Stanley M. Chesley, a former trial lawyer from Cincinnati who rose to prominence after representing victims of the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire but was later disbarred for defrauding millions of dollars from his clients, has died, sources confirmed to The Enquirer.
He was 89.
Chesley’s legal career skyrocketed when he served as the plaintiffs’ attorney after the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire in 1977, which killed 165 people in the Northern Kentucky town of Southgate. He made a rare move to sue the entire aluminum electrical wire industry and won a $49 million settlement ($207 million adjusted for inflation). His success in the case made him a legal trailblazer and coined the term “enterprise liability.”
After a 53-year career during which he became known as “Master of Disasters,” he was disbarred in Kentucky in 2013 because of his involvement in a highly publicized lawsuit that began in 1998 against a diet drug known as fen-phen.
In the case, he represented hundreds of victims who suffered heart and lung issues after taking fen-phen, which was advertised as a way to combat obesity and won a $200 million settlement. He and the other attorneys were left to divide that money between themselves and their clients.
They were later charged with keeping millions of dollars for themselves that were supposed to go to the clients, leading to Chesley and five other lawyers being disbarred and two being sent to jail. Chesley was accused of defrauding $42 million from his clients.
After being disbarred in Kentucky, he retired from Ohio before he could be disbarred there.
The fen-phen case has lasted decades, as the victims are still fighting to get the money they were promised. Most recently, Chesley’s law firm agreed to give $23.5 million to hundreds of Chesley’s former clients in October 2018, though that settlement did not directly involve Chesley himself.
A Cincinnati native, Chesley was the son of Jewish Ukrainian immigrants. He grew up in Avondale and graduated from Walnut Hills High School. From there, he went on to get his undergraduate degree from the University of Cincinnati, where he also completed law school.
Chesley became known as the “Master of Disasters” thanks to his work in class-action lawsuits against the tobacco industry, Pan Am and Dow Corning. He also served as the plaintiffs’ chief attorney in a case involving sexual abuse at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington and was a pro bono counsel in Jewish material claims against German, Austrian and Swiss financial institutions.
Chesley said in the 2006 interview that he saw himself as the “champion of the underdog.”
“I’ll always be a little guy at heart,” he said.
Chesley proved himself a skilled negotiator all the way back in his college days when he worked at the now-defunct Shillito’s department store in Downtown Cincinnati.
He told The Enquirer in a 2006 interview about a time he negotiated a one percent raise in commission money for the sales team. “It felt good,” he said.
Chesley said he felt like an outsider as a liberal Democrat in Cincinnati, a largely conservative city. He was known for donating money to Democratic candidates and encouraging others to do the same. He even hosted three fundraisers for former President Bill Clinton.
He served on the national board of the Jewish National Fund for many years, until it removed him for his involvement in the fen-phen scandal.
Chesley was known for his love of cars, particularly expensive ones. There were rumors he owned many, and his former home had a garage large enough to fit 25 cars, but he told The Enquirer only that he owned “more than two.”
Chesley often donated to the Jewish Community center, the arts and other causes. He liked to pick up the dinner tab at a restaurant for strangers, such as a group of high schoolers celebrating prom night, or giving money to needy parents in a toy store on Christmas Eve.
Chesley was married to Susan J. Dlott, a federal judge appointed by President Bill Clinton.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Stan Chesley, former Cincinnati lawyer in Beverly Hills Supper Club fire case, dies at 89
Reporting by Maia Anderson / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
