- Ann Kelsey: Stuart, I just realized I've got this deposition until 5:00 tomorrow. I'm going to have to come right home from there and change.
- Stuart Markowitz: Change for what?
- Ann Kelsey: The AIDS benefit in Santa Monica?
- Stuart Markowitz: That's tomorrow night?
- Ann Kelsey: Honey, of course it is.
- Stuart Markowitz: Ann, I have my meeting with Lilah Vandenberg tomorrow night.
- Ned Barron: Lilah Vandenberg, the actress?
- Stuart Markowitz: Yeah.
- Ann Kelsey: I thought that was in the afternoon.
- Stuart Markowitz: No, she only takes evening meetings. She finds them much more civilized.
- Ned Barron: She a client of yours?
- Stuart Markowitz: She's represented by Susan Bloom, but they've asked me to take a look at her finances.
- Ann Kelsey: So I go to the dinner alone?
- Ann Kelsey: No, why don't you call somebody from the firm? Maybe Douglas would want to go.
- Ned Barron: I could take you.
- Ann Kelsey: [Ann turned to Ned] Very sweet of you.
- Stuart Markowitz: Now, wait a minute, that's a great idea.
- Ann Kelsey: Who's going to take care of Matthew?
- Stuart Markowitz: Matthew can stay with the whatchacallits next door.
- Ned Barron: The Haleys.
- Stuart Markowitz: The Haleys. He's crazy about little, uh...
- Ned Barron: Chelsey.
- Stuart Markowitz: [Stuart continues] Little Chelsey. He won't even know we're gone.
- Ann Kelsey: It's black tie, Stuart.
- Ned Barron: Oh, that's no problem, my roommate used to be a maître' d. Actually, he owns a tuxedo.
- Stuart Markowitz: Great, no problem. You see? No problem. It's no problem at all, is it Matthew? No problem.
- Douglas Brackman, Jr.: Next up: Campos et al vs. Halifax Chemical.
- Tommy Mullaney: We're going to trial.
- [Brackman and McKenzie exchange a look]
- Grace Van Owen: This is the class-action suit brought by the Hondurans?
- Tommy Mullaney: Mm-hmm. I'm co-chair with Alex DePalma, the attorney who brought it to us. Farm workers down there used a real nasty pesticide called Z-Chlor, also known as Wallop. Made 400 of them sterile.
- Cara Jean 'C.J.' Lamb: Wallop indeed.
- Tommy Mullaney: Z-Chlor was suspended by the EPA but Halifax kept shipping tons of the stuff to Honduras.
- Ann Kelsey: I thought this case was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds.
- Tommy Mullaney: We appealed, and the court ruled that since Halifax is based in California, we can try it here.
- Arnie Becker: Foreign workers suing in our courts. Good luck.
- Douglas Brackman, Jr.: It's worse than you think. DePalma is a solo practitioner from East L.A., Halifax is represented by Breech and Spitzer.
- Jonathan Rollins: Oof, those guys are pit bulls.
- Arnie Becker: Kiss this one goodbye.
- Tommy Mullaney: Look, we know it's a longshot, but what that company did to these people was a crime.
- Douglas Brackman, Jr.: But you can't right every wrong in the world, and this is eating up billable hours.
- Cara Jean 'C.J.' Lamb: Hours aren't the point here.
- Stuart Markowitz: This is about conscience, Douglas.
- Arnie Becker: Come on, folks, we have to have me fiscal responsibility.
- Jonathan Rollins: But how far are we expected to go?
- Leland McKenzie: [to Mullaney] Before this goes any further, I want to talk to Mr. DePalma and the class rep.
- [to Brackman]
- Leland McKenzie: Anything else, Douglas?
- Douglas Brackman, Jr.: No, we're adjourned.
- Douglas Brackman, Jr.: Gentlemen, when we took this on, you both agreed we should settle.
- Alex DePalma: We asked for 4,000,000, they shot it down.
- Leland McKenzie: So, try again.
- Alex DePalma: Mr. McKenzie, we are ready for trial. We've got a solid case on the facts. Mr. Campos has spent 6 years gathering data and overseeing medical tests down in Honduras. These people are counting on us.
- Alvaro Campos: 30% of the workers at my plantation are like me: we can never have children.
- Douglas Brackman, Jr.: But you still have to prove a link to the pesticide. We all know how hard that is.
- Leland McKenzie: The firm is in no position to carry this through a trial and appeals that could take years.
- Alex DePalma: I didn't come here so you could broker a settlement and walk away with a big fee. I needed Tommy Mullaney to win.
- Douglas Brackman, Jr.: You needed an experienced firm to back you. And we're telling you to settle.
- Tommy Mullaney: Halifax isn't interested in settling. They want a verdict to discourage other foreign suits. The whole chemical industry is behind them.
- Douglas Brackman, Jr.: Great, now we're taking on the chemical lobby.
- Leland McKenzie: Look, why not make another offer? Try asking for 2,000,000.
- Alex DePalma: That's a joke. After fees, that's barely 3000 per man.
- Douglas Brackman, Jr.: You'd be lucky to get that for third world workers.
