversations
at a public function?

Tom. He's hiding something.

You saw his reaction.

Yeah, me and everyone
in that room.

Taft in a pissing match
with DuPont.

I am gonna get a court order
and force them

to tell me everything
that's in that landfill.

Jesus Christ, now you want
to actually take them to court.

And I'm gonna need
local counsel in West Virginia.

What happened to routine stuff?

- Get in, get out? God!
- Ask Phil Donnelly.

Of course I remember you.

Yeah, last time I saw you,
I think Phil Donnelly

was trying to get you
to go out on the links with us.

- Yeah.
- Actually I'm suing him

and I was looking for
some advice on local counsel.

You what?

- Larry.
- Thank you.

- Good morning.
- Okay.

- Good morning, Larry.
- Morning.

Morning, Miss Claire.

Don't you look nice.

Save it for the judge,
Mr. Winter.

You're suing DuPont.

Yes, ma'am.

You represent DuPont.

My old firm did.

I've been out on my own
for a while.

Good luck with that.

Just wanted
to let you know personally

that your court-ordered
discovery is on the way.

Thanks, Phil.

No, it's my pleasure.

Discovery.

Son of a bitch.

All right, no admission
of liability.

And non...

Nondisclosure
of any and all terms.

Pardon me a moment.

Thanks.

Holy Jesus.

- What in the...
- Thanks.

...world?

I guess the joke's on me.

- Yeah.
- Hmm.

No one can go through
all this crap,

not in a million years.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure
that's what they're banking on.

- Oh, goddamn it!
- Oh, God, Rob.

- Here, let me...
- No, no, no, you...

you shouldn't be
around this stuff.

You sure?

I'm-I'm positive.

Thank you, though.

Yeah.

Good luck.

Yeah.

1957.

Yeah.

Hey, Bobby. How you...

What are you having?

Usual.

Eggs over, bacon and grits.

Same.

I need two over, grits, twice.

Wilbur Tennant.

He's not in his office.

- Can I take a message?
- I been leaving messages.

I know, Mr. Tennant,
but he really can't

- get to the phone right now.
- I want service!

I'll let him know
that you called again.

For Christ's sakes.

Is she getting accustomed
to being at Mom and Dad's?

Well, you know Grammer.

- She misses her own house.
- What? Uh...

She misses her own house.

Um, I have a bad cell.

I said Grammer misses
her own house.

Okay, can... can you...
can I talk to her?

Well, she and Mom
are at the doctor's.

Will you... will you tell
Grammers I called?

Rob, you're-you're breaking...
you're breaking...

- And Mom, too.
- Let's try again on Sunday.

All right.

"C-8."

You know you look
like a crazy person, right?

Wh-What was the name of that...
that guy that you brought by?

- The, um...
- What guy?

The-the-the...
th-th-the chemistry expert.

- The guy who does the models.
- Gillespie.

Here you go.

- Thank you.
- Mm-hmm.

Kim Burke had
an expense account.

Oh, sorry.

- It's not that kind of case.
- Hmm.

Are you familiar
with something called PFOA?

No.

No. No.

I did read something recently
about a PFOS, I think it was.

That-that sounds related.

And what was that?

Long-chain fluorocarbon,
synthetic.

I'm sorry.

Chemistry was my worst class
in high school.

Boy, you in
the wrong line of work.

Tell me about it. So?

So, synthetic.

- Right? Man-made.
- Mm-hmm.

- Uh, Frankenstein.
- And?

Um, long-chain fluorocarbon

is a sequence of carbon atoms,
add a fluoride.

All right, in-in the lab,
you take a-a carbon atom.

- Mm-hmm.
- And then you add another carbon atom.

And then another and another.

Look.

Y-You're making a chain, right?

Right?

Could it be... eight?

Eight carbons?

Well, sure. Yeah.

In the lab, you can do
almost anything.

And why-why would you want to?

Make this, I mean.

Well, a chain like that's
pretty much unbreakable,

biochemically speaking.

So, uh, industrial uses,
I imagine.

3M made it.

They don't anymore.
That's what I read.

And why did they stop?

Didn't say.

What if...

What if you drank it?

Drank it?

You don't.

- But what if you did?
- Ready to order?

- Yeah, I think I'd like a, um...
- Wait, what...

What if you did?

That's like saying,
"What if I swallowed a tire?"

I don't know.

You want to be the guy
that finds out?

Tuna melt.

Let us all begin

with hymn number 452
in our hymnal books:

"Here I Am, Lord."

Please rise.

♪ I, the Lord ♪

♪ Of sea and sky ♪

♪ I have heard ♪

♪ My people cry ♪

♪ All who dwell ♪

♪ In deepest sin ♪

♪ My hand will save ♪

♪ I have made... ♪

It makes sounds here.

Asteroid ahead.

Are you ready to blast off?

I'm taking off that.

You said it had fluoride?

What? Mr. Bilott, it's Sunday.

That chemical, you said
it had a fluoride atom.

It's a fluorocarbon, so yes.

Somewhere along the chain...

What would it do to your teeth
if you drank it?

Don't-don't tell me
if you shouldn't.

If you did...
if you drank a lot of it,

what would it do to your teeth?

Well, in trace amounts,
fluoride hardens teeth,

but-but too much,
it's gonna stain 'em.

I mean, even turn 'em black.

So, can I get back
to my family now?

Whoa, what?
Where-where are you going?

- It's in their water.
- What? What is?

How long's the coughing been?

Couple... couple months.

- A year.
- You a smoker?

No.

Roll up your sleeve.
We're gonna take some blood.

Thought you left him inside.

I did.

Oh, baby.

You move this?

What?

Did you go through this?

No.

They been here. They been here.

