Class Action

The principle, your honor, is informed waiver,

a concept deeply embedded

in the black-letter law of this state.

This is a simple case

of a contract willingly and completely executed.

Appeals to the contrary based on emotion

have no place in a court of law.

This is not a court of law.

You did not enter through a doorway.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the rabbit hole,

and we, like so many Alices, have plunged through it

directly into Wonderland.

Behold the Queen of Hearts...

Carrigan Chemical,

a company that has spewed its bile

into the Laughing Well River for 17 years.

Plants wither,

children die,

and no court in the land can stop them.

Finally...

One man has had enough.

Frustrated,

desperate,

he slams his truck

into the plant manager's office,

and for one bright, shining day,

that hellhole of a factory shuts down.

Do we honor him?

Do we throw him a parade?

Do we even say thank you?

No.

He is put on trial.

Welcome to the Mad Hatter's tea party.

Objection!

Objection? Why not "off with their heads"?

Paid him fully according to the contract.

Now he wants more,

intending to get it by harassing my client.

Yes, the plaintiff is a man of moderate means.

Yes, Zydex is a successful corporation,

but the law, not charity,

must dictate our course here today.

Yes...

Yes...

He rammed through that wall.

And yes, he did shut that hellish factory down

for one day.

And yes, he is responsible for damages

in the amount of $427,000.

How high a price is that to pay

if he saved just one single life?

Madam, I'll give you $427,000 for your child.

Deal?

And you, madam, same price for your husband.

And you, counselor.

How about an even half a million

for your precious hide?

Objection, your honor!

Order! Order!

Counsel is way out of line here.

Sustained.

Mr. Ward, sit down.

Order! Order!

Defense is prepared to mount its case.

We have witnesses, agreements,

dep-depositions, and volumes of evidence

to prove my client acted fairly.

But to what end?

The plaintiff has offered no viable case.

In the interest of justice,

defense moves for nonsuit. Submitted, your honor.

Would you remind them next door

that justice is blind and not deaf?

As to your motion, counsel...

12 minutes.

12 minutes!

Those idiots took 81/2 days to mount their case.

It's too bad you mispronounced heresy.

It's too bad you didn't get a chance to.

So, counselor, have you decided

where you'll be spending your vacation?

No vacation.

Maggie, come on. You got to have three, four weeks coming.

No. I hear something big's happening on Argo Motors.

You know anything about it?

Mm-mmm. Argo? No. Have you?

No.

Want to be big-time lawyers? Learn to lie better.

Maggie. Maggie. Lawyers never lie.

We just tell the truth judiciously to guarantee utter confusion.

Goddamn, you could lose your hand in one of these things.

Ahem.

Mr. Ward, excuse me. Howard CRayhill.

I've read all your books.

I've read Civil Rights on Trial twice.

Congratulations.

You found a copy they hadn't burned.

Grateful client?

No. It's a present for your mother. Anniversary.

Hard to believe we've been together 34 years.

35.

You biting your fingernails again, Margaret?

Don't say it.

Minor flesh wound. He didn't even draw blood.

Brian, my father always draws blood.

I was getting ready to make a left.

I had the blinker on.

I saw the other car coming towards me in the rear-view mirror.

I couldn't move, couldn't get out of the way.

I just watched him, kind of in slow motion.

At first, I couldn't believe it was happening, you know?

It was like watching TV or something.

And then the guy hit me,

and the car just kind of...pow!

It just exploded,

and there was fire... Everywhere.

And my wife started screaming,

and my baby boy...

Son of a bitch. I'm sorry.

You have nothing to apologize for.

What happened to you...

I'm so goddamn tired of this.

Those bastards, they just think

they can do anything they want...

lie, kill, destroy whatever they touch,

and get away with it.

Let me tell you, Steven,

they don't always get away with it.

Sometimes people like us, this law firm,

we stop them.

This is going to be one of those times.

Mr. Ward, I'm very grateful.

I just wish I'd been with your firm from the beginning.

Well, we're here now.

Good afternoon. Quinn, Califan & Lunt.

I'm sorry. He's away from his desk right now.

May I take a message?

Hold on one second.

Maggie. Maggie, Mr. Grazier wants to see you.

Now?

Ok. Tell me what you know about Argo Motors.

They're our biggest client,

21% of last year's billing.

26. They're headed by a man named, uh, Eugene Forrest.

He came aboard two years ago...

in a hostile takeover.

Thinks the automobile industry's future is in computerization.

Rumor is he's looking to merge,

perhaps with a Silicon Valley type.

Wrong. He found it.

Loracatron Electronics.

Geez. Big-time.

But there's a catch.

This is where we come in.

Three years ago,

a class-action suit was filed against Argo,

claiming that their 1985 station wagon,

the Meridian,

blew up on impact.

So?

Did they have a case?

No. I've handled Argo

since that car was still on the drawing boards.

It's totally clean.

We managed to persuade the other side's attorneys

that they couldn't win,

but now another firm has refiled,

a much more aggressive firm.

The American way...

find the guy who busted his hump to build it,

then rob him blind.

What do we do, guys?

Settle for chump change.

Get confidentiality. Keep the press away.

No, we have to win in court.

Loracatron is a very conscientious company,

very consumer-oriented.

But something like this is time-critical. You can't...

ok, ok. If I decide we fight it,

one of you will be on point. It's good input.

Thanks for your time.

You know, my hobby

is rebuilding American cars. I can...

get out of here.

Michael.

You have to give me this case.

I know Argo backwards and forwards,

I'm a better litigator than any associate,

and you're too busy to go to court on the prep work.

Bernstein has a lot going for him.

He's a team player.

Second team.

Maggie...

Michael, please. This is the partnership express.

I deserve this.

Why throw lightweights like Bernstein at me?

Look. Ok, ok.

I want you on this one.

There's no question.

There's a problem.