Jerome Facher, a Boston lawyer who successfully defended a tannery accused of water pollution that plaintiffs linked to a cluster of childhood leukemia deaths — a case that became the basis of a best-selling book and a Hollywood movie — died on Sept. 19 at his home in Arlington, Mass. He was 93.
Jerome Facher in 1998 on the set of the movie “A Civil Action.” He was the defense lawyer for Beatrice Foods in the widely publicized pollution case dramatized in the film, in which he was played by Robert Duvall.
After children died from toxic water, he defended the conglomerate Beatrice Foods in a case that became the basis of the book and movie “A Civil Action.” Jerome Facher in 1998 on the set of the movie “A Civil Action.”
After enlisting in the Army, he enrolled in Harvard Law School, where he felt inadequate compared with his classmates, many of whom had been Ivy League undergraduates, Mr. Harr wrote. Mr. Facher, he added, “lived each day in fear that a professor would call on him.”
Mr. Schlichtmann, who subsequently became an environmental lawyer, recalled Mr. Facher as “fiercely devoted to his client” and “the most formidable lawyer I ever went up against.” “As infuriating and frustrating as it was,” Mr. Schlichtmann said in a phone interview, “it was a constant learning experience.”
Jerome Facher, lawyer who won case for Woburn polluter, dies at 93. Jerome Facher in 1998 on the set of the movie "A Civil Action.". / David James/ Touchstone Pictures. Jerome Facher, a lawyer who successfully defended a Woburn tannery accused of water pollution that plaintiffs linked to a cluster of childhood leukemia deaths — a case ...
Ferocious litigator. Mr. Facher (pronounced fasher) was on retainer to Beatrice, his biggest corporate client, which had recruited him because of his reputation as a ferocious litigator. By the early 1980s, he had tried some 60 cases and lost very few, The Times reported.
The case, recounted in Jonathan Harr’s book A Civil Action (1995) and in a 1998 film by the same name, centered on a liability suit filed in 1982 by eight families in Woburn.
Armed with the new findings from the agency and other evidence, Schlichtmann tried to revive the case against Beatrice. He was unsuccessful. Schlichtmann, who subsequently became an environmental lawyer, recalled Mr. Facher as “fiercely devoted to his client” and “the most formidable lawyer I ever went up against.”.
Perhaps Jerry's most lasting contribution to the firm is the important role he played in its culture.
Jerry passed away at age 93. Jerry made an indelible impact on the people and places he touched—from his hometown Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where he excelled in sandlot baseball with his brother, Herbie; sold shoes to pay for college; and after a long, successful, and distinguished legal career, endowed a college scholarship for students ...
An eponymous movie followed (shot in the Boston area) in which Robert Duvall played Jerry. Although some thought Duvall overdid Jerry as a quirky, frugal curmudgeon, Jerry was thrilled to be a part of the movie. Jerry was committed to improving our justice system.