Erin Brockovich-Ellis (born June 1960) is a woman who, despite lack of formal law school education, in 1993 was instrumental in constructing a case against the $30 billion Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), of California, alleging contamination of drinking water with hexavalent chromium in the southern California town of Hinkley. The case was settled in 1996 for $333 million, the largest settlement ever paid in a direct-action lawsuit in U.S. history.
Continuing to work with the Thousand Oaks, California-based lawyer Ed Masry , she went on to participate in other anti-pollution lawsuits. One accuses Whitman Corp. of chromium contamination in Willits, California, and another with 1200 plaintiffs alleges contamination near PG&E's Kettleman Hills plant in Kings County.
After experiencing problems with mold contamination in her own home in the Conejo Valley, Brockovich became a prominent activist and educator in this area as well. Today, Brockovich is a noted speaker in demand all over the U.S.
Brockovich was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas and attended Kansas State University in Manhattan. She has lived in California since 1982.
External links
Last updated: 08-19-2005 23:43:46
