Anderson v. Cryovac

E662015

civil action environmental contamination case lawsuit

Anderson v. Cryovac is a landmark environmental contamination lawsuit over industrial pollution of drinking water in Woburn, Massachusetts, that became widely known through the book and film "A Civil Action."

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Observed surface forms (3)

Surface form	Occurrences
Anderson et al. v. Beatrice Foods Co.	1
Anderson et al. v. W.R. Grace & Co.	1
civil lawsuit Anderson et al. v. W.R. Grace & Co. et al.	1

Statements (47)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	civil action ⓘ environmental contamination case ⓘ lawsuit ⓘ
allegation	contaminated municipal wells G and H in Woburn ⓘ defendants improperly disposed of toxic chemicals ⓘ
attorneyForPlaintiffs	Jan Schlichtmann NERFINISHED ⓘ
causeOfAction	negligence ⓘ personal injury ⓘ property damage ⓘ wrongful death ⓘ
country	United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States
court	United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts NERFINISHED ⓘ
defendant	Beatrice Foods Co. NERFINISHED ⓘ Cryovac, Inc. NERFINISHED ⓘ W. R. Grace & Co. NERFINISHED ⓘ
filingDate	1979 ⓘ
fullName	Anne Anderson et al. v. Cryovac, Inc., et al. NERFINISHED ⓘ
healthEffectAlleged	childhood leukemia ⓘ other serious illnesses ⓘ
impact	influenced later environmental and toxic tort litigation strategies ⓘ raised public awareness of groundwater contamination risks ⓘ
inPopularCulture	depicted in Jonathan Harr’s nonfiction book "A Civil Action" NERFINISHED ⓘ dramatized in the 1998 film "A Civil Action" ⓘ
jurisdiction	United States federal court NERFINISHED ⓘ
legalIssue	allocation of liability among multiple polluters ⓘ causation between chemical exposure and leukemia cluster ⓘ
legalSignificance	illustrated difficulties of proving causation in environmental cases ⓘ important case in U.S. toxic tort litigation ⓘ landmark environmental contamination lawsuit ⓘ
location	Woburn, Massachusetts NERFINISHED ⓘ
outcome	no final jury verdict on damages due to settlement ⓘ settlement with Beatrice Foods Co. after appeal ⓘ settlement with W. R. Grace & Co. ⓘ
phase	damages phase ⓘ liability phase ⓘ
plaintiff	Anne Anderson NERFINISHED ⓘ families from East Woburn, Massachusetts ⓘ
pollutant	perchloroethylene ⓘ trichloroethylene ⓘ
relatedInfrastructure	Woburn municipal wells G and H NERFINISHED ⓘ
relatedPlace	Aberjona River Valley NERFINISHED ⓘ
relatedWork	A Civil Action (book) NERFINISHED ⓘ A Civil Action (film) NERFINISHED ⓘ
subjectMatter	groundwater contamination ⓘ industrial pollution of municipal drinking water wells ⓘ
timePeriod	1970s–1980s ⓘ
trialStartDate	1986 ⓘ

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Woburn toxic waste contamination cases → legalAction → Anderson v. Cryovac ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anderson et al. v. W.R. Grace & Co.

Woburn toxic waste contamination cases → legalAction → Anderson v. Cryovac ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anderson et al. v. Beatrice Foods Co.

A Civil Action → legalCaseInvolved → Anderson v. Cryovac ⓘ

Woburn toxic waste contamination cases → significantEvent → Anderson v. Cryovac ⓘ

this entity surface form: civil lawsuit Anderson et al. v. W.R. Grace & Co. et al.