What happened?

Wash up.

Dad?

- What is it?
- Quiet.

This is my land, damn you!

You get out of here!

Go on!

Go on!

- Sandra, girls, go on!
- What's going on?

Go on, get in! Get in!

I know you!

Rob?

Holy crap. Rob!

What?

I thought someone was
breaking in, for God's sakes!

- No, it's just-just me.
- Rob, you need to tell me

what in the hell's going on.

We're being poisoned.

- Rob.
- What?

I'm... I mean it.

DuPont is knowingly
poisoning us.

You mean the farmer, his land.

All of us.

Please don't look at me
like that.

They're already
poisoning the baby.

No. No, I'm not listening
to this.

- Sarah.
- Stop it! Just stop it, okay?!

Do you hear yourself?

You are acting
like a crazy person.

Tearing up our floor,
scaring me half to death.

I know it's my job
to support you,

but that does not mean
you get to come into our home,

to our family, and tell me

that our unborn child
is being poisoned.

- No!
- I'm sorry.

- Can I please explain?
- Explain what?!

All of it.

And if-if you still think
I'm crazy, I'll drop it.

I swear to God.

I swear to you.

There is a man-made chemical.

It was invented during
the Manhattan Project.

It repelled the elements,

especially water.

So they used it to make
the first ever

waterproof coating for tanks.

It was indestructible.

Then some companies thought,
"Hey, why just the battlefield?

Why not bring this chemical
into American homes?"

Rob's here.

All right, good.

He'll see you now.

DuPont was
one of those companies.

So they took this chemical,
PFOA,

they renamed it C-8,

and they made their own
impenetrable coating,

but not for tanks.

For pans.

They called it Teflon.

A shining symbol
of American ingenuity

made right here in the USA
in Parkersburg, West Virginia.

But right from the start,
something wasn't right.

The men and workers
who made Teflon

were coming down
with nausea, fevers.

DuPont wanted to know why.

So they laced cigarettes
with Teflon.

They told a group of the
workers, "Hey, smoke these."

DuPonters did
as they were told.

Almost all those men
were hospitalized.

That's 1962,

one year after Teflon launched,
and already DuPont knew.

The dust, they just sent
right up the smokestacks,

released into the air.

The sludge,
tossed it into the Ohio.

Or, uh, packed into drums

and-and-and chucked it
into the Chesapeake.

But then the drums
started washing up.

So DuPont starts

digging ditches on the grounds
of the Washington Works plant.

And in those pits, they dumped

thousands of tons
of toxic C-8 sludge and dust.

One of the men that they hired
to dig those ditches

was Wilbur Tennant's
brother Jim.

But they weren't the only ones
covering their tracks.

3M, who-who pioneered
these chemicals for Scotchgard,

they were testing them
on monkeys.

Most of the monkeys died.

It wasn't like DuPont
didn't know that,

because they were doing
their own tests on rats.

Watched their organs balloon.

Now the rats
are getting cancers.

Tested them on pregnant rats
and watched them give birth

to pups with deformed eyes.

So they yanked
all the young women

off the Teflon line,
never told them why.

Sue Bailey's job was scrubbing
these huge steel vats

where they held the liquid C-8.

She was pregnant.

I love you.

Would you stop?

She gave birth to a baby

with one nostril
and a deformed eye.

Remember how DuPont had seen
those deformities in the rats?

Oh, God.

What about his eyes?

Blue, just like all newborns.

But they're normal...
the lids, the-the pupils?

Mr. Bilott, relax.

He's perfect.

Ah, hey.

Hi, Charlie.

So Sue goes to DuPont.

She says, "Why did you
pull me off the Teflon line?

Did C-8 make my baby this way?"

"No," they tell her.

Then all of her records from
her time at Teflon disappear.

One year later, they put
all of the women back on Teflon

and never say a thing.

He's here.

DuPont knew everything.

They knew

that the C-8
they put into the air

and buried into the ground
for decades

was causing cancers.

They knew that their own workers

were getting these cancers.

They knew that the consumers,
too, were being exposed.

And not just in Teflon.

In-in paints, in fabrics,

in, uh, raincoats, boots.

To this day.

For 40 years,

you knew C-8 was poison.

You knew the Happy Pan
was a ticking time bomb.

And you knew exactly why.

Because C-8,
it stays in us forever.

Our bodies are incapable
of breaking it down.

And knowing all of this,
still you did nothing,

because doing something, quote,

"would essentially put
the long-term viability

of this product segment
on the line," end quote.

You were making too much money.

$1 billion a year
just in profit, just in Teflon.

And so you pumped
millions more pounds

of toxic C-8 into the air,
into the water,

so much so you could
actually see it foam.

C-8 was everywhere.

There was nowhere left
for you to contaminate.

And that's when
they came to Jim.

They knew he was sick
and needed the money,

and they needed his land.

And when they got it,
they dug up all the C-8

from every single pit
at Washington Works...

14 million pounds
of toxic C-8 sludge...

and they dumped it again.

This time right up there.

Steps from your creek,
from your house.

And that's what your cows
have been drinking, Earl.

Put 'em behind bars.

Whole damn lot of 'em,
rot in jail.

I understand, believe me,
but th-this is a civil case.

The most we can hope for
is damages.

Don't want no money!

Whole damn world need...

...needs to see what they done.

You're right. They should.

And it... and it kills me
that they won't.

But that would mean
going to trial

and proving that C-8
killed your cows.

And every scientist who knows
anything about any of this

already works
for these chemical companies.

That's not an accident, Earl.

Earl, these... these companies,
they have all the money,

all the time,
and they'll use it.

Trust me, I know...
I was one of them.

You're still one of 'em.

You-you can't be serious.

