Edward Louis Masry (July 29, 1932 – December 5, 2005) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

, a partner in the law firm of Masry & Vititoe and also a mayor and city councilman for the City of

Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown Los Angeles, Downtown. It is named af ...

. With the help of his legal assistant Erin Brockovich, Masry built a case against the

Pacific Gas & Electric Company The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is an American investor-owned utility (IOU). The company is headquartered in the Pacific Gas & Electric Building, in San Francisco, California. PG&E provides natural gas and electricity to 5.2 millio ...

(PG&E) of California in 1993. Their successful lawsuit was the subject of the Oscar-winning film, '' Erin Brockovich'' (2000), starring Julia Roberts as Brockovich and

Albert Finney Albert Finney (9 May 1936 – 7 February 2019) was an English actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked in the theatre before attaining prominence on screen in the early 1960s, debuting with '' The Entertainer'' (1960) ...

as Masry.

Early life

Masry was born in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

immigrant parents who ran a silk apparel business. He moved west to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

with his family when he was age eight, settling first in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

and later in

Van Nuys Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, t ...

Education

As an undergraduate, Masry attended L.A. Valley Junior College,

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...

, University of California Los Angeles, and

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, and served with the U.S. Army in France from 1952 to 1954 during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

era, attaining the rank of corporal.In Memory of Edward L. Masry - Hon. Brad Sherman of California in the House of Representatives; Tuesday, February 14, 2006

United States Government Publishing Office The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO; formerly the United States Government Printing Office) is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States Federal government. The office produces and distributes information ...

. Retrieved September 6, 2021. Although he never received a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

, Loyola Law School in Los Angeles accepted him on an exemption due to high placement test scores, and he graduated with a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree in 1960. Thereafter, he was admitted to the

State Bar of California The State Bar of California is California's official attorney licensing agency. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, prescribing appropriate disciplin ...

, and set up private practice in 1961.

Career

Masry's law firm was instrumental in bringing about the multi-plaintiff direct action suit against

, 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 A direct-action lawsuit is brought directly against an insurance company for a wrong done by the insured. In a lawsuit that is not direct-action, a plaintiff brings the claim against the insured, who actually wronged the plaintiff. Once judgmen ...

in American history. The case was adapted for the successful

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

film '' Erin Brockovich'', with

portraying Masry. He had a non-speaking

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...

in the film as a restaurant patron sitting behind Julia Roberts, as did Erin Brockovich, who played a waitress.

Personal life

Masry died at age 73 at

Los Robles Hospital Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center is the largest hospital in eastern Ventura County. It is a hospital and medical center complex in the city of Thousand Oaks, California. It is a 382-bed acute care hospital with a level II trauma center. The f ...

in Thousand Oaks, due to complications related to

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

. He had resigned from the City Council of Thousand Oaks one week earlier because of his medical condition.

Filmography

References

External links

* * 1932 births 2005 deaths 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians American politicians of Syrian descent Burials at Valley Oaks Memorial Park California city council members California lawyers Deaths from diabetes Loyola Law School alumni People from Thousand Oaks, California Politicians from Paterson, New Jersey Trial lawyers United States Army non-commissioned officers University of California, Los Angeles alumni University of California, Santa Barbara alumni University of Southern California alumni {{US-law-bio-stub