he trial began with a packed courtroom.So packed that some people had to leave the courtroom for standing instead of sitting. The trial started with Schlichtmann opening statement which talked about the Woburn families that lost family members, and how W.R. Grace and Beatrice dumped chemicals into the ground , which got into the town’s well system and killed the children, and how they knew it would hurt people but they did it anyway. Schilichtmann’s opening statement left the defense lawyers worried. One of Cheeseman’s partners, Michael Keating made the opening statement for W.R. Grace. Keating said that there was a small amount of TCE put into the ground, which had done little harm. The representatives of both companies argued that Schlichtmann …show more content…
Schlictmann had more success with his examination of witnesses regarding W.R. Grace. He also sent Tom Kiley to the stand. As the trial went on, it took a toll on Schilichtmann’s firm. The phone service were cut off, and creditors kept demanding payment. Later, Schlictmann called a groundwater expert named George Pinder, who testified about how the contaminants had traveled through the groundwater to the wells. However, Facher used Pinder’s deposition to contradict many points Pinder had raised on the witness stand. Facher also dissected Pinder’s calculations and explanations as being mistaken, but an EPA report 2 years later showed that they were actually correct. In order to get his firm more money, Schlictmann’s firm settled another small case and used the funds to pay off some of its bills. Facher’s experts disputed the timing of the contamination and shared work that showed Beatrice Foods could not have contaminated the well water before the wells were shut down. Schlictmann’s cross examinations, however, weakened their testimony, and he nearly succeeded in having several of the witnesses’ testimony stricken from the