You-you know what I put
on the line here?

You want a prize?

Some medal 'cause,
for once in your life,

you took the side
of the little guy?

Sorry, no prize.

All you get is your share
of this blood money.

And you sleep
real good tonight.

Talk to your family.

It ain't just my cows
that was poisoned.

What you think
I fed my family on?

Wilbur...

please!

Leave this place!

Start over!

Give your family
a fighting chance!

Too late for that.

We got it, Sandra and me...
the cancer.

Surprise, surprise.

In here.

How'd it go?

What's wrong?

Rob?

Rob, what is it?

What happened? What happened?

Oh, honey, honey, honey.

You saw a man hurting, and...

...you did the Christian thing.

- You helped him.
- How?

How? How?
Either he dies penniless

or he lets DuPont just keep
pillaging his community.

How is that helping?

Got to get some sleep.

I can't believe
a freaking case settlement

could shut this up.

Have you read their
confidentiality agreements?

You've uncovered
a threat to the public.

This goes beyond lawyering.

That's...
That's all I know is lawyering.

Fine. Then be the lawyer.

You know DuPont
better than anyone.

What haven't they thought of?

Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

What is that?

A memo and 136 exhibits.

Wilbur, Sandra,
this is your copy.

The EPA announced
a public hearing

into this family of chemicals
I've been looking into.

I heard about it from Tucker.

- "Monsanto" Tucker?
- Union Carbide now.

He says to me, "Is it true
that a Taft lawyer sent

"a phone book's worth of
confidential DuPont documents

to the entire
federal government?"

Internal documents,
not... not confidential.

- Very different.
- So you're testifying.

I signed up to testify,
and the next thing I hear is

DuPont has petitioned a judge

to stop me from testifying,
from flying to D.C.,

from even picking up
the phone...

- They filed for a gag order.
- Yes.

- This is what we're up against.
- Jesus.

- David.
- I mean, come on, Tom.

- What do you expect?
- Where do we stand?

Well, the judge
rejected the gag order,

so I fly out Monday.

Nice.

I guess we'll just
watch on C-SPAN.

You ever do anything
like this again,

I will cut your balls off and
serve them to DuPont myself.

Now get out of here.

Good luck in Washington.

Thanks, Tom.

This material, uh,
is a perfluoro, or a PFOA.

It's also known as FC-143,

ammonium perfluorooctanoate.

It has been shown
by DuPont's own science

that PFOA/C-8

is possibly life-threatening
to human health.

We are asking this agency
to do something.

...presidential election in four decades.

Just look at these latest polls
this morning...

Did you forget to pay
the water bill?

What?

You forget to pay
the water bill?

No.

We got a notice.

What's it say?

Uh, "PFOA is a persistent
chemical that is slow

"to be eliminated
from the bloodstream

"of people who have been
exposed to it.

"The DuPont Company has advised
the Lubeck water district

"that low concentrations
have been found

"in the district's wells.

"DuPont has advised the district

that it is confident
these levels are safe."

What the hell does that mean?

A letter came last fall.

Made no sense to me,
so I started making calls.

I told Joe,
don't kick that hornet's nest.

It's not like we didn't know
what we'd signed up for.

What do you mean?

Oh, I was married before Joe,
um, to a chemist at DuPont.

Dream job. Paid real well.

And the perks.

Presents for no reason.

We'd get this catalog.

Just pick whatever you want.

And little stuff.

Like he'd bring home this soap,
this miracle powder.

You put it in the washing
machine or the dishwasher...

just wipes stuff clean
like you would not believe.

One day,
he comes home and says,

"Can't bring
that stuff home no more."

"Why?" Won't tell me.

Then he'd get sick for weeks.

The Teflon flu,
the guys would call it.

We knew something wasn't right.

But this house, we bought it

just by showing the bank
my husband's DuPont I.D.

Put both our kids
through college.

Engineers.

In... in this town, that
doesn't come without a price.

My brother Kenny
didn't know that price.

He joined DuPont at 19.

Died on the operating table
two years later.

Ulcerative colitis.

Just like Dan Schiller had.

- Who-who's Dan?
- A chemist at DuPont.

Worked with my ex-husband.

And, uh, Roger, what's his name?

Wilkins, the foreman.

Steven Gellar.

Randy Field.

Randy's was kidney cancer.

- He survived.
- Yeah, his wife didn't.

No, June's was thyroid.

And it was supposed
to be treatable.

Hmm.
They didn't catch it in time.

But th-they caught it
in-in their son.

Were your
children born, uh, healthy?

- Yes. Yes, they were.
- Good.

But... we wanted a third
and couldn't.

I went to my doctor.

He says,
"You need a hysterectomy.

You need it right away."

I'm so sorry.

Bad luck, I guess.

I was 36.

Mr. Kiger, you...

you think I could get
a copy of that letter?

What's wrong with your hand?

Nothing. It's fine.

Whoa. Rob?

Rob, what are you doing?

I mean, it's not enough
to poison these people?

- They got to swindle them, too?
- Okay, calm down.

- All right?
- DuPont wrote that letter,

not the water authority.

- How do you know that?
- You think I don't know

what a DuPont letter
looks like by now?

Okay. Okay.

I mean, Jesus!

It-it-it's evil, Sarah.

It's-it's fucking evil.

What's "fack"?

Perfect.

It's nothing, sweetie.
It's nothing. Oh, boy.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry, honey.

Can you give Charlie
the bottle, please?

- Where's his bottle?
- It's in the bag. Here.

What is all this?

It's from Grammer's.

Left in her mailbox.

"Medical claims,
now and forever"?

- Here, bud.
- "Now and forever."

Is that the... that...

Medical monitoring... is that...

