To divert my mind from several thorny personal issues this summer, I again read John Grisham’s The Rainmaker. The story of an epic David and Goliath legal battle between Rudy Baylor and the smug, high priced lawyers representing Great Benefit Life, it reveals the corrupt underbelly of the life insurance industry. Superbly written, the plot offers surprising twists and turns, and strong memorable characters.
Fresh out of law school, penniless, threatened with a lawsuit and about to be evicted from his apartment, Rudy has just been fired from his promised first job due to a merger with a large firm. Although he feels ill-prepared, he agrees to represent Dot Black and her son Donny Ray against Great Benefit, a mammoth company with vast resources. Donny Ray has been refused coverage for a bone marrow transplant which would keep him alive.
While researching for the impending legal battle with Great Benefit, Rudy is also scouring the city for a position as a lawyer. There is nothing and he explains his predicament to Prince Thomas, owner of Yogi’s, the bar he has worked at for minimum wage the past 3 years. Rudy’s description of Prince reveals a dark, secretive side. “He’s rumored to be in the skin business,” Rudy tells us. “His alleged partners have criminal records. The city has sued him, and he loves it.”
Prince introduces Rudy to his closest friend and ally, Bruiser Stone, a lawyer with an equally unsavoury reputation. In Bruiser’s office, Prince points to a large aquarium and says, “those are real miniature sharks.” When the phone rings, Bruiser speaks in the rapid clip of a man who knows his phones are tapped. He offers Rudy a job in his firm, but emphasizes he will need to find his own clients. Having no other options, Rudy reluctantly accepts. “I’ve been reduced to a vulture in hospital cafeterias,” he observes.
In the midst of personal turmoil, Rudy prepares diligently for the case against Great Benefit. When he visits the Blacks to obtain signatures, Dot’s husband Buddy refuses to meet him. A chain-smoker, Dot lights a cigarette and points to a car parked in weeds in the back yard. “He sits in the Fairlane all day, every day. He’s not right in the head you know.” She takes the document to the car and compels Buddy to sign.
Returning to the house, she tells Rudy of her fight with Great Benefit. “I bought the policy 5 years ago. Never missed a premium, and never used the damned thing until Donny Ray got sick. He needs a bone mare transplant and his twin brother Ron is a perfect match. It costs around a hundred-fifty thousand. It’s covered in the policy, but the insurance company says no. So Donny Ray’s dying because of them. Please hurry, he doesn’t have much time.”
Bruiser Stone had promised Rudy he would represent the Blacks in court. On the first day of the trial though, he fails to show. The Feds have been investigating him and Prince for their various nefarious business enterprises, and they’re closing in. Feeling the heat, the two men have disappeared. Rudy quickly decides he will argue the case himself.
Sitting at his table in the courtroom alone with Deck, his paralegal somewhere behind him, he asks himself, “do I know what I’m doing? I’ve never said a word to a jury.” He’s very aware that Leo Drummond, leader of the defense team, is a masterful litigator. He and the other four lawyers have 58 years experience between them. Smug in their own superiority, they view him with disdain.
Initially Drummond seeks to stall the proceedings, hoping Donny Ray will die before his deposition. He doesn’t want the jury to see his weathered face or hear his weak voice. Rudy discovers that the company has fired key employees to prevent them from testifying. He also discloses that the section instructing employees to deny virtually all claims has been removed by the company from the manual it provided to him.
At the end, the jury agrees with Rudy that Great Life’s reasons for rejecting the claim are frivolous and fraudulent. Due to a surprising development though, Dot never collects a dime. Even so, she feels vindicated and expresses great delight at having prevailed against “them sumbitches.” And in winning a huge court case, Rudy becomes what in legal parlance is known as a Rainmaker. A stimulating diversion.