main characters in erin brockovich
DESCRIPTION
Ed Masry Boss of Erin; owns his own law firm Firm turns from small town, independent law firm to big time corporate law firm at the end of the movie First hesitant to hire Erin; she persuaded him to do so First impression of Erin was “a dumb hick” who “looks like someone who has a lot of fun” Smart man, but is unwilling to speak up, so Erin does Rewards Erin greatly at the end of the movie with a large sum of moneyTRANSCRIPT
MAIN CHARACTERS in Erin Brockovich
Main character in movie, leading role Smart with a very powerful
voice, always says whats on her mind Willing to do whatever it
takes to support her family 3 children: Matthew 8 Katie 6 Beth 10
months Married & divorced twice Beginning of the movie she is
on her last 16 dollars her bank account; later becomes a
millionaire after she wins the case Ed Masry Boss of Erin; owns his
own law firm
Firm turns from small town, independent law firm to big time
corporate law firm at the end of the movie First hesitant to hire
Erin; she persuaded him to do so First impression of Erin was a
dumb hick who looks like someone who has a lot of fun Smart man,
but is unwilling to speak up, so Erin does Rewards Erin greatly at
the end of the movie with a large sum of money George Erins love
interest throughout the movie
Watches her kids while she is at work In a motorcycle crew Nice and
caring man; treats kids and Erin with respect Leaves Erin in the
middle of the movie because she works too much and he doesnt have
time for himself Gets back together with Erin at the end of the
movie Charles Embry Meets Erin in the beginning of the
movie seen as weird, creepy man Erin meets him again at a bar, but
this time she thinks he is hitting on her Ends up being the man
that cracks the case He tells her that he worked at the Hinkley
plant cleaning the cooling towers and he was told to destroy
certain documents Turns out he kept the documents that proved the
main PG&E plant in San Francisco knew what was going on in
Hinkley and he turned them over to Erin Cousin passed away from
kidney tumors caused by the chromium poisoning Donna Jensen The
case that started Erins investigation
Erin wanted to find out why PG&E needed to know their medical
records and what it had to do with selling a house Has cancer
caused by chromium poisoning (this wasnt found out until later in
the movie) Has a husband and two kids She is the first person Erin
tells about winning the case Receives $3 million in compensation
Says to Erin after being diagnosed with cancer again You gotta
promise me we are going to get them. Kurt Potter Joins with Masry
and Brockovich
Provides Masry firm with money to fund the case Receives
compensation if the court case is won (and it is) Case would not
have been won without his interference At first, doesnt seem like a
nice man, but later we learn to trust him Does not think Erin is
going to put everything together until she uncovers the information
given to her by Embry Factual Information About Hinkley vs.
PG&E
The court case was actually called Anderson vs. Pacific Gas &
Electric. It took place in Hinkley, California. Hinkley is located
in the Mojave Desert, near the town of Barstow, California. It is
not far off the famous Route 66, about 150 miles from Las Vegas. On
December 7, 1987 officials from the company advised the State of
California they had detected levels of hexavalent chromium (chrome
6), a highly toxic and fatal cancer-causing chemical in a
groundwater monitoring well north of the compressor station's waste
water ponds. The levels were ten times greater than the maximum
amount allowed by law. After PG&E reported the pollution to the
government, company officials started a program to buy every piece
of property in the community thought to be affected by the
pollution. In what was said to have been a response to vandalism,
PG&E had 75% of those houses and buildings destroyed. PG&E
told the citizens of Hinkley that they had been using chromium in
their drinking water making it seem as if it had actually been
beneficial, but failed to mention the dangerous type of chromium it
had dumped in the environment, also making it seem like the
detection was a new development. Based on the evidence, high levels
of chrome 6 contamination found in 1987 could not have been a
surprise to the company, notwithstanding whether senior management
knew. People and animals who lived in the area had been breathing,
ingesting, and absorbing dangerous toxins into their bodies for
decades. Evidence was later found proving that the main branch of
PG&E in San Francisco did know what was going on in Hickley.
PG&E didn't line the ponds until The company sent 750,000
additional gallons of chrome 6 wastewater every month to the ponds
for another six years. Once the toxic material was in the unlined
ponds, there was nothing to stop it from migrating to the wells
that supplied nearby homes, farms and ranches. Erin Brockovich and
her boss made the decision to represent these people. When 77
initial plaintiffs filed their lawsuit against PG&E in 1993, it
was the direct result of a monstrous effort by this dedicated legal
team. As lawyers for both sides fought, the case grew
As lawyers for both sides fought, the case grew. Eventually 648
plaintiffs joined the lawsuit. by September 19, 1994 the parties
reached an agreement to arbitrate/mediate. The agreement pulled the
case out of the trial court - where a jury would have decided it -
and placed it into the hands of Justice John K. Trotter and Judge
Daniel H. Weinstein, two outstanding retired jurists An End to
Anderson vs. PG&E
At the end of the two year long arbitration trial, the plaintiffs
reached a global settlement with PG&E which: Compensated all
the named plaintiffs in the amount of $333 million Required
PG&E to clean up the environment Required PG&E to stop
using chromium 6