I thought you said
that wasn't gonna pass.

Morning.

Morning, guys.

Our lead plaintiff
is Mr. Joe Kiger.

Potential plaintiff,
if the partnership approves.

Mr. Joe Kiger, a phys ed teacher

from Parkersburg, West Virginia,

on behalf of
the 70,000 local residents

whose water DuPont knowingly
poisoned for the last 40 years.

- A class action?
- Let him finish.

The Kigers were notified

by their local water company
that DuPont had found

small concentrations of C-8
in their water supply

but not to worry because
those concentrations were safe.

Why?

Because DuPont said so.

This is what DuPont
considers safe.

That's something like
one drop of water

in an Olympic-size
swimming pool.

In other words, even a trace
of C-8 renders water unsafe.

But DuPont told the local
water authority, "Don't worry.

Your wells have got
even less than that."

- Except that was a lie.
- A lie?

Yes. DuPont has been

secretly testing
these wells for decades.

They knew they had
contaminated those wells

up to six times that level.

And thanks to the Tennant case,
now we know, too.

Hold on. This stuff is
unregulated, right?

I mean, I mean,
as far as EPA's concerned,

- it might as well be rose petals.
- Yeah.

The EPA hasn't set a standard...
that's true... but DuPont did.

And all the law requires
to win a case like this

is to show that DuPont exceeded

what DuPont itself
considers safe.

Self-regulation.

If what
you're saying is right...

- It is right.
- ...then why would DuPont

tell this water district
anything at all?

Seems to me that they're being
a good corporate citizen here.

That's how long you have
to file suit.

One year from the moment
you realize

your water's been contaminated.

This letter looks like

it's telling people
their water is safe.

In fact, it's notifying them
that it isn't.

- DuPont has started the clock.
- Smart.

We would've counseled that.

It was sent 11 months ago,

the moment
they realized we knew.

In 30 days, they're home free.

So that's the proposed case
in brief.

But there's something else
to consider.

You think?

Rob.

C-8 bioaccumulates.
It builds up inside of us.

Some class members
who aren't sick today

will get sick tomorrow.

We need a way to protect them
into the future.

Jesus, Tom, if you're

even thinking about using
medical monitoring...

Hold on. Hold on.

Medical monitoring is a claim

now permitted
in West Virginia courts.

Oh, come on.

Let's hear him out.

It says, if a company
exposes a community

to something
that makes them sick,

they must monitor the health of
that community indefinitely.

Everybody get that?

You're creating liability
from mere exposure.

It's also unprecedented.

Exactly. Which is why,
not six months ago,

- we fought tooth and nail against it.
- And you lost.

Our-our clients have the right
to avail themselves of the law.

Potential clients.

Uh, okay. Um...

I-I-I know you, Rob.

I-I-I know your passion.

Uh, you... you got a great
settlement for your farmer.

You should be proud of that.

Uh, and perhaps as the newest
partner at this table,

I should be more circumspect.

But, uh,
what he's proposing here

is nothing less
than a-a shakedown

- of an iconic American company.
- We do not represent DuPont.

No, y-you don't
represent anyone.

Is this what we have become?

Plaintiff's attorneys?
Ambulance chasers?

I mean, why don't you
just admit it?

Rob, you want to flip.

You want to take
everything that you know

about how
chemical companies operate

and turn it against DuPont,
like an informant.

- That's enough.
- Isn't that right?

- Okay.
- Isn't that right?

- Isn't that right?
- Yes.

Okay, then I-I say
we take a vote

and determine whether or not
we continue

in the tradition that has
distinguished this firm

from everyone else
in the industry or...

Okay, I'm running this meeting.

Okay? You got that?

Has anyone even read

the evidence
this man has collected?

The willful negligence,
the corruption?

Read it.

And then tell me we should be
sitting on our asses.

That's the reason

why Americans hate lawyers.

This is the crap that fuels
the Ralph Naders of the world.

We should want to nail DuPont.

All of us should.

American business is
better than this, gentlemen.

And when it's not,
we should hold them to it.

That's how you build faith
in the system.

We're always arguing
that companies are people.

Well, these people...

have crossed the line!

To hell with them!

It may come as a surprise

to corporate defense types
like yourselves,

but there's more to the law

than just flooding
the other side in papers.

From where I sit,
you have to touch people.

You know, these girls,
they handle the calls

from the class action members.

And there's thousands of 'em
on any given case.

And it's here that we come
to know their pain.

Isn't that right, Hazel?

Yes.

We hear it every day,
and it's my job

to make a jury feel that pain,

not out of pity,
but out of fear.

Whatever it is
that happened to my client,

that juror has to think,
"That could happen to me."

You just keep hammering it.

One part per billion,
one part per billion.

It's their own documents,
their own scientists.

- Absolutely.
- All right? They-they...

They set that standard.
They have to live with it.

Yeah, I think
we can relax, Rob, though.

You know, there's no way

they're gonna prevail
with a motion to dismiss.

This is procedural.

It's nonsense.
We'll get a trial today.

Okay, I'll catch
you guys in there.

I'm gonna get a drink.

I wouldn't drink that.

Earl.

How you doing?

Still here.

That's something, right?

Yes, that-that's something.

It's good to see you, Rob.

Can't let 'em...

shut you down.

Oh, I-I won't. I-I promise.

Whole world...

needs to know.

They will, Earl.

They will.

Hey, Rob.

It's time.

I-I have to go.

We are here
on defendant's motion

- to dismiss the case...
- Hey, Joe. How are you?

...brought by Mr. Kiger, et al.

Now...

...which one of you
is Mr. Wallace?

Edward Wallace, Your Honor,
on behalf of

E.I. du Pont de Nemours
and Company,

better known as DuPont.

