EXPLORING THE LEGAL CONTENT OF ERIN BROCKOVICH (2000) THROUGH AN ANALYSIS OF ITS LITERARY ELEMENTS

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF LAW GRADUATION THESIS B.A DEGREE IN ENGLISH Major: Legal English EXPLORING THE LEGAL CONTENT OF "ERIN BROCKOVICH" (2000) THROUGH AN ANALYSIS OF ITS LITERARY ELEMENTS Supervisor: Tran Ngoc Luong Tuyen, M.A Student: Nguyen Ngoc Minh Trang Student ID: 1652202010064 Class: LE41 Ho Chi Minh City, 2020 Legal Content of “Erin Brockovich” Nguyen Ngoc Minh Trang Ho Chi Minh City University of Law SUPERVISOR’S REMARKS iii ACKNOWLEDGMENT I owe a great deal to every individual whose support for me and this thesis is too numerous to name Without them, this thesis would not have completed I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Mrs Tran Ngoc Luong Tuyen, for her guidance throughout the journey She has allowed my creativity to be flourished within this paper but also oriented me in the right direction whenever I found myself lost by giving valuable guidelines and recommendations I would also like to pay my special regards to Mrs Pham Thi Thuy Dung for her counsel at the beginning of this journey Her inspired lectures in English literature made a strong impression on me and embarked on me to take the path Again, I would like to show my gratitude to Mrs Le Thi Xuan Thu for her supportive answers to all my questions regarding this issue, and to her dedication to our class for the previous four years I would like to extend my attitude of appreciation to all the members in the Department of Legal English for their support during the whole course I also send my appreciation to my friends for their valuable friendships during my time at ULAW Especially helpful to me during the time this thesis was carried on were Nguyen Ngoc Huynh Anh and Vo Minh Nga with their valuable support and insightful suggestions, Vo Thi Thu Lien with her practical materials, and Ngo Kim Thanh with her generous advice I am indebted to my family, none of this could have happened without them, especially my mother, for her unconditional love and encouragement I am extremely grateful to all! Ho Chi Minh City, June 2020 Nguyen Ngoc Minh Trang iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Abbreviations Explanation AAA American Arbitration Association ABA American Bar Association CCP California Code of Civil Procedure Cr(III) Trivalent chromium or chromium Cr(VI) Hexavalent chromium or chromium CRC California Rule of Court FRCP Federal Rules of Civil Procedure LRWQB Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board PG&E Pacific Gas & Electric U.S United States v LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Basic camera angles Error! Bookmark not defined Table 2: Most popular film genres Table 3: Types of characters 10 Table 4: Basic points of view 11 Table 5: Hinkley's groundwater contamination historical summary 20 Table 6: Main characters 25 Table 7: Minor characters 26 Table 8: Statute of Limitations 30 Table 9: Summary of findings .42 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Illustration of the three-point lighting Error! Bookmark not defined Figure 2: Model of Freytag's pyramid Figure 3: Steven Soderbergh 16 Figure 4: The real Erin Brockovich 18 vii TABLE OF CONTENTS SUPERVISOR‟S REMARKS iii ACKNOWLEDGMENT iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS v LIST OF TABLES vi LIST OF FIGURES vii TABLE OF CONTENTS viii INTRODUCTION I BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY II OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY III NECESSITY OF THE STUDY IV SUBJECT AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY .3 V RESEARCH METHODOLOGY V.1 Methodological approach V.2 Data V.2.1 Data collection .4 V.2.2 Data processing V.2.3 Data analysis VI STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS .5 CHAPTER ONE LITERATURE REVIEW I HOLLYWOOD FILM AND ITS ELEMENTS (MODEL FOR FILMS ANALYSIS) I.1 Hollywood film I.2 Cinematography Error! Bookmark not defined I.2.1 The camera Error! Bookmark not defined I.2.1.1 Camera angles Error! Bookmark not defined I.2.1.2 Camera movements Error! Bookmark not defined I.2.2 Lighting effect Error! Bookmark not defined I.3 Sound effect Error! Bookmark not defined I.4 Film genres viii I.5 Literary elements I.5.1 Plot .8 I.5.2 Setting I.5.3 Characterization 10 I.5.4 Symbolism 10 I.5.5 Point of view 11 I.5.6 Theme .12 II LITERARY APPROACHES .12 III “LAW-IN-LITERATURE” AND “LAW-AS-LITERATURE” APPROACHES 13 IV OVERVIEW OF THE LAW OF CALIFORNIA 13 