Who says there is no free lunch? A suburban Chicago man has been milking our legal system for years, reaping enough for breakfast, lunch and dinner - and then some.
Feel sorry for this fellow because of his exposure to asbestos? Overlawyered tells you to dry your tears.
He sued 59 different defendants for his personal injuries in Madison County; many defendants, expecting to be railroaded, don't even bother to litigate asbestos cases once they've been sued in Madison County, so he became a millionaire from the settlements--not bad for a retired 78-year-old who has already exceeded average life expectancy. However, Lindau made his way into Madison County by claiming that he was exposed to asbestos during the construction of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in 1959-1962.
Unfortunately for this theory, it was SIU-Carbondale that was being built then; ground wasn't broken on the Edwardsville campus until 1963. So the two remaining deep pocket defendants actually insisted on protecting their rights and appealed the venue decision. The plaintiff settled--either to get money immediately or to avoid an adverse precedent for future plaintiffs, though his lawyer, Scott Hendler, has the chutzpah to complain about the "abuse of process" of the appeal.
Those who believe we don't need to reform what is a "cash cow" legal system for some should read the above as they wake up and smell the coffee!
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