Yes, I've heard of it.

- Your motion.
- Thank you.

Your Honor, we're here today

because of a uniquely American
invention: Teflon.

Since 1961, Teflon has
liberated housewives...

- No, no, no, no, no, no.
- Oh, uh, excuse me.

Homemakers throughout...

This is a courtroom,
Mr. Wallace,

not the Home Shopping Network.

Plaintiffs have alleged
that DuPont did not meet

- its own standard of safety...
- She's good, huh? She's good.

...with regard
to the level of C-8

- in the local water supply.
- Okay.

That's irrelevant, Your Honor.

We ask you to dismiss
on grounds

that the only standard
that matters

is the one that
elected government deems safe.

- Not if it's unregulated.
- It's government's job

to make these determinations,
not any one company.

- That's a trap.
- They can't revert back to...

I got it.

Is there a problem,
Mr. Deitzler?

Apologies, Your Honor,
but DuPont has been hiding

the dangers of this chemical

from the government
for a while now.

And they're asking you
to let 'em off the hook

because they've succeeded
in their strategy.

Government doesn't regulate C-8.

Uh, actually, that's not true.

- Oh?
- No, no.

The West Virginia's
C-8 Working Group

has just issued a standard.

Here with us today

is the governmental official
who led that effort,

Dr. Mary-Sue Kimball.

And, Dr. Kimball, uh,
as a senior member

of the state's Department
of Environmental Protection,

isn't it, in fact, your duty
to protect the citizens

- of West Virginia...
- Mr. Wallace.

I'll cut to the chase.

What is the level of C-8
in drinking water

that the state of West Virginia

has determined to be
completely safe?

- Watch it go from one part per billion to...
- Five? - Ten?

150 parts per billion.

Welcome to West Virginia.

The levels found in the wells

of all six water districts
represented in this suit,

do they fall below
this maximum level?

Well below.

Nothing else, Your Honor.

Your witness, Mr. Deitzler.

Wait, who-who's on
the working group?

DuPont, of course, and who else?

- Who did the water testing?
- Mr. Deitzler?

When was it done?

- One moment, Judge.
- What was the sample size?

Yeah, I mean,
we should be able to see...

Going once.

Going twice.

Dr. Kimball, who were
the members of this cabal

you call the C-8 Working Group?

Objection.

Cool it, Mr. Deitzler.

Go ahead, Dr. Kimball.

Agency officials,

representatives of
the scientific community,

um, stakeholders.

Stakeholders?
Which stakeholders?

Oh, wait, let me guess...
it rhymes with "bouffant."

DuPont is a stakeholder, yes.

So, I see.
So, don't you find it peculiar

that on the eve
of a class action lawsuit

where DuPont might be
considered liable

for poisoning this community,

they get you
to come in here suddenly

and reverse decades of their
so-called heralded science?

That's false.

I don't work for DuPont.

I didn't say you did.

But now you bring it up,
we'll check back in a month.

- Your Honor... No.
- Were you honestly gonna

plan on telling this community

that they can drink 150 times more C-8?

I mean, come on, people,
bottoms up.

- That kind of thing?
- Honestly, Judge, this is not...

All right,
Mr. Deitzler, enough.

We'll be unveiling
the new standard

at an upcoming public hearing.

"Unveiling."
Whoa, that sounds like a party.

We'll be there!

Their safety standards thing,

that's all a sham.

Thanks to the judge's decision,
we will have our day in court.

Yes, we will!

Because, if the state
of West Virginia

won't stop
the DuPont corporation

from literally poisoning
its citizens,

then we the citizens
will stop them ourselves.

Good evening,
and welcome to 20/20.

Well, it coats the pots
you cook with

so the food doesn't stick,

it protects the carpet
your baby crawls on...

I miss carpet.

...winter jacket,
your skin lotion,

even your makeup.

We're talking about Teflon.

And tonight, our 20/20
investigation uncovers

alarming information
about this much-used material.

It is very alarming, Barbara.
I cook with Teflon.

I didn't know until I watched

this report that
you're about to see

that if Teflon
gets hot enough...

...millions of people have
in their homes.

Teflon has become
such a familiar...

...Teflon, a substance
that is also used

in clothing and cars,
even in contact lenses.

...already found in the blood
of most Americans.

Now scientists are saying...

PFOA...

...millions of homes
across Australia.

Teflon, a nonstick surface...

The Environmental
Protection Agency this morning

announced it has opened
a priority review

of the chemical C-8,
currently the subject

of a class action lawsuit

against the chemical giant
DuPont.

Joe!

Joe!

Oh, my Lord, Joe, just wait!

Wait for the fire department,
please, honey!

Please don't go crazy!

...have triggered a mass panic

among Chinese consumers.

Should you throw away

your nonstick pans?
Many experts say...

Are your pans making you sick?

That's the question
being asked...

...returns
of kitchen implements

coated in Teflon.

The house was empty.
It belongs to my father.

I don't know how
it could've started.

His name Kiger?

Think someone might have
got the wrong house?

All of this hullabaloo
is just silly.

Teflon is completely safe
for cooking.

That is why we founded
the Cook Healthy campaign

to set the record straight.

And besides being
completely safe, it is also...

Copy that.

All the way down.

We are now on the record.

This is the videotaped
deposition

of Charles O. Holliday, Jr.,

taken by the plaintiffs
in the matter of Kiger et al.

versus E.I. du Pont de Nemours
and Company.

Raise your right hand.

Do you swear to tell
the whole truth

and nothing but the truth?

I do.

Uh, please state your name.

Charles O. Holliday, Jr.

And are you presently employed?

Yes.

What is your position?

I'm the chairman
and chief executive officer

of the DuPont Company.

