The Rainmaker

The potential jurors arrive and selection begins. Rudy gets dirty looks from the Tinley Britt table. Judge Kipler releases a few corporate executives from the list and then goes over formalities Rudy questions prospective jurors first. He has only one question: “Can any of you think of any reason why you shouldn’t serve on this jury and hear this case?” (452). Drummond takes his turn. He looks upset. He talks about Great Benefit briefly, and then asks the potential jurors if anyone contacted them about the case. No one says anything. Drummond asks the question again, asking specifically if the plaintiff or someone working for him contacted them. Rudy objects and is sustained. Kipler wants to see the two of them in his chambers.

Drummond won’t admit why he suspects that the jurors were contacted, and Rudy plays along. He plans on telling Kipler what happened sometime after the trial is over, but it is good for Rudy and his case if Drummond makes himself look bad by accusing Rudy of jury tampering.

Back in the courtroom, Drummond is still upset. He asks one juror directly, one that Rudy and Deck had made sure to single out in their conversation, Mr. Porter, whether or not he had been contacted by anyone about the case. Mr. Porter does not appreciate the question. Mr. Porter gets so angry that he attacks Drummond and is later released as a potential juror. Because of Drummond’s behavior, Rudy gets the jury of his dreams: “six black females, all mothers. Two black males, one a college graduate, one a disabled former truck driver. Three white males, two of whom are union workers […] One white female, the wife of a prominent realtor” (458). The last juror isn’t one that Rudy would have preferred, but with the rest of the lineup, he isn’t worried.

Rudy talks to a lawyer from Cleveland named Peter Corsa, who represents Jackie Lemancyzk. She is suing Great Benefit for sexual harassment and wrongful termination. Everything Underhall, Great Benefit’s in-house lawyer, told Rudy about Jackie was a lie. Corsa tells Rudy he will put him in contact with her. A few days later, Rudy talks to Jackie. She is frightened, but agrees to come to Memphis to testify.

Drummond and Rudy meet with Kipler to go over preliminaries. Kipler tells each side that they will get 15 minutes to make their opening statements. Rudy keeps his remarks short, sweet, and to the point. He feels the case is so much in his favor that he doesn’t need to embellish. Drummond pleads innocence on the part of Great Benefit and argues that the case is about nothing more than greed. Witnesses follow the opening remarks.

The first witness to take the stand is Dot. Dot is nervous, but she and Rudy have a script and they’ve practiced it already several times. Rudy has her focus on the fact that they did everything right on their end, paying the fees always on time. They even tried to raise funds on their own after Great Benefit denied them, but to no avail. Dot then reads aloud the Stupid Letter.

During cross-examination, Drummond focuses on specifics of the insurance contract, and then moves to establish greed. Dot says she cares nothing for the money, and anything she wins will be donated to the “American Leukemia Society” (470). Rudy congratulates her on a job well done.

The next witness is Dr. Kord. He testifies to the legitimacy of bone marrow transplants as an effective treatment for leukemia. He explains that he and the hospital attempted to find other means to have the treatment done without Great Benefit, but it just wasn’t possible.

The next witness is Mr. Everett Lufkin. Rudy questions him about the claims department and then about Jackie. Lufkin grows nervous. Rudy knows Lufkin is lying. Rudy asks him about the Stupid Letter and points out that no one at the company ever apologized about the letter until then, in court. Rudy also talks with Lufkin about the claims manual, setting up the big reveal that Great Benefit tried to conceal Section U from him. When Rudy brings it up, Lufkin and Drummond are completely shocked and stunned. Rudy then asks Lufkin to explain the manual and reveal the denial scheme.

Court takes a brief recess, and when it resumes Rudy goes back on the attack and shows that Great Benefit still hasn’t provided him with all the documents he requested. Kipler finds Drummond and Great Benefit in contempt of court and fines them $10,000. Kipler warns Keeley, the CEO, that if the documents aren’t in court by tomorrow, Keeley will spend the night in jail.

Rudy gets the requested documents and reviews them. Jackie, who is also in town to testify against Great Benefit, explains how Section U functioned. Rudy questions Lufkin again, asking him how many policies existed in 1991. Lufkin is hesitant to answer, but Kipler pressures him. Lufkin answers that Great Benefit had roughly 97,000 policies. Rudy demonstrates that Lufkin, the Vice President of Claims, cannot provide exact numbers. Rudy then asks Lufkin about Jackie. Rudy knows Jackie will repudiate his answers.

Rudy then surprises the court by calling Jackie to the witness stand. She explains that she is suing Great Benefit for sexual harassment and wrongful termination. She explains how she had to sleep with the heads of the company to keep her job and receive promotions. She explains they forced her to sign a resignation letter in exchange for $10,000; otherwise, they would have fired her and given her nothing. She has two kids to worry about. Rudy then asks her to explain Section U and the scheme:

It had never been done before in the industry, and it was generally viewed by management as a wonderful idea. Deny for a year, add up the money saved, deduct the amount spent on quickie court settlements, and there’s a pot of gold left (497).

Rudy then asks her about Donny Ray. She remembers it because it was a big claim that made some noise in the office. It was denied like all the rest because the company played the odds that the poor and uneducated would not consult a lawyer. It’s important to the case, but Rudy feels bad knowing that Jackie’s testimony will hurt Dot. He knows that Dot will forever blame herself for not going to a lawyer earlier. Dot is crying when Jackie finishes.

Drummond briefly questions Jackie, but it goes nowhere. Drummond seems to be exasperated by her testimony, and with his client. Court breaks for lunch.

Keeley testifies next. Rudy’s goal is to get Keeley to admit that Great Benefit has plenty of money to award a large settlement. Rudy asks Keeley a series of questions regarding policies, pay, etc. Keeley tries to avoid the questions as best as possible, but the documentation is before the court. Great Benefit has already been shown to lie and manipulate, so that Keeley reluctantly admits Great Benefit probably has $150 million, though he won’t say for certain.

Rudy’s next to last witness is Kermit Aldy, the Vice President for Underwriting. Rudy confronts him with the underwriting manual. He asks Aldy if it’s a complete manual. Because it’s already been shown that Great Benefit will delete things, Aldy makes sure to look at the manual very closely to make sure everything is there. He doesn’t want to admit it’s complete and to have Rudy make fools of them again.

After Aldy is done, Rudy brings in Donny Ray’s deposition. Watching the dying young man has the desired effect. It’s heart-wrenching and enraging. The court can hear Dot’s soft sobs during the playback. After the video, Rudy announces that the plaintiff rests.

The courtroom empties, Dot is crying. Rudy stays with her in support.