Erin_Brockovich

“Erin Brockovich” Wendy Gates Business Law Foundations LEGL 210 This lawsuit lasted for over 2 years because there were so many plaintiffs that they had to be divided into 36 groups, and then each group went in front of the judge to determine their damages. In order to win, the plaintiffs’ lawyers had to: Prove medical causation (6) Deal with missing evidence that had been lost or destroyed Prove the extent of PG&E’s inappropriate conduct At the end of the arbitration trial, the plaintiffs reached a global settlement with PG&E which: Compensated all named plaintiffs in the amount of $333 million Required PG&E to clean up the environment Required PG&E to stop using chromium 6 In 1996, as a result of the largest direct action lawsuit of its kind, lead by Erin and Ed Masry, the giant utility paid the largest toxic tort (7) injury settlement in U.S. history: $333 million in punitive *damages* (8) to more than 600 Hinkley residents. Definitions of legal terms from the movie “_Erin Brockovich_”- In law, a class action or a representative action is a form of lawsuit where a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court. This form of collective lawsuit originated in the United States and is still predominantly a U.S. phenomenon, at least the U.S. variant of it. However, in several European countries with civil law (as opposed to the English common law principle, which is used by US courts), changes have in recent years been made that allow consumer organizations to bring claims on behalf of large groups of consumers. A motion to strike is a legal motion given by one party in a trial requesting the presiding judge order the removal of all or part of the opposing party's pleading to the court. A motion to strike is also used to request elimination of all or part of a trial witness's testimony. During a jury trial, if motion to strike witness testimony is accepted, the jury is instructed to disregard the stricken statements. A demurrer is a legal pleading filed by a party defending against claims or defenses in a lawsuit. The demurrer challenges whether a legal cause of action exists for the facts, as stated by the complaining party. This is referred to as challenging the "legal sufficiency" of a claim, cause of action, or defense. A demurrer is typically filed towards the beginning of a case, before the answer. At common law, a demurrer was the most common pleading by which a defendant would challenge legal sufficiency in criminal or civil cases, but today the pleading is abolished in many jurisdictions, including the federal court system (though many large jurisdictions, including California, retain the demurrer). In criminal cases, a demurrer was considered a common law due process right, to be heard and decided before the defendant was required to plead "not guilty", or make any other pleading in response, without having to admit or deny any of the facts alleged. A demurrer is not a challenge to the ultimate merits of a case or claim. When ruling on a demurrer, a judge is required by law to assume as true facts alleged in the complaint, even if those facts would later be challenged. Historically, however, a party filing a demurrer often had to admit the facts in the complaint and waive the right to later challenge those facts. A plaintiff is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an action) before a court. A toxic tort is a special type of personal injury lawsuit in which the plaintiff claims that exposure to a chemical caused the plaintiff's injury or disease. Punitive damages are damages intended to reform or deter the defendant and others from engaging in conduct similar to that which formed the basis of the lawsuit. Although the purpose of punitive damages is not to compensate the plaintiff, the plaintiff will in fact receive all or some portion of the punitive damage award.