{{Short description|1986 US federal lawsuit concerning toxic contamination of groundwater}} {{multiple issues| {{lead too short|date=November 2012}} {{more footnotes needed|date=November 2012}} }} {{Use American English|date=February 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}} {{Infobox COA case |Litigants= Anderson v. Cryovac, Inc. |Court= [[United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit]] |CourtSeal=Seal of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.svg |ArgueDate= September 3 |ArgueYear= 1986 |DecideDate= November 5 |DecideYear= 1986 |FullName= Anne Anderson, et al. v. Cryovac, Inc. |Citations= {{cite court |litigants=Anderson v. Cryovac, Inc. |vol=805 |reporter=F.2d |opinion=1|court=1st Cir. |date=1986 |url=http://openjurist.org/805/f2d/1/anderson-v-cryovac-inc }} |Prior= |Subsequent= |Holding= |Judges= |Majority= |JoinMajority= |Concurrence= |JoinConcurrence= |Dissent= |JoinDissent= |LawsApplied= }} '''''Anderson v. Cryovac''''' was a federal lawsuit concerning toxic contamination of groundwater in 1986 in [[Woburn, Massachusetts]].

==Case==

The residents of Woburn, Massachusetts sued [[Beatrice Foods]], the operator of a [[tannery]]; [[Sealed Air|Cryovac]], a subsidiary of [[W. R. Grace and Company]]; and [[UniFirst]], a laundry service, for dumping chemicals that contaminated nearby [[groundwater]]. The occurrence of a [[cancer cluster]] and other negative effects on health led to revelations of water polluted primarily with [[trichloroethylene]] and [[perchloroethylene]].

The first trial included contentious disputes over splitting the trial into separate liability and damages phases. The Court decided to "bifurcate" let the jury decide first whether there was enough evidence to hold the defendants liable for the water contamination, and which defendants would be held responsible for any proven damages to the plaintiffs as a result of the contamination. If any of the defendants were determined by the jury to not be liable, then they would be dismissed from the second part of the trial to determine damages. W.R. Grace was found liable, and Beatrice was found not liable. Judge [[Walter Jay Skinner]] granted a motion for a [[mistrial]] put by W. R. Grace. Woburn residents then appealed that motion, along with Beatrice's not liable verdict. The Court of Appeal ordered a new trial.

The district court then found that a [[discovery (law)|discovery]] error made by Beatrice impaired the plaintiffs' preparation process, but recommended that its earlier denial of motion for relief from judgment be sustained.{{clarify|date=October 2017|reason=Beatrice found not liable – why do they need relief?}} On appeal, the circuit court judge held that: first, the district court did not abuse its discretion by its determination regarding pretrial discovery, namely, the district court had determined that the operator's failure to disclose a report during pretrial discovery did not warrant relief from judgment.{{clarify|date=October 2017|reason=Contradicts above statement that discovery error impaired the defense preparation.}} Second, the judge held that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it determined that the operator's nondisclosure of a report was roughly equivalent to residents' improper continuation of prosecution of their claim, and thus that monetary sanctions should not be imposed upon either party. Finally, the judge found that the operator's nondisclosure of report did not constitute “fraud on the court” which would trigger entry of default.

On 22 September 1986, [[W. R. Grace and Company|W.R. Grace]] settled with the plaintiffs for an undisclosed amount of money. However, many sources report that it was around $8 million (equivalent to roughly ${{Inflation|US|8|1986|r=0|fmt=c}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}}).<ref>{{cite journal |last=Drogin |first=Bob |date=23 September 1986 |title=Settlement Ends Pollution Trial : W. R. Grace Will Pay $8 Million to Families |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-09-23-mn-9485-story.html |journal=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=2015-01-16 }}</ref>

== Follow-up == On January 28, 1987, [[W. R. Grace and Company|W.R. Grace]] was indicted by a grand jury of lying to the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|EPA]] about its usage and disposal of [[toxic waste]].<ref>{{cite journal |date=29 January 1987 |title=W.R. Grace is charged with lying about waste |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/29/us/wr-grace-is-charged-with-lying-about-waste.html |journal=[[The New York Times]] |accessdate=2015-01-16 }}</ref> 4 Restaurants and 2 hotels now occupy the site on Washington Street in Woburn formerly occupied by the W.R. Grace facility.

