1

Facher realizes that he is not prepared to try the case. There is too much work still to do, too many experts with whose work he is not yet conversant, and he is very tired. He believes he would need at least another six months. He writes a lawyer’s affidavit to Judge Skinner. It is twenty pages long and he believes it justifies the seven-month extension he had decided to ask for.

Skinner summons the lawyers to his chambers. He says that it is time to start the trial. Although he sympathizes with Facher’s position, he says they have waited long enough. Schlichtmann agrees. Facher then proposes that they begin to talk about a settlement. He is surprised when Schlichtmann says he has a number in mind, since Facher was unable to get one out of him through his own efforts.

2

Schlichtmann’s team go out to dinner and then discuss a number for the proposed settlement. They decided to ask for one-hundred-and-seventy-five million dollars. But they do not want to simply ask for the sum. They agree to ask Beatrice and Grace to pay twenty-five million to a leukemia foundation, twenty-five million in cash, and the remainder to be paid to the families over thirty years. Only Conway is skeptical. He thinks the opposing lawyers will walk out of the room the second Schlichtmann presents the terms.

3

The settlement meeting is held at the Four Seasons the next morning. After being presented the terms, Cheeseman and Facher walk out. They think the numbers are preposterous.

Two weeks later, Skinner makes one more appeal for a settlement. Anne Anderson had just appeared on television and, has said that she doesn’t care about money. This gave Skinner hope that the lawyers could also treat the case as if it were not about the greatest amount of money possible. But nothing changes. The case will go to trial.

4

There is a great amount of publicity surrounding the case at the time of the jury selection. 60 Minutes does a piece on Woburn, speaking with Al Love and Anne Anderson at length. In an unusual move, Skinner questions each potential juror individually, in private, so that he can feel that he has chosen correctly as he adds jurors to the selection pool. In the end, both sides are forced to compromise and there is no clear advantage.

5

Schlichtmann enjoys the national attention. Nearly every major media outlet has reported that Woburn will be a landmark case. Judge Skinner asks each side to prepare a brief outlining their ideas for presentation. There are so many plaintiffs to keep track of that Skinner fears that the jurors will be unable to keep up with all of the information. Schlichtmann and Nesson decide to propose using one family and the family’s story—the story of Anne Anderson and her son, Jimmy—as an example that could apply to all of the families. They will focus on proving that Grace and Beatrice contaminated the wells but will keep the amount of personal stories as minimal as possible.

Facher takes a different approach. He proposes that the trial should begin with the question of whether any poisons had gotten from the Beatrice property to the wells. If the jury exonerated Beatrice, they would be out of the case before any witnesses were called. Cheeseman wants the trial to begin with the question of whether TCE causes leukemia. After a week, Skinner decides to use an approach that most closely mirrors Facher’s. If the jury finds Beatrice and Grace liable, then the second stage of the trial will delve into the medical questions.

6

The lawyers have two weeks to prepare after jury selection. During the second week, Neil Jacobs meets with Schlichtmann to talk once more about a settlement. Jacobs agrees to bring in a decision maker with financial influence: Beatrice’s general counsel, a woman named Mary Allen. After a few numbers are proffered and then denied, Jacobs asks if Schlichtmann will consider an offer that would give approximately one million dollars to each family. When the meeting ends, Schlichtmann promises to call that evening with a final figure. That evening, he tells Jacobs that the number is eighteen million. Jacobs never calls back.