In DuPont's most recent filing

with the Securities
and Exchange Commission,

you state, quote,

"Based on over 50 years
of industry experience

"and extensive scientific study,

"DuPont believes
there is no evidence

"that PFOA causes any adverse
human health effects

or harms the environment."

You signed that legal filing,
correct?

I don't recall
the exact statement,

but that sounds right to me.

Are you aware that DuPont has,
in its own files,

studies dating back to the 1970s

that say just the opposite?

That PFOA...
or C-8, as it's called...

has potentially
life-threatening effects

on human health?

I'm not familiar
with the exact studies

we may have in our files.

Then I'll take you through them.

Uh, exhibit nine.

Uh, y-you were just handed
exhibit nine.

Uh, you see the date
March 13, 1979?

- Yes.
- You see the DuPont logo at the top?

Yes.

- Do you see this word here highlighted?
- Yes.

Would you read it
for me, please?

"Receptors."

Do you know what that word
refers to... "receptors"?

Um, in this context, I do not.

It means human beings.

DuPont refers
to the men and women

that your company exposed
to C-8 as "receptors."

And in these receptors,
your scientists found, quote,

"significantly higher incidents
of allergic endocrine

and metabolic disorders,"
end quote.

As well as, quote,

"excess risk of developing
liver disease."

- Do you see that?
- Yes.

Moreover, you have
infertility at Teflon.

Occurrences of leukemia.

You have excess of cancers.

Bladder, kidney, oral, pharynx.

Next paragraph.

Seventy-eight.

You see that heading?

You see that date?
Do you see that?

Exhibit 96. Exhibit 53.

I'd like to move on
to birth defects.

- We've gone almost seven hours.
- Mr. Holliday,

you're aware that, in 1981,

3M notified DuPont that it had
conducted studies on rats

and these studies showed
that sustained C-8 exposure

can cause facial deformities?

I'm not aware of a study by 3M.

How about DuPont's own studies

that showed the same thing
in humans?

That's DuPont's
pregnancy study from 1981.

Does that look like
a DuPont document to you?

It looks to be.

Are you aware
that DuPont has denied

that any such study
ever even took place?

I'm not familiar
with specific statements

we've made about that.

Seven pregnant women,

all DuPont employees,
all from the Teflon line.

Do you see this here?

Quote, "Child, four months,

one nostril, eye defect,"
end quote.

- Yes.
- Two of the seven women,

nearly 30%,
gave birth to babies

that had the exact
facial deformities

that your company
already knew about.

We're done here.

Sir.

His parents named him Bucky.

Bucky Bailey.

This is your receptor.

Now we're done.

The Environmental
Protection Agency

has levied the largest fine
in agency history

against the chemical giant
DuPont.

The EPA concluded

the company failed to report
the health dangers of C-8

used in the manufacture
of Teflon.

DuPont will pay the EPA
$16.5 million.

It earns a billion dollars in
profits from Teflon each year.

To recap,
we've agreed that DuPont

will clean
local water supplies,

install infiltration systems
in all six water districts.

Additionally, DuPont will pay

$70 million in cash
to the class.

Three days' revenue
on the Teflon line.

Which leaves

our most challenging issue:
medical monitoring.

We've agreed to establish
an independent science panel

comprised of three scientists

who have no relationship
to either side.

This independent panel will
study the members of this class

to determine
whether C-8 exposure

has led to increased incidents
of disease in this region.

If the panel finds that there
are probable scientific links

to a particular disease,

the health of everyone
in the class will be monitored

for that disease in perpetuity

at DuPont's cost
up to $235 million.

And any class member
who develops that disease

can sue DuPont for damages.

However, if the science panel

fails to establish
probable scientific links,

then this case is over.

No monitoring, no lawsuits,
no exceptions.

Good.

Well, gentlemen,
you are now officially

in the hands of science.

Well...

wouldn't have pegged you
as a mai tai guy.

It's festive.

Wouldn't have
pegged you for that, either.

We have something to celebrate.

- Yeah?
- Do we?

Look, how do we know that
the panel is going to prove

that DuPont made
all these people sick?

I'm no scientist,
but even I know you'd need

huge amounts of medical data,

not to mention thousands
of blood samples and...

From people who don't trust us.

"Hey, folks, we want to
stick you with some needles.

You won't mind, will you?"

I mean, I know these people.

They're gonna
take the money and run.

Wouldn't you?

I think they-they want more
than just the money.

I-I-I-I think they...

they want to know if they're
gonna get sick or not.

Or if they have C-8
in their blood

and what that's gonna do
t-to them and their families.

So, we're just gonna trust
that they show up, huh?

Trust and... but verify.

What does that mean, Rob?

Well, come in for an exam.

Um... give us a blood sample.

Then we'll give you your check.

On second thought,
make mine a mai tai.

All around, please.

- Rob Bilott.
- Yeah.

Where'd you pull that out of?

Healthy drinking water is vital

to all of us.
That's why scientists

need to know
if the chemical C-8

causes any health problems.

Starting today,
you can help by completing

a health questionnaire
and having...

Ah, come on!

...medical van downtown.

Well, how about you?

Are you gonna get
your blood tested?

Nah. I-I hate needles.

It's 400 bucks, buddy.

Really?

Got your attention...

Okay, okay!

All right, all right.

Yeah, that'll work.

We bring them back here,

draw the blood
and hand them a check.

- $400.
- Each.

Lots of money around here.

How many you brought
with you today, Miss LuAnn?

My husband
and my three kids and me.

- $2,000.
- Yeah.

Not too shabby
right before Christmas.

Yep.

But you ain't gonna
find nothing.

DuPont's good people.

You'll see.

