A Civil Action

This book is a depressing lesson in the ways that our judicial system don't work. An adverserial system of justice, by its very nature, leads not to an inquiry into the truth but instead to a polarized system where each side is fighting for its own side and disinterested in the merits of its opposition.

While this book was, in many ways, a real downer, it was also a fascinating chronicle of litigation. I was immediately drawn in my the families' tragedies, Schlichtmann's flawed but good-hearted optimism, and the interaction between the lawyers and the judge. As Schlichtmann swirled deeper into debt, I found it impossible not to feel a growing sense of desparation along with him. The ending is bitterly disappointing, but in many ways the families eventually got what they wanted with subsequent EPA actions and criminal prosecutions.

My husband and I are both attorneys. Last year, he was involved in a case in which the outcome was simply criminal. I felt I could relate in a deeper sense to the drama in A Civil Action after experiencing such a travesty of justice firsthand. We have to work within the confines of the flawed legal system that exists now, but we must accept that it is far from perfect. Judges and juries--as humans--get things wrong all the time. This book, in gripping prose, demonstrates this basic fact of life in all too vivid of detail.

There is something very curious about this case. Consider the plight of a man who was a small child when this epidemic first drew public notice:

The child was treated out of state and lived in a hospital bed for over 2 years straight with no visitors,no known family and no definitive diagnosis until just before release. One of the procedures performed was the same as a bone marrow transplant and other tests performed also pointed to leukemia. Of government sponsored studies, only 3 children matched this child with diagnosis of aseptic necrosis of the femoral head and also wore the Patten brace and orthotics. This child had no social security number during the treatment nor was a number knowingly assigned to the child as that switched guardianship hands for the next 5 years following years after release from the hospital. In the early 1970s, a former army official attached to the Pentagon during Vietnam arranged for the boy to have a social security number. Prior to meeting this official the boy had a large number of state foster families with a particular Italian family in Burlington,Mass among the most abusive.
In 1993-94, the boy had a news article published detailing his quest for his father and the expense and ultimate disappointment in learning the man he was told was the father was not. About 2 years or so after the article a large article appeared in the Boston Globe detailing how Polymerase Chain Reaction(PCR) could be used to determine leukemia by the existence of minimal residual leukemia cells.On further investigation, the boy(now a man) learned this technique was used in his test. Additionally, consultation with the first expert witness in DNA fingerprinting in the U.S. revealed that the only thing that can throw this test is a bone marrow transplant, which was done in the early 1960s and the procedure for doing so is consistent with procedures performed on the boy.
In 1995 this man worked for WR Grace in a capacity to prevent the kind of pollution that tragically occurred in Woburn 4-5 decades ago. On release of Harr's book he was summoned to an Executive's office and told he was part of a "layoff" for "cost reductions". The layoff ultimately consisted of 1 person. The man knew little of the Woburn case and had a largely concealed family history in state records that even the likes of Ted Kennedy,Nick Paleologos, and many more could not reveal. For the next few years the man had a succession of job interviews in which he was grilled by the interviewers about the role Grace played in the Woburn case and the interviewers claimed to know parties in the case. In each interview case the man never got the job. While this went on, the man's medical records began disappearing, and an EPA official tha man had been introduced to told him" good luck finding work". Several years before, the man had been called into a Grace managers office with ties to Woburn and informed that if he didn't take a specific job his future was dead with Grace or anywhere else. The man also found himself maneuvered into certain jobs where he suddenly became the target for much harassment because it was thought he had something to do with Harr's book, of which he didn't.
Grace has been historically a very Republican company, and the man suddenly began having problems at Fleet Bank, a supporter of gubernatorial candidate Paul Cellucci. Most recently the man was told he had 7 days to leave where he was staying by a relative of a Grace executive.
From 1995 on there was a succession of people remerging from the man's past whom had been introduced by different names when he was a boy than they now carry. In at least one case one such individual suggested that they had made 'mistakes' but ' know how to cover them up'. Since this book came out associates known to the man for decades in some cases suddenly switched demeanor and it became apparent that when the man contacted those "friends" that the phone conversations were being steered to elicit specific responses perhaps for legal purposes and perhaps recorded without the mans knowledge or permission.It appeared as a significant number of individuals knew something about this man he had never been told so as to protect themselves. Some of these individuals claimed to know Jan Schlictmann, who would not respond to any attempted contacts by this man.
The man lived in the same areas at the same time as the kids mentioned in the book. He was treated at the same hospitals (of which medical records began disappearing on release of Harr's book) at the same time and when the man constructed a table of similarities between some of the kids and himself there were 15-20 matched similarities. The man had even been approached by some associates of the Mayor of Woburn himself who had to deal with the initial onset of the epidemic.

That man,because of a municipal tragedy and a withheld family history, has had to suffer long term homelessness,joblessness, the loss of old 'friends' and nearly every personal possession over and over again while growing up as a child bounced place to place.The man's whole life has been essentially taking one beating after another for events that preceded him and of which he was not a cognizant participant.

Jan Schlictmann has paid a personal and professional price in this case as has Ken Grant, a former safety/environmental man for Grace Co. Since this book came out, Grant has been blackballed from employment in Massachusetts and eventually forced into bankruptcy and homelessness. Grant was orphaned and raised in state care and later became active in many volunteer organizations in Massachusetts. When this book came out he was fired and later driven from Massachusetts through circumstance and hostile forces.Perhaps Grant and Schlictmann should meet.

I know a person who worked for Grace Corp.,one of its defense subsidiaries in Woburn, who was told they had been extensively investigated by the Justice Dept and FBI to work there.When this person requested their record with these agencies, both branches refused to provide copies or access to it.

This person was forced to sign an agreement with the U.S. government not to file bankruptcy in the future or lose the job and all benefits.

In 1995 when this book came out the person's medical records disappeared and the person became a victim of financial and character assassination, as if forcing the individual to violate this agreement and file bankruptcy anyway because they had no choice. Later, individuals alleging business linkage to this Grace subsidiary in Woburn and family or friendship ties to the FBI branches in Boston and surrounding areas began an intimidation campaign against this person.

This person had worked as a safety and/or environmental person with Grace corp, and been ousted under hostile and questionable circumstances and later blackballed in work references.Today the person is homeless and joblessand has been ruined in almost every way imaginable.Jan Schlictmann paid a price but this individual paid a higher one.

WR Grace hailed TIAA-CREF,the academic world's largest private pension fund and a majority shareholder in Grace. On the board were also Alan Fiers of the CIA and Zbignew Brezinski, former NSA chief as well as Peter Lynch of Fidelity Investments.

Jan Schlictmann has lost most if not all of any proceeds from this case to Cadle Co. after the Boston Trade Bank failed.

Grace is/was a company very politically connected who hired former government officials, such as from EPA or OSHA,etc.

Many more families than just the ones in this case were affected, including families from the Woburn/Burlington side.