Edward L. Masry, the attorney whose legal battle against Pacific Gas & Electric Co. was depicted in the hit film Erin Brockovitch, died today after a long illness. Masry was 73. An attorney with Westlake Village law firm Masry & Vititoe, Masry’s career in law spanned nearly one half a century including stints as a defense attorney. In the early 1990s, he was a defense attorney on a $1.5 billion money-laundering case known as Operation Polar Cap. But it was the class action lawsuit he took up against PG & E; at the age of 60 that earned Masry a national reputation and changed the course of the practice, involving Masry & Vititoe in far larger cases, many involving environmental issues. Masry died of complications of diabetes. He is survived by his wife, Joette, five children and 10 grandchildren. Arrangements for memorial services had not yet been completed at presstime.
