Episode 44: Dark Waters (2019) (Guest: Mark Templeton)

Episode 44: Dark Waters (2019) (Guest: Mark Templeton)

Jonathan Hafetz

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Description

Dark Waters (2019), directed by Todd Haynes, tells the real-life story of how a lawyer, Rob Bilott (Mark Ruffalo), waged a twenty-year battle to hold the DuPont corporation accountable for contaminating a local water supply with carcinogenic chemicals that poisoned tens of thousands of people. While Bilott is ultimately able to achieve some degree of compensation and justice for the victims, the film shows the challenges of litigating against a powerful company bent on denying responsibility and covering up its misconduct.

Guest: Mark Templeton

Mark Templeton is Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School, and Research Affiliate of the Energy Policy Institute at Chicago (EPIC). Previously, Professor Templeton was a Trustee and Executive Director of the Office of Independent Trustees for the $20 billion Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trust. He also served as the cabinet-level Director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, leading the state’s efforts in energy, environmental protection, state parks, and water resources. Professor Templeton’s prior experience additionally includes serving as Associate Dean and COO at Yale Law School, developing environmental and sustainability strategies at McKinsey & Company, and serving as Special Assistant and Senior Adviser to the US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and an adviser to the US Delegation to the UN Commission on Human Rights.

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction
2:35 The origins: a small case for a family friend back home
6:24 Teflon and the “miracle” chemical
10:24 How attorney Rob Bilott uncovers the pollution
13:49 Getting the Taft firm on board
21:50 Addressing the legal challenges in the case
24:30 Medical monitoring and causation in toxic tort cases
28:36 Divisions in the community, financial pressures, and client management
30:30 DuPont’s clout
35:14 Bellwether trials: trying the cases in court
39:44 What the litigation achieved and the continued challenges
46:27 The risks of “forever chemicals”
49:50 Developments since the film was released
55:43 Can the legal system deliver justice?
1:01:53 Some further developments

Further Reading:

Bilott, Robert, Exposure: Poisoned Water, Corporate Greed, and One Lawyer's Twenty-Year Battle against DuPont (Atria Books 2019)

Carucci, Rob, “Leadership Lessons from Rob Bilott’s 20 Year Battle for Justice Against DuPont,” Forbes (July 12, 2021)

Nevitt, Mark P. & Percival, Robert V., “Can Environmental Law Solve the ‘Forever Chemical’ Problem,” 57 Wake Forest L. Rev. 239 (2022)

Rich, Nathaniel, “The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare,” N.Y. Times Magazine (Jan. 6, 2016)

Small, Sarah Chen, Note, “Toxic Film: Analyzing the Impact of Films Depicting Major Contamination Events on the Regulation of Toxic Chemicals,” 35 Georgetown Env. L. Rev. 561 (2023)

Tabuchi, Hiroko, “Trump Administration to Uphold Some PFAS Limits but Eliminate Others,” N.Y. Times (May 14, 2025)

Publication Date

6-10-2025

Disciplines

Law

Episode 44: Dark Waters (2019) (Guest: Mark Templeton)

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