V SUMMARY OF CHAPTER ONE .14 CHAPTER TWO LITERARY ANALYSIS 16 I BACKGROUND INFORMATION 16 I.1 ―Erin Brockovich‖ and Steven Soderbergh 16 I.2 The stories behind the movie 18 I.2.1 Erin Brockovich 18 I.2.2 Hinkley ground water contamination .19 I.2.2.1 Historical summary .19 I.2.2.2 Litigation 20 II LITERARY ANALYSIS 22 II.1 Plot 22 II.1.1 Plot summary 22 II.1.2 Plot analysis 23 II.2 Setting .24 II.3 Characterization 24 II.3.1 Main characters 24 II.3.2 Minor characters .25 II.4 Symbolism .26 II.5 Point of view 26 II.6 Theme 27 III SUMMARY OF CHAPTER TWO 28 ix CHAPTER THREE LEGAL CONTENT 29 I LEGAL TERMS 29 I.1 Statute of limitations 29 I.2 Binding arbitration 30 I.3 Demurrer 31 II COMMENCING A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT 34 III FEE SPLITTING WITH NON-LAWYERS 37 IV SUMMARY OF CHAPTER THREE 39 CONCLUSION .40 I SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS 40 II LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 42 III RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES 43 BIBLIOGRAPHY xi BOOKS xi DICTIONARIES xii DIGITAL IMAGES xii FILM xiii JOURNAL ARTICLES xiii LEGISLATION xiii SCRIPT xiii THESES xiii WEBSITES/WEB BLOG xiv x - How the parties met and conferred, and an agreement in resolving the objections raised in the demurrer was not reached; - The party who filed the complaint failed to respond to the meet and confer request or otherwise failed to meet and confer in good faith Furthermore, the party who file a demurrer has to serve and file a notice of hearing in accordance with Section 1005 of the CCP and, if service is by electronic means, in accordance with the requirements of CCP, Section 1010.6(a)(4) and CRC, rule 2.251(h)(2).69 According to Brown & Kauffman (2013), ―If the court sustains the demurrer, the case will end by a nonsuit unless the court allows the plaintiff to amend the complaint 70 ‖ In case a demurrer is overruled, the case will go to trial and the defendant is given ten days to file an answer to the original complaint.71 II THE PROCESS OF INITIATING A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT The legal battle between Hinkley‘s inhabitants and PG&E in Erin Brockovich is not just a remarkable case because of its massive settlement, but also a good illustration for a class action lawsuit with its immense number of plaintiffs Having discussed some legal terms in the previous part, this section continues to explore the second legal content depicted in the movie, which is the process of filing a class action lawsuit A class action lawsuit is ―a lawsuit brought, with the court‘s permission, by one or more persons on behalf of a very large group of people who have the same interest in the matter.72‖ To put it simply, a class action initiate when one person or a small group of people represented as a whole group who suffered similar injuries or financial 69 Rules of Court (CA) rule 3.1320(c) Retrieved from California Courts, [website], https://www.courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index.cfm?title=three&linkid=rule3_1320, (accessed 12 April 2020) 70 Brown and Kauffman, Legal Terminology, p 34 71 Rules of Court (CA) rule 3.1320(g), and (j) 72 Brown and Kauffman, Legal Terminology, p 23 34 losses to bring the suit against the defendant The person or the group of people who files the lawsuit and whose name(s) appear on the complaint, is called the lead or named plaintiff(s).73 The others, who did not involve in such a process but whose legal rights are affected by the suit and its allegation, are known as the class members Unlike the lead plaintiff, the class member may not aware of the suit until receiving the class action notice since they did not bring the suit to the court However, these people are also subjected to the judgment of the court.74 Generally, everyone can bring on a class action lawsuit though there are particular requirements that must be fulfilled, therefore, consulting a lawyer beforehand is a necessary stage Before filling a class action lawsuit, a lawyer may regard certain factors to determine whether such a case can be filed, these factors may include: “- Find out how many other people may have been injured in a similar way - Find out whether a lawsuit making the same allegations has already been filed - Determine whether the person still has time to file a claim under the applicable statute of limitations (time limit for filing lawsuits) - Ensure the potential defendant (the person or company being sued) is not shielded from liability because of