- Alvaro Campos: Third world? Does that mean our lives have less value than yours?
- Douglas Brackman, Jr.: I wasn't saying that.
- Alex DePalma: Yeah, then what were you saying?
- Leland McKenzie: He's talking about the average wage earn...
- Tommy Mullaney: Guys, uh, let me have a few minutes here. Okay? I'll meet back you in my office.
- [DePalma and Campos exit]
- Tommy Mullaney: Thanks.
- [Mullaney closes the door]
- Leland McKenzie: I'm sorry I let you talk us into this.
- Tommy Mullaney: Listen, Leland, we're talking about 15,000,000 in damages, here. With possible punitives beyond that. Our split would be at least 2.5,000,000.
- Douglas Brackman, Jr.: If you win and if it holds up on appeal.
- Tommy Mullaney: We get a verdict in our favor, they'll settle big before they appeal. I'm telling you, guys, we can pull this off.
- Tommy Mullaney: Mr. Campos, when did you find out that you were sterile?
- Alvaro Campos: 7 years ago. My wife and I had been married 3 years, and still no children. The doctor said I had no sperm.
- Tommy Mullaney: Did the doctor offer any hope that you could ever have children?
- Alvaro Campos: No. He said this part of me was dead. I was 28 years old.
- [Mullaney what looks like a lightweight, three-foot jackhammer with a canister attached?]
- Tommy Mullaney: Can you tell us what this is, sir?
- Alvaro Campos: It's the tool we use to push Z-chlor into the ground.
- Tommy Mullaney: You inject the pesticide into the roots of the plant like this?
- [Mullaney points the device toward the floor, pushes]
- Alvaro Campos: Yes. Sometimes, you hit a stone and it comes back in your face and eyes. On your legs. It's like fire on the skin. It makes you so sick, you vomit.
- Tommy Mullaney: Did anyone ever warn you or the other workers that Z-chlor could make you sterile, or was in any way harmful to your health?
- Alvaro Campos: No. Never.
- Tommy Mullaney: Mr. Campos, what does it mean to a Honduran man to know he can never father a child?
- Alvaro Campos: There is nothing worse. This is not losing a hand or an eye. If you cannot make children, you are not a man.
- Tommy Mullaney: Thank you, sir. Nothing further.
- Lawyer Russell Spitzer: Mr. Campos, did you ever have gonorrhea?
- Tommy Mullaney: Objection, relevance?
- Lawyer Russell Spitzer: I'm exploring other potential causes of Mr. Campos' sterility, Your Honor.
- Judge Robert Fellmeth: Overruled, the witness will answer.
- Alvaro Campos: Yes, I was 17-years old. But the doctor said I was completely cured. And there were no long time effects. And I am not the only one who sterile. There are 400 others.
- Lawyer Russell Spitzer: Isn't it common for men in your culture to visit prostitutes?
- Alex DePalma: Objection, irrelevant and racist!
- Judge Robert Fellmeth: Sustained. Watch it, Mr. Spitzer.
- Lawyer Russell Spitzer: I'm sorry, Your Honor. Mr. Campos, alcohol abuse can make men infertile. How many cantinas are there in your village?
- Alvaro Campos: I don't know.
- Lawyer Russell Spitzer: 35, by my information. That's one bar every 40 men in town. Sounds like a pretty happy place.
- Tommy Mullaney: Objection.
- Judge Robert Fellmeth: Mr. Spitzer.
- Lawyer Russell Spitzer: I'll move on, Your Honor.
- [Spitzer hands a piece of paper to Campos]
- Lawyer Russell Spitzer: Mr. Campos, you said you were never warned about potential health risks from using Z-chlor. This is a label from a drum, Z-chlor. As you can see, it's in Spanish. Could you please translate for the jury?
- Alvaro Campos: [Reading] Do not swallow, inhale vapors, or make contact with skin and eyes.
- Lawyer Russell Spitzer: So you were warned. But you ignored the warning, and, uh, used the pesticide carelessly.
- Alvaro Campos: We did nothing careless. And many men cannot read.
- Lawyer Russell Spitzer: But you can, Mr. Campos. And as a crew leader, weren't you obligated to make sure that everyone wore protective clothing and face masks when applying this pesticide?
- Alvaro Campos: I asked the fruit company for these things. And I was told me to use my bananas across my face. And I was also told if I ask more questions, I could lose my job.
- Lawyer Russell Spitzer: It sounds to me like your complaint is with the foreign company. But I guess a Honduran fruit company doesn't have the deep pocket dinero of an American chemical giant.
- Tommy Mullaney: Objection.
- Judge Robert Fellmeth: Sustained.
- Lawyer Russell Spitzer: Withdrawn. Nothing further.
- Alvaro Campos: This is not about money.
- Lawyer Russell Spitzer: Move to strike.
- Judge Robert Fellmeth: Mr. Campos...
- Alvaro Campos: This is about the killing of 400 families. About the sons and daughters they will never have!
- Lawyer Russell Spitzer: Your Honor.
- Judge Robert Fellmeth: Mr. Campos, please step down!
- Alvaro Campos: This is about justice!