I.

TITLE

ERIN BROCKOVICH

II. SUMMARY OF THE PLOT

The movie began by introducing Erin Brockovich as an

unemployed single mother of three children. On her way for interview,
her car is hit that made her suffer with injuries in a traffic accident
with a doctor. And so, she filed a case against him. Just when Erin's
case seemed like an easy win, her aggressive courtroom behavior
rears its head and Ed Masry, her lawyer, realized that there are things
that even he can’t control. Afterwards, Ed unanswered and ignored her
phone calls. One day, when he arrived at the office, he was shocked
when he saw her apparently working. She told him that he promised
that things would work out but it didn’t and so, she asked for
compensation to Ed Masry by hiring her in his law firm. Despite being
hired to do some minimal secretary work, she discovered something
questionable in one of Masry’s files, the health records for one of his
clients, Donna Jensen, a resident of Hinkley, California. Erin was
confused as to how were medical records relevant in real estate files.

Out of curiosity, Brockovich further investigated with Ed Masry’s

consent. Later on, she realized that the company, Pacific Gas and
Electric, who tried to buy Donna’s house was actually guilty of
contaminating the ground water with carcinogenic Chrominum-6, a
highly toxic level that in the exposure of which could slowly kill people
and even animals. However, they tried to wash their hands of guilt by
offering to pay for Donna’s medical bills. Eventually, it turned out that
the problem is common in many people in Hinkley, the town where
Pacific Gas and Electric was located, suffered from medical problems.

When the court has given them a chance to win the case, Ed
Masry got a new partner, Kurt Potter. With the fact that Pacific Gas
and Electric could make the settlement slower for years through delays
and appeals, Ed decided to arrange for disposition by binding
arbitration given that the majority of the plaintiffs would agree and
participate to this. Erin returned to Hinkley and convinced all 634
plaintiffs to go along. Then, he met a man names Charles Embry, an
employee of Pacific Gas and Electric together with his cousin who just
recently died from the poison. He was tasked to detroy the documents
of Pacific Gas and Electric but he did the opposite. He then handed the
documents to Erin. The documents include a 1996 memo certifying
corporate headquarters knew the water was contaminated with
carcinogenic Chrominum-6 but did nothing about it,

Erin and Ed won the case. The Pacific Gas and Electric gave a
$330 million dollar settlement for the people in Hinkley, especially for
the Jensens’. Also, George has returned. Subsequently, Erin got a $2
million dollar from Ed as a reward of her effort and perseverance. She
continued working with Ed.
III. IMPRESSION AND TOPIC CORREATION

Negotiation is an important aspect in making a contract a sale

for it is where the parties meet their minds in order to perfect the
contract. It is important that the price you are offering is equivalent or
worth the thing you are receiving.

The scene that caught our attention throughout the movie was
when the lawyer of PG&E made an offer to buy the house of the
Jensen’s at $ 250,000 because they think it’s a fair price. If we put
ourselves on the shoes of the Jensen’s, we believe that the offer is not
enough. We all know that when making a contract of sale, there
should be meeting of the minds between the parties, and that the
price to pay shall be certain and equivalent thereof, especially that
they are making a sale on an immovable property. Thinking how the
PG&E finalizing their offer without thinking that they are still in the
process of negotiating is quite offensive. It is important that they get
to hear the side of the other party if they agree to the price they are
offering. How can there be a meeting of the minds if the PG&E are not
even willing to negotiate to the owners of the property?

It is stated in Article 1473 that “The fixing of the price can never
be left to the discretion of one of the contracting parties. However, if
the price fixed by one of the parties is accepted by the other, the sale
is perfected.” It is already obvious from the stated article that PG&E
cannot fixed the price of the property because consent is essential in a
contract of sale. The Jensen’s also do not even have plans in selling
their property, because aside that they don’t have plans of moving
out, they also believe that PG&E will not pay them properly.
 It was pretty obvious that PG&E just suddenly came knocking to
their door and offered a price on their property. If they were really
that determined to buy the said property of the people around PG&E,
they could have offered a very reasonable price, or much better, they
could have negotiated to the people.

In conclusion, the way how PG&E acted by just suddenly

knocking on the doors of the people and offering a “fixed” price is
really offensive and absurd. They should have negotiated properly and
listened to terms and conditions to the owners of the property. They
should always keep in mind that negotiation is really essential in a
contract of sale. It helps both parties to have a smooth flow in meeting
their minds while in the process of perfecting their contract.