a bankruptcy filing - Determine if the client should file an individual lawsuit instead of a class action.75” In the movie, although it was not clearly expressed in the script, it could be seen that Erin was the one who came from house-to-house to inform and persuade other Hinkley‘s citizens like the Linwood, the Desotos, the Ambrosino and the Daniels to 73 ‗How to Start a Class Action‘, ClassAction.org, [website], https://www.classaction.org/learn/how-to-start#requirements, (accessed 17 April 2020) 74 ‗The Lawsuit Process: How Class Actions Work‘, ClassAction.org, [website], https://www.classaction.org/learn/how-lawsuits-work?fbclid=IwAR0XZiu4IhhBPdeoj LkkP9kXbD79vRPe1Kl_-BXMWHNwZVjjTu-jYiBgcig, (accessed 17 April 2020) 75 ‗The Lawsuit Process: How Class Actions Work‘ 35 join the case, and Ed was the one who consulted the plaintiffs about the statute of limitations of such case A complaint will be filed after the lawyer ensures all the necessary requirements for filing a class action were met Although the lawyer may act in good faith to file a proposed class action, however, it is the judge‘s responsibility to certify the suit as a class action To certify a group of people as a class, the judge will hinge on Rule 23(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (―FRCP‖)76, which sets forth the four threshold conditions for a group to qualify as a class, these are: (1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable; (2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class; (3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class; and (4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class It could be seen that the first condition – numerosity, is not an issue in the case of Hinkley and PG&E, where there are 634 plaintiffs “POTTER how many plaintiffs now? ED 634.77” As regarded the second condition, although there are no definite illustrations, the "common questions of law and fact" apply to all Hinkley‘s citizens, may include, whether the company covered up the contamination and whether the groundwater contains toxic chemical substances Since the movie did not specify the third and fourth conditions, regarding the factual events of the real case Anderson, et al v 76 Retrieved from Cornell Law School, [website], https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_23, (accessed 18 April 2020) 77 Cited from the script of the movie Erin Brockovich, S Grant, A True Story 36 Pacific Gas & Electric Company, it can be concluded that Hinkley‘s inhabitants are certified as a class III FEE SPLITTING WITH NON-LAWYERS Ethics is a ―system of accepted beliefs that control behaviour, especially such a system based on morals78‖ It is an important element in the professional practice in any field, including law Initially, legal ethics was a set of informal tradition adopted in the legal profession It was not until 1908 that the American Bar Association (―ABA‖), the largest voluntary bar association in America, established its first set of ethics rule This was replaced by the Model Rule of Professional Conduct in 1983, which was updated in 2003.79 This part is going to examine the ethical problems in the practice of law, specifically, the issue regarding fee-splitting between lawyers and non-lawyers At the end of the movie, Erin received a $2,000,000 bonus from Ed Masry, however, in accordance with Rule 5.4 (a) of the ABA, whether this $2,000,000 ―award‖ is in compliance with such rule?80 ABA Model Rule 5.4 (a)81 provided that: “(a) A lawyer or law firm shall not share legal fees with a nonlawyer, except that: (1) an agreement by a lawyer with the lawyer's firm, partner, or associate may provide for the payment of money, over a reasonable period of time after the lawyer's death, to the lawyer's estate or to one or more specified persons; 78 ‗Ethics‘, Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/ethic, (accessed 20 April 2020) 79 Brown and Kauffman, Legal Terminology, p 73 80 S.J Buck, Movie Therapy for Law Students (And Pre-Law, Paralegal, and Related Majors): Are You Ready For Law School?? Prepare For Law School, Final Exams, and the Bar Exam by Watching Movies!!, Indiana, Author House, 2009, p 159 81 Retrieved from American Bar, [website], https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_r ules_of_professional_conduct/rule_5_4_professional_independence_of_a_lawyer/, (accessed 20 April 2020) 37 (2) a lawyer who purchases the practice of a deceased, disabled, or disappeared lawyer may, pursuant to the provisions of Rule 