Erin Brockovich files claim against Beverly Hills school (Frivolous Lawsuit Alert)

Agence France Press (via Yahoo News) ^ | 4/29/03 | Agence France Press

[BaghdadBarney]

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Erin Brockovich, the environmental activist who inspired the film of the same name that won Julia Roberts an Oscar in 2001, filed claims against a Beverly Hills school over claims that toxins on campus gave students and staff cancer.

"Two hundred and eighty alumni and teachers are involved. They want answers, and so do we," Brockovich told a press conference Monday, as she announced the first list of 25 plaintiffs that will form part of a class-action suit.

Brockovich and lawyer Ed Masry in 1996 forced the utility company Pacific Gas and Electric to pay 333 million US dollars to the residents of tiny Hinkley, California to settle a water contamination suit.

That case launched the two to fame, and was the premise of the Steven Soderbergh film that earned Roberts an Oscar for her portrayal of Brockovich.

Masry and Brockovich said their researchers had found abnormally high levels of toxins at the upscale Beverly Hills high school.

The lawyer said the illnesses in staff and students were linked to an oil well that was operated for years on the school's campus.

Masry said he was representing dozens of former students who developed lymphoma after being exposed to toxins released by the drilling.

School superintendent Gwen Gross said that "dozens and dozens of tests" conducted by southern California's air quality agency had determined that the oil well posed no risk.

Those test results found that gas levels "proved to be within appropriate health limits," Gross said.

Local reports said the well earned the Beverly Hills school district 300,000 dollars a year.

[BaghdadBarney]

Hmmmm??? I wonder why they're suing probably the richest school district in North America?

[TheRedSoxWinThePennant]

Erin is just looking for another 15 minutes.

[BaghdadBarney]

I'm guessing she fell off the Hollywood Party "A-List"... She needs a few more Lexis-Nexis search results to get herself back into Rob Reiner's mansion...

[DensaMensa]

}I wonder why they're suing probably the richest school district in North America?

A great place for this lawsuit. Those who will have to pay are the type who create these lawsuit problems in the first place.

[RonF]

Maybe so, but she's 1 - 0 in this kind of thing so far, isn't she?

[Axenolith]

What a load of horse apples...

[DD938]

"ERIN GO BROKE A VITCH"

[BaghdadBarney]

Great observation! I wonder what the ultra-rich libs on the Beverly Hills School Board - as well as the Los Angeles City Council think of this little diddy? Of course, the lawsuit is nothing more than legal blackmail (more than likely) but going after the government rather than some "evil" private corporation? Look out, Erin! LoL

[annyokie]

Brochovitz is a fraud. Ignore her alert.

[templar]

Masry said he was representing dozens of former students who developed lymphoma after being exposed to toxins released by the drilling.

Assuming that they did, indeed, develop lymphoma: What is the rate among the students, teachers, etc. compared to the rate among the general population in the area? If the suit's going to go anywhere, they will have to show both a higher than normal rate of lymphoma and a provable link to the school's oil well. Somehow, I doubt they can do this, but time will tell.

[capitan_refugio]

Here is a little news for Ed and Erin. The oil field was there before the high school was.

[DannyTN]

I saw a TV show on this. They are saying that there has been a lot of cancer. They are also saying that they have taken independent samples that showed dangerous levels in contrast to the schoolboard. They said the school is built on top of several functioning oil well's.

I'm not sure what to make of it. Depends on who's tests you believe. And whether the number of cancers is really disporportionate or not. I do question the wisdom of building a school on top of functioning oil wells.

[dion]

I live in LA and a local radio station talked to one of the former students. She said that after having her second cancer in 5 years (she is under 30 years old!) she started hearing about other people who went to her school having similar cancers. Apparently one of the cancers she had (thyroid maybe?) is something that normally occurs once in every 100,000 people or something like that, yet out of 25,000 students there are over 50 cases from that school. Also they are getting cancer at a much younger age.

I am normally pretty skeptical about cases like this, but I thought it sounded like this one might have some truth behind it.

[templar]

I am normally pretty skeptical about cases like this, but I thought it sounded like this one might have some truth behind it.

Yeah, I'm usualy p[retty skeptical too. but 50 out of 25,000 at the school vs. 1 out of 100,000 normally, makes one take a second think about it.

[CarmelValleyite]

Something is wrong in them thar (Beverly) hills! However, it may not be the oil wells that have caused the extra cancer cases.

Many, many of those BHHS students live in the Santa Monica mountains adjacent to the area of the school. Some years back a friend of mine, who had lived in those "hills" nearly her entire life, developed an early and unusual breast cancer. She saw a number of specialists on the "westside" and one physician expert said he was puzzled by the high number of cancer cases he'd seen in people living in those hills as compared with people living on the flatlands.

There are cancer "clusters" everywhere; Long Island, NY has some, the Mojave desert (CA) community of Rosamond has had problems, etc., etc. So far as I know, nothing has ever been really proven about any of these "cluster" areas.

I'm no fan of Brockovich, but if she wants to snoop around, fine. We already know the school district has had "dozens" of tests performed and nothing has turned up...

[fourdeuce82d]

I hope she savages the BH crowd until they BLEED.

What goes around comes around.

[Chad Fairbanks]

Probably because she blew her settlement in the PG&E case on drugs and rehab for her and her kids. Broke again, she needs more money...

[Terry Mross]

She's not even a lawyer. How can she "file" a suit? And isn't it funny that she's about to take a big ol' bite outta' the hand that fed her. Wonder if Julia will support her. Wonder if all those Hoollywud big shot producers, who made her famous, will be having any second thoughts. It's their kids who go to this school. 90210

[research99]

Repost of information on another thread (same topic):

Keep in mind the backgrounds of the people who are in this news release:

Ed Masry, former Attorney to notorious Televangelist Dr. Gene Scott thoroughout the 1980's, and himself a felon (1981 conviction in San Diego County, for taking $10,000. from 'Morningside' religious cult of Escondido to bribe Lieutenant Governor Dymally of California in the late 1970's).

Erin Brockovich -- Masry met her at brothel in Nevada, where she was a 'working girl' (hence, the sex references were inside jokes in the film). See, she's really a 'people person'!!

[Skywalk]

Built on top several functioning oil wells?!

Who owns the well, Monty Burns Slant-Drilling Company?!