Class Action (1991 film)

Infobox_Film
name = Class Action

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image_size = 200px
caption =
director = Michael Apted
producer = Robert W. Cort
Ted Field
Scott Kroopf
writer = Carolyn Shelby
Christopher Ames
Samantha Shad
starring = Gene Hackman
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
cinematography = Conrad L. Hall
editing =
distributor = 20th Century Fox
released = March 15, 1991
runtime = 110min
language = English
imdb_id = 0101590
music =
awards =
budget =

"Class Action" is a 1991 film directed by Michael Apted. Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio star; Laurence Fishburne, Colin Friels, Fred Dalton Thompson and Donald Moffat are also featured.

Plot summary

The story is about a lawsuit concerning injuries caused by a defective automobile. The suit takes on a personal dimension because the injured plaintiff's attorney (Hackman) is the father of the automobile manufacturer's attorney (Mastrantonio). The central premise of the film is roughly analogous to the controversy surrounding the Ford Pinto.

The auto manufacturer in the film also utilizes a "bean-counting" approach to risk management, whereby the projections of actuaries for probable deaths and injured car-owners is weighed against the cost of re-tooling and re-manufacturing the car without the defect (exploding gas tanks) with the resulting decision to keep the car as-is to positively benefit short term profitability.

External links

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