1.17, pay to the estate or other representative of that lawyer the agreed-upon purchase price; (3) a lawyer or law firm may include nonlawyer employees in a compensation or retirement plan, even though the plan is based in whole or in part on a profit-sharing arrangement; and (4) a lawyer may share court-awarded legal fees with a nonprofit organization that employed, retained or recommended employment of the lawyer in the matter.” Under Model Rule 5.4 (a), there are four exceptions in which a lawyer can share legal fees with a nonlawyer, and, as regards the first and the second exceptions listed above, neither could be applied in the case of Ed and Erin Both exceptions require the death of a lawyer, whereas, in Erin‘s case, such a condition is not satisfied The fourth exception is also not satisfied because there is no non-profit organization appears in the case of Erin However, the third exception of the list can be satisfied as (Hazard, Hodes and Jarvis, 2014) explained, the third exceptions prohibit the profit-sharing payments to non-employees, which means the lawyers are allowed to share the profit (the legal fees) with nonlawyer who is an employee 82 According to such an explanation, a condition must be met to satisfy the third exception: a nonlawyer must be the lawyer‘s employee Therefore, since Erin was Ed‘s employee, and she a nonlawyer, the ―bounty‖ complies with the third exception in ABA Model Rule 5.4 (a) After the analysis, it is clearly shown that Ed‘s act as awarding Erin with his legal fees complies with the legal ethics, and this was successfully illustrated in the scope of the movie 82 G.C Hazard, W.W Hodes, P.R Jarvis, The Law of Lawyering, 4th edn, New York, Wolters Kluwer, 2014, p 48-11 38 IV SUMMARY OF CHAPTER THREE Director Steven Soderbergh has successfully delivered the message of legal justice through his work The movie is a great educational tool for the study of legal language and the U.S law in general with distinctive legal contents Chapter Three applying the method of law-in-literature and sources of law of California discussed in Chapter One to explore some significant and captivating legal matters depicts in Erin Brockovich, based on the literary text of the movie In a nutshell, this chapter examines the definitions and some particular rules of the three legal terms: ―statute of limitations‖, ―binding arbitration‖, and ―demurrer‖ Additionally, the process of initiating a class action lawsuit is also examined in this chapter Furthermore, in section III of this chapter, the ethical matter in the professional practice of a lawyer was addressed through the issue of splitting the legal fees between lawyers and non-lawyers 39 CONCLUSION To conclude, this thesis embarked upon two objectives: to examine the literary elements of the film “Erin Brockovich”, and to analyze the legal content depicts from the literary text of such a film This chapter will summary the findings of the study, and then point out some limitations of this study as well as propose some suggestions for further studies in the future I SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS This study initiated by reviewing different theories includes some cross-sectional theories adopted in the areas of film, law, and literature so as to form a foundation for the whole thesis and select suitable approaches to each chapter of this thesis As a consequence, the background information of director Steven Soderbergh and the film Erin Brockovich were explored applying the biographical criticism and historical criticism, respectively, to build a framework for the literary analysis After that, the research employed the formalist criticism approach to analyze the literary elements of the movies Each of the elements, namely, plot, setting, characterization, symbolism, point of view, and theme was studied to serve as a sufficient base for the examination of the legal content of the film Finally, the approach of law-in-literature was used to depict certain legal matters in the U.S., specifically in California The interpreted legal contents include the legal terms, and certain issues regarding a class action lawsuit, which can be applied in the study or research regarding the law of the U.S., such as teaching and learning Legal Terminology or Legal English In addition, the legal ethics depicted from the movie can be used as a source of reference in teaching Legal Ethics Moreover, there are other practical implementations of the research in different aspects Basically, scholars, especially