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After recovering from a serious injured car accident, Erin is represented by the lawyer Ed Masry. Although they win a littlle settlement, she really needs to get a job to make a living as she is a divorced single mum of three little children. Fortunately, Ed decides to give her a job as he feels sorry for her bad situation.
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Erin discovers that Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) is purchasing Donna and Peter Jansen’s house. Relying on her intuition, she knows something is wrong so she starts her investigation.
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When Erin finds the couple’s medical records accidentally, she goes to Hinkley in order to talk to them. Donna claims that her family has been suffering serious illnesses but that PG&E has paid for the doctors. Erin is aware that it pays everything because of the chromium. Since then, she is determined to reveal the truth just for the sake of people’s health.
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After evaluating the evidence she has gathered for so many days about Chromium, she comes to the conclusion that PG&E has leaked toxic Chromium 6 to the ground water. As a consequence, this poison has affected severely the health of the population of Hinkley.
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Dr Frankel says there are different types of Chomium like Chromium 3 which is good for the body. However, Chromium VI, depending on the amounts, can be very harmful. He also explains the possible problems which may arise from Chromium VI exposure and for what the Company may be using it.
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All records of anything water-related within Hinkley jurisdiction is kept in the Lahontan Regional Water Board. Erin finds some records that do emphasize the pollution of Hinkley groundwater with Chromium VI.
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Erin quite surprised finds her desk cleared off. Ed tells her that she has disappeared for a week and she cannot do that. Erin says she has been working hard for the estate issue and that it’s very unfair to leave a single mum unemployed.
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Ed goes to Erin’s house in order to give her job back as he has received a call from the Doctor Frankel from UCLA confirming that Hinkley water violates the legal limit for hexavalent Chromium.
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David Baum, who represents PG&E, offers the Irvings 250000 dollars for their home with the aim of stopping the investigation against the Company. To frighten Ed and Erin, Baum reminds them that PG&E is a twenty-eight billion dollar Corporation. Despite this, both considers that Hinkly residents deserve much more money.
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Mandy and Tom Brown contact Erin to let her know their experience as neighbours of Hinkley. They tell her that PG&E has bought their house. What is more, they believe that the chromium VI has induced Mandy’s miscarriages and caused the birth of deformed chickens.
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Erin and Ed go to Hinkley to inform people about their environmental activism and find many cases of health problems. Residents of the town are glad to hear that Ed and Erin would help them.
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Erin takes samples of water and dead animals from a ditch near the polluted area. One night, a male voice in the phone threatens her to give up with her investigation.
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Judge Simmons claims that the causes of action against Pacific Gas and Electric are upheld.
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One of the lawyers offers Hinkley residents twenty million dollars. Nevertheless, Erin seems quite upset and says that that amount of money is not enough for each family since the total would be divided.
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Potter will finance the expenses of the case.
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In this way, the disagreement could be settled by considering people’s opinions before a judge. Ed tells people that binding arbitration is not so different from a trial at Hinkley firehouse. Ed tries to convince them that binding arbitration is preferable to a trial as the latter may last years before they see any money.
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Erin and Ed go door to door to obtain 90% of the agreements signed which they desperately need.
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He confesses Erin he used to work for PG&E. There, he was ordered to set some documents on fire. However, he could keep some of them.
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Ed and Erin win the case. Erin receives a bonus check for two million dollars.