==Media== The book ''[[A Civil Action]]'', published in 1996, documents the case and related events. The 1998 [[A Civil Action (film)|film of the same name]], starring [[John Travolta]] as plaintiffs' lawyer Jan Schlichtmann, was drawn from the book and loosely based on the case and related events.

==Bibliography== *A Civil Action: A Documentary Companion, By Lewis A Grossman, Robert G Vaughn (West 2008) ({{ISBN|9781599415581}}) *''Anderson v. Cryovac'', C.A. No. 82-1672-S (D. Mass); (''Anne Anderson et al. v. Cryovac Inc. W.R. Grace Inc., John J. Riley Company Inc., Beatrice Inc. et al.'' Superior Court Civil Action #82-2444, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Filed May 14, 1982.) *''Anderson v. Cryovac, Inc.'', 96 [[Federal Rules Decisions|F.R.D.]] 431 ([[D. Mass.]] 1983) *''Anderson v. W.R. Grace & Co.'', [https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?q=anderson&hl=en&as_sdt=4,147&case=13169153063207191160&scilh=0 628 F. Supp. 1219] (D. Mass. 1986) *''Anderson v. Cryovac, Inc.'', [http://openjurist.org/805/f2d/1/anderson-v-cryovac-inc 805 F.2d 1] (1st Cir. Mass. 1986) *''Anderson v. Cryovac, Inc.'', [http://openjurist.org/862/f2d/910/anderson-v-cryovac-inc-anderson 862 F.2d 910] (1st Cir. Mass. 1988), on remand, ''Anderson v. Beatrice Foods Co.'', 127 F.R.D. 1 ([[D. Mass.]] 1989) *''Anderson v. Beatrice Foods Co.'', 129 F.R.D. 394 (D. Mass. 1989), aff'd, [http://openjurist.org/900/f2d/388/anderson-v-beatrice-foods-co 900 F.2d 388] (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 891 (1990)

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{cite web |url=https://serc.carleton.edu/woburn/index.html |title=Science in the Courtroom - The Woburn Toxic Trial |website=[[Carleton College]] |publisher=Science Education Research Center}} ** {{cite web |url=https://serc.carleton.edu/woburn/Case_summary.html |title=Case Summary |website=[[Carleton College]] |publisher=Science Education Research Center}} ** {{cite web |url=https://serc.carleton.edu/woburn/woburntrialchrono.html |title=The Woburn Toxic Trial Process |website=[[Carleton College]] |publisher=Science Education Research Center}} * {{cite web |url=http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/courseresources/beatrice/index.html |title=Anderson v. Beatrice Foods - Index of Pleadings |website=[[Florida State University College of Law]] |access-date=2007-04-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218065916/http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/courseresources/beatrice/index.html |archive-date=2007-02-18 |url-status=dead }} * {{cite web |url=http://home.comcast.net/~dkennedy56/woburn.html |title=Toxic Legacy: The Lessons of Woburn, Mass. |last1=Kennedy |first1=Dan}} * {{cite web |url=http://yosemite.epa.gov/r1/npl_pad.nsf/51dc4f173ceef51d85256adf004c7ec8/25001afe0850c69a8525691f0063f701 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080502153100/http://yosemite.epa.gov/r1/npl_pad.nsf/51dc4f173ceef51d85256adf004c7ec8/25001afe0850c69a8525691f0063f701 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 2, 2008 |title=Waste Site Cleanup & Reuse in New England - Wells G & H |website=[[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] }}

[[Category:1986 in Massachusetts]] [[Category:1986 in the environment]] [[Category:1986 in United States case law]] [[Category:United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit cases]] [[Category:United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts cases]] [[Category:United States environmental case law]] [[Category:United States water case law]] [[Category:Environmental issues in Massachusetts]] [[Category:Water pollution in the United States]] [[Category:Woburn, Massachusetts]]