Stanley M. Chesley

Who is Stanley M. Chesley?

Stanley M. Chesley was an Ohio trial lawyer for almost 53 years. He is the husband of federal judge Susan J. Dlott.

Chesley, the son of Ukrainian immigrants, graduated from Walnut Hills High School, the University of Cincinnati and University of Cincinnati Law School. He first came to fame as a plaintiffs' lawyer in litigation arising from the 1977 Beverly Hills Supper Club fire, which killed 165 people. Rather than merely sue the nightclub, Chesley sued the entire aluminum electrical wire industry, blaming them for the fire. The aggressive and unprecedented tactic of seeking enterprise liability for an entire industry worked, winning $49 million in verdicts and settlements. Individual defendants settled for about a million dollars in the face of Chesley waving gruesome photos of fire victims rather than risk going to trial and losing much more, though those who did defend themselves often won.

Chesley won billions of dollars for his clients in other mass torts, representing clients suing Pan Am over the Lockerbie terrorist attack and clients suing Dow Corning in controversial breast implant litigation. Chesley was one of the "inner circle" of the plaintiffs' bar that negotiated the controversial $246 billion tobacco settlement on behalf of state governments, and settlements against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati for sexual abuse.