Gigi, Gigi, Gigi!

It's your turn to put
the angel on the top.

You do it, sweetie.

- Gigi's too pooped.
- Look at me!

- Why don't you get your Uncle Ben to give you a boost?
- Look!

- Ooh!
- Mom?

- What's up?
- You okay?

- Yeah.
- Can you put... Can you help...

Seriously, it's huge.

They're gonna be making you
partner this year.

- I know it.
- Well, they'd better.

I mean...

Mommy, come see this!

Hey, baby,
did you hang that ornament?

- Rob, can you get that?
- Mm, uh...

- Let me see.
- Okay, I'm-I'm coming.

Hello?

Rob, you sitting down for this?

- Larry, what's wrong?
- 69,000.

69,000 what?

69,000 people got tested.
69,000!

You realize
how much data this is?

This is what we needed, Rob.
This is it.

- Oh, my God.
- You were right all along, my friend.

- Merry Christmas.
- Thank you.

- You bet.
- Thank you!

Talk real soon.

- Hey, who was that?
- You won't believe.

- Daddy, guess what I just did.
- Yeah?

- What? What'd you just do?
- I put the angel on the top.

- Yeah?
- Uncle Ben lifted me.

He did? Like this?

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Merry Christmas!

We are gathered here today

in memory
of Wilbur Earl Tennant.

The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.

He makes me lie down
in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

He restoreth my soul.

Even though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil...

Quick, everybody.
Mustard or ketchup?

Teddy, for the
tenth time, that's my ketchup.

Charlie, don't start.

What? It's mine. I got it.

- He's got his own, okay?
- You're that lawyer.

Finish up.

My brother's Dale Lamb.

You took his blood,
said you'd help him.

Yeah, I did.
We're-we're-we're...

we're working on that.
I promise.

He's dead.

Testicular cancer.

Left three little boys
younger than yours.

But you enjoy your family.

- Okay. Everybody up.
- I'm not finished.

I said up.

Well, Darlene can't even
leave the house

without being harassed.

I-I know, Joe. I'm...

First, they-they blame us
for suing DuPont,

and now they hate on us

'cause they ain't seen
nothing from it.

- I'm sorry, Joe.
- Well, that ain't good enough!

And they wonder why in the hell
it takes four damn years

to read a lousy blood sample,
and I don't blame 'em.

We trusted you, Rob.

We put our faith in you.

- I know, Joe. I'm-I'm so...
- All right?

I'm so...

Isn't there just...
just some kind of a...

a progress report,
anything that I can...

I can share with these folks?

I mean, they-they...
they have been waiting.

I'm sorry, Mr. Bilott.

The panel is still
in the process

of analyzing complex data
and modeling

from thousands of samples
and medical histories.

I'm so sorry.

Could you hold a moment?

Charlie,
don't pick at your food.

What's a hooker?

Where did you learn that?

He told me that
Mary Magdalene was a hooker.

What? She was.

You're supposed to say
"prostitute."

And then she found God

and became one of Jesus's
most fervent disciples.

See? I was just
teaching him the Bible.

I-I can't today.

So, everybody up.

Everybody up.

Can we still afford it?

What?

Catholic school.

My brother's back in rehab.
Did you know that?

- No. I'm sorry.
- Today's...

Today's Mom's first day
at chemo.

I forgot.

'Cause it's not
about your case, Rob.

Car!

- Gosh.
- Okay. Geez.

Teddy forged my signature,
and Tony's quitting football.

Tony. But how would you know
about that, right?

Because all you see,
all that you-you...

the boys have ever seen
is you obsessing about this...

Have I ever complained?

Say something,
for God's sakes, Rob.

No.

- No?
- No.

No.

Because I knew
that you needed something.

Uh, some connection,
s-something.

And s... so I took it on.

But if you want
to start accounting,

if you want to start with-with,
"Oh, can we afford," then...

I don't know, Rob.

Can the boys afford a father

who can't string
two words together?

Can our marriage afford
13 years of...

13 years of this?

How about it, Rob?
You want to talk about it?

About our lives?

Of course not.

I'll tell Mom
you asked about her.

What in God's name
is that panel doing?

And wh-why are we still
getting bills?

Overhead, uh...
local counsel.

H-Harry's call center.

A thousand dollars an hour.

That-that was a...
that was a technical expert.

We needed to do fi-filings

when DuPont started lobbying
Washington to keep C-8...

That's Washington's problem,
not ours.

That's why you got them
involved. Your memo.

It was just a fine, Tom.
It's a fine.

$16 million, it's...

it's nothing for these people.

- It's pocket change.
- Yes, but if they get charged

with criminal concealment,
game over.

You said DOJ was investigating.

- Not anymore.
- What?

They dropped the investigation.

- They dropped... What?
- They dropped it.

No reason given.

Tom, our-our government
is captive to DuPont.

This case,
it's the only hope we have.

They know that,
and they're trying to make it

as expensive as they can
to force you to make me stop.

- Just tell me how much longer.
- Uh...

I-I-I ca... I can't.

I-I-I-I wish I could.

- Tom, I...
- Are you okay?

Uh, I'm fine. I'm just...

Rob, I'm a managing partner now.

- I have a firm to run.
- I know.

And, Tom,
I think there could be

a huge payout here if we can...

You think I'm in this for money?

- No, I...
- You think I am...

I'm-I'm letting you drag

this firm's reputation
through a meat grinder

for some kind of
plaintiff's payoff?

I-I don't know why
you're doing... doing it.

Rob, listen, I...

I'm sorry, but you're gonna
have to take another pay cut.

Tom, that's-that's
my fourth pay cut.

- What am I supposed to do?
- I-I-I...

You-you don't have any...