students whose major is English language, can employ the three literary approaches, namely, formalist criticism, biographical criticism, and historical criticism, as well as the model of literary analysis adopted in this study to analyze any pieces of literature from a novel to a short story for the study of the subject English Literature and for further researches in this field In addition, the legal content explored in this thesis could be useful material for novices at the law 40 field, students studying Legal Terminology, Legal Terminology, Legal Ethics, or even law students who are new to the law system of the U.S and California The table below summary the findings of this study and provide suggested application: Findings Summary Suggested applications ―Statute of limitations‖ - the period of time in which the plaintiff can file a lawsuit after noticing the issue - vary in each state, depending on the type of the case ―Binding arbitration‖ - type of arbitration in which the judge‘s decision is final, and it is limited in the right of appeal - type of defensive pleading in California - the defendant may file a demurrer to complaint to claim that the cause of action is not valid Applied in teaching and learning Legal Terminology or Legal - the grounds for using a demurrer are regulated in ―Demurrer‖ Part 2, Title 6, Chapter 3, Article Objections to Pleadings, Sections 430.10 of the CCP - the process to file a demurrer is regulated in Part 2, Title 6, Chapter 3, Article Objections to Pleadings, Sections 430.41 of the CCP 41 English - a lawsuit brought by one person or a small group of people on behalf of a very large group of people who suffered similar losses - the person who represents the group to sue is known as the lead or named plaintiffs Other plaintiffs are How to teaching and learning called class members commence a - there are certain requirements must be met to file a class action class action lawsuit lawsuit Applied in Legal Terminology or Legal - lead plaintiff can file a proposed class action whereas English the judge is the one who has the right to certify a lawsuit as a class action based on conditions listed in Rule 23(a) of the FRCP - Besides, rule 23 of the FRCP regulated issues regarding the class action lawsuit - an ethical issue in legal professionalism Fee-splitting between lawyer and non-lawyer Applied in - generally, a lawyer shall not share the profits with a non-lawyer teaching and learning - however, there are four exceptions Legal Ethics - regulated in ABA Model Rule 5.4 (a) Table 8: Summary of findings II LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY The findings of this study should be regarded in the light of at least three limitations Firstly, the content of the study is limited in certain parts within the scope of self-reported data as this study based on the script of the film and the theories related to formalist criticism to analyze the movie‘s literary elements Consequently, parts of the thesis may be exaggerated 42 Secondly, the study lacks some reliable materials There are certain difficulties when accessing online information concerning the previous researches about the movie due to intellectual property rights Therefore, some of the issues retrieved in this study were heavily relied on the articles written by laypeople Thirdly, the study could only possibly cover some aspects of the film due to time constraints As a result, other legal issues in the literary text cannot be covered in such a study III RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES Regarding the scope of this topic, there are some suggestions for further research to be undertaken Firstly, one of the other legal contents should be invested more is the law of the U.S or specifically, the law of California on the issue related to the groundwater contamination, and possible actions that Hinkley‘s inhabitants can take based on such law Secondly, it would also be interesting to investigate further the issue related to the civil procedure in the movie and making a comparison with similar legal content in other films in the same period, such as A Civil Action (1998) 43 BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS Anker, E., & Meyler, B (Eds.) (2017) New Directions in Law and Literature E Anker and B Meyler (eds.), USA: Oxford University Press Baker, A (2011) Steven Soderbergh (Contemporary Film Directors) Urbana: University of Illinois Press Belton, J (2005) American Cinema/American Culture (2nd ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill Binder, G., & Weisberg, R (2000) Literary Criticisms of Law New Jersey: Princeton University Press Black, D (1999) Law in Film: Resonance and Representation Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press Brown, G W & Kauffman, K D.; (2013) Legal Terminology (6th ed.) New Jersey: Person Education Inc Buck, S J (2009) Movie Therapy for Law Students (And Pre-Law, Paralegal, and Related Majors): Are You Ready For Law School?? Prepare For Law School, Final Exams, and the Bar Exam by Watching Movies!! Indiana: Author House Griffith , K (2011) Writing Essays about Literature: A Guide and Style Sheet (8th ed.) Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning Hazard, G C.; Hodes, W W.; Jarvis, P R.; (2014) The Law of Lawyering (4th ed.) G.C Hazard, W.W Hodes, P.R Jarvis, The Law of Lawyering, 4th edn, New York, Wolters Kluwer, 2014,: Wolters Kluwer Kennedy, X., & Gioia, D (1995) Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama (6th ed.) New York: HarperCollins Lumet, S (1995) Making Movies New York: Vintage Books Murray, H (2018) The Right to a Jury Trial: The Seventh Amendment New York: Enslow Publishing Palmer , R B., & Sanders, S (Eds.) (2011) The Philosophy of Steven Soderbergh Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky xi Pember, D R (2003) Mass Media Law (2003-2004 ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill Picart, C J., Jacobsen, M H., & Greek, C (Eds.) (2016) Framing Law and Crime: An Interdisciplinary Anthology Maryland: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press/ Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Punch, K (2014) Introduction to Social Research: Quatitative and Qualitative Apporaches (3rd ed.) London: Sage Reiboldt , W., & Mallers , M H (Eds.) (2014) Consumer Survival: An Encyclopedia of Consumer Rights, Safety, and Protection (Vol I) California: ABC-CLIO Wood, J (2002) Steven Soderbergh (Pocket Essentials) Harpenden, Herts: Oldcastle Books DICTIONARIES Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary (n.d.) ‗Cinematography‘ Retrieved March 1, 2020, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/cinematography?q=Cinemat ography Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary Thesaurus (n.d.) Ethics Retrieved April 20, 2020, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/ethic Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary Thesaurus, (n.d.) ‗Film‘ Retrieved March 1, 2020, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/film DIGITAL IMAGES Lannom, S (2019, September 1) Camera Angles: List of the Different Types of Camera Shot Angles in Film Retrieved March 2, 2020, from StudioBinder: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/types-of-camera-shot-angles-in-film/ Lannom, S (2019, August 21) What Is a Plot? Types of Plot, Definitions, and Examples Retrieved March 2, 2020, from StudioBinder: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-plot/ Williams, L M (2007) Erin Brockovich Retrieved March 14, 2020, from http://www.wireimage.com/celebrity-pictures/Environmental-activist-Erin-Broc kovich-attends-the-Climate-Change/73513285?r=73513313,73513285&st=Sear ch xii Wilson, S C (2017) Steven Soderbergh Retrieved March 9, 2020, from http://www.wireimage.com/celebrity-pictures/Director-Steven-Soderbergh-arriv ing-at-the-Logan-Lucky-UK-premiere/836278918 FILM Soderbergh, S (Director) (2000) Erin Brockovich [Motion Picture] Retrieved from http://phim.keeng.pro/phim/xem-phim/nghi-luc-song erin-brockovich-2000/34 192.html JOURNAL ARTICLES Banks, S (2003) The "Erin Brockovich Effect": How Media Shapes Toxics Policy Environs, 26(2), 227-230 Retrieved March 16, 2020, from https://environs.law.ucdavis.edu/volumes/26/2/banks.pdf LEGISLATION Code of Civil Procedure (n.d.) Retrieved April 1, 2020, from Find Law: https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/code-of-civil-procedure/ Rules of Court (n.d.) Retrieved April 1, 2020, from California Courts: https://www.courts.ca.gov/rules.htm Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (n.d.) Retrieved April 18, 2020, from Cornell Law School: https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_23 SCRIPT (Original Screenplay) Grant, S (1998, February 1) A True Story Erin Brockovich Retrieved from https://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Erin-Brockovich.html (Shooting Drafted Script) Grant, S (1999, March 22) A True Story Erin Brockovich, Shooting draft (R LaGravenese, Ed.) Retrieved from