I'm-I'm down to a third now.

You don't have any clients.
You-you...

No one will take your calls.

What am I supposed to do here?

Now, I'm on your side, but...

Rob? Emmy!

Hey! Emmy!

- Kathleen! Kathleen!
- Get some help!

- Get some help!
- Rob?

Rob?

Looks like we should, uh,

cancel my 4:00
with Jerry and...

I don't know. We're waiting.

But, uh, give us, uh...

Well, uh, uh...

Make-make sure that, uh,
Jerry knows that, um...

I-I have to go.

- Mrs. Bilott?
- Yes.

We think your husband's
most likely experienced a TIA,

a transient ischemic attack.

Blood is briefly cut off
to the brain,

mimicking the symptoms
of a stroke.

Uh, uh, excuse me. A TIA?

This wasn't short.

It-it kept going on.

What about poison?

I'm sorry?

Could someone be...
be poisoning him?

No, Mrs. Bilott.

This is neurological.

You just said
it wasn't a stroke.

Not this time.

- What does that mean?
- Well, it means that

he needs to never miss
his medication

and he needs to reduce all
sources of stress in his life.

He's under
enormous pressure at work.

Well, that needs to change.

But he's a young man.

He shouldn't be having
these incidences.

He's sedated,
but you can see him.

- Okay.
- I'll check in on him tomorrow.

Thank you. Thank you.

Um...

I'll, uh, give you some privacy.

Uh...

anything you need, call me.

I need you to stop making him
feel like a failure.

I appreciate the stress

that your family
must be going through.

Please...

don't talk to me
like I'm the wife.

Did Rob ever tell you about,
uh, moving around as a kid?

Um, I, uh...

Ten times before senior year.

No friends, no ties, no...

Just him, his sister,
his folks and...

Then I came along,
and you came along and, uh...

Taft... it's not just a job.

To him, it's...

it's home.

And he was willing
to risk all that

for a stranger
who needed his help.

Now, you and I may not know
what that is...

...but it's not failure.

♪ And you lead me ♪

♪ In ways everlasting ♪

♪ Lord, you have
searched my heart ♪

♪ And you know when I sit ♪

♪ And when I stand ♪

♪ Your hand is upon me ♪

♪ Protecting me from death ♪

♪ Keeping me from harm ♪

♪ Oh, Lord ♪

♪ I know ♪

♪ You are near ♪

♪ Standing always ♪

♪ At my side ♪

♪ You guard me
from the foe... ♪

Hey, do you...
do you know the score?

The game?

Sorry, my radio's busted.

- Sorry.
- Don't worry about it.

It'll be a surprise.

Bucky, come on.

We'll be late.

Have a good one.

Hey, Rob. Bill Leary.

Uh, we haven't met.

I'm the new comptroller
out of Indianapolis.

Listen, we need to talk
about your unbilled hours

and these un-reimbursed...

Hello?

Mr. Bilott?

Yes?

I guess I should start
by apologizing for taking...

- well, seven years to call you.
- Mm, who is this?

Oh, yes, of course.

It's Dr. Karen Frank from the...

Science panel?

Again, I'm so sorry to have

- kept you waiting this long, Mr. Bilott.
- Uh...

- But there was just so much data that...
- Please, uh...

Doctor, please, can you...
would you just please tell me

what-what's happened,
what's happening,

what-what-what-what
you've found out?

Yes, yes. You gave us an
unprecedented amount of data.

The largest epidemiological
study in human history.

It's irrefutable.

We have linked
sustained exposure to C-8

to six categories of serious illness.

Kidney cancer,

testicular cancer,
thyroid disease,

preeclampsia, high cholesterol,

ulcerative colitis.

3,535 people in the class
already have these diseases.

Many more will develop them.

Thanks to you, the entire class
will be monitored,

and those who get sick

can seek restitution.

You did a good thing here,
Mr. Bilott.

You did good.

Thank you.

- Oh.
- Thank you.

Thank you.

Watch out, now.
Watch your eyes.

Oh!

Rob?

What happened?

Rob?

DuPont, they're reneging.

Which part?

All of it.

They're tearing up
our agreement,

rejecting the science panel.

They're-they're gonna...
they're gonna...

they're gonna fight
every claim in court.

Thousands of claims.

People, sick people,
they'll give up.

They can't fight DuPont.

How can they go back o-on...?

- Sarah.
- They-they can't go back on everything.

Well, they're a titan
of industry.

I mean, they can do
whatever the hell they want.

Nothing else matters.

They-they can fight you
all they want.

It doesn't take away
from what you've done.

Of course it does.

That's exactly what it does.

They want to show the world
it's no use fighting.

"Look, everybody,
even he can't crack the maze,

and he helped build it."

The system is rigged.

They want us to think it'll
protect us, but that's a lie.

We protect us. We do.

Nobody else.

Not the companies,

not-not the...
not the scientists,

not the government.

Us.

A farmer with a 12th-grade
education told me that.

On day one, he knew, and I...
and I thought he was crazy.

Isn't that crazy?

No.

All rise.

The Honorable Timothy Burg,
United States District Judge

for the Southern District
of Ohio presiding.

This court is now in session
pursuant to the adjournment.

Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye.

All persons having business
with this honorable court,

draw near,
give their attention,

and they shall be heard.

God save the United States
and this honorable court.

Please be seated.

And we're here this morning
for a jury trial.

So...

3,535 claims.

At a rate of
four or five cases a year,

we can all expect
to be here till...

well, the year 2890.

If we're lucky.

Guess we'd better get started.

Mrs. Johnson,
is your attorney present?

Good morning, Your Honor.

Rob Bilott for the plaintiff.

Oh, still here, huh?

Still here.

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