http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/erin-brockovich_shooting.html THESES Chao, D (2017) Environmental Justice Litigation in California: How Effective is Litigation in Addressing Slow Violence? Claremont McKenna College xiii Retrieved March 17, 2020, from https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1467 WEBSITES/WEB BLOG (n.d.) Retrieved April 11, 2020, from American Arbitration Association: https://www.adr.org/sites/default/files/document_repository/AAA197_Arbitrati on_Road_Map.pdf (n.d.) Retrieved April 20, 2020, from American Bar: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/m odel_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_5_4_professional_independence_of_a _lawyer/ (2020, April 10) Retrieved from American Bar: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/dispute_resolution/resources/DisputeResol utionProcesses/arbitration/ (n.d.) Retrieved March 12 , 2020, from Box Office Mojo: https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3612444161/ (n.d.) Retrieved March 1, 2020, from California Courts: https://www.courts.ca.gov/1003.htm (n.d.) Retrieved March 12 , 2020, from Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/erin_brockovich Alexis (2013, November 27) The Social Parameters of Groundwater Contamination: A Case Study Retrieved March 16, 2020, from The Sustainable Geek: https://sustainablegeek.wordpress.com/2013/11/27/the-social-parameters-of-gro undwater-contamination-a-case-study/ Character (n.d.) Retrieved March 2, 2020, from LiteraryDevices.net: https://literarydevices.net/character/ Critical Approaches to Literature (n.d.) Retrieved March 3, 2020, from http://home.olemiss.edu/~egjbp/spring97/litcrit.html FindLaw's team (2018) Find Law Retrieved April 10, 2020, from https://statelaws.findlaw.com/california-law/california-civil-statute-of-limitatio ns-laws.html Hinkley, California (n.d.) Retrieved March 16, 2020, from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinkley,_California How to Start a Class Action (n.d.) Retrieved April 17, 2020, from ClassAction.org: https://www.classaction.org/learn/how-to-start#requirements xiv The Lawsuit Process: How Class Actions Work (n.d.) Retrieved April 17, 2020, from ClassAction.org: https://www.classaction.org/learn/how-lawsuits-work?fbclid=IwAR0XZiu4Ihh BPdeojLkkP9kXbD79vRPe1Kl_-BXMWHNwZVjjTu-jYiBgcig Lannom, S (2019, September 1) Camera Angles: List of the Different Types of Camera Shot Angles in Film Retrieved March 2, 2020, from StudioBinder: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/types-of-camera-shot-angles-in-film/ Lannom, S (2019, September 9) Ultimate Guide to Movie Genres — 90+ Genre Examples for Film & TV Retrieved March 2, 2020, from StudioBinder: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/movie-genres-list/ Marx, R (n.d.) Steven Soderbergh Retrieved March 9, 2020, from All Movie: https://www.allmovie.com/artist/steven-soderbergh-p112040 Plot (n.d.) Retrieved March 2, 2020, from LiteraryDevices.net: https://literarydevices.net/plot/ Setting (n.d.) Retrieved March 2, 2020, from LiteraryDevices.net: https://literarydevices.net/setting/ Sharp, K (2000, April 14) "Erin Brockovich": The real story Retrieved March 16, 2020, from Salon: https://www.salon.com/test/2000/04/14/sharp/ Stern, A T (2010) „What you need to know about Motions to Strike in California‟ Retrieved April 12, 2020, from Avvo.com: https://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ugc/what-you-need-to-know-about-motions -to-strike-in-california Symbolism (n.d.) Retrieved March 2, 2020, from LiteraryDevices.net: https://literarydevices.net/symbolism/ Taylor, D K (2016) „Binding Arbitration: Limited Appeal Rights - Finality is the Rule‟ Retrieved April 10, 2020, from Bradley.com: https://www.bradley.com/insights/publications/2016/06/binding-arbitration-limi ted-appeal-rights-finality-is-the-rule xv ... identified through the information depicted in the movie and the script Then, these contents will be explained and analyzed in more detail with the legal resources gathering from the local libraries and... conclude, this thesis embarked upon two objectives: to examine the literary elements of the film ? ?Erin Brockovich? ??, and to analyze the legal content depicts from the literary text of such a film... enrich the movement of film, literature and law IV SUBJECT AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY The study centralizes the film Erin Brockovich (2000) directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Susannah Grant The