MADISON - ST. CLAIR RECORD

Rickard It began on Dec. 10, 1966, at a courthouse in Beaumont, Texas. Attorney Ward Stephenson filed a lawsuit, on behalf of a client suffering from asbestosis, against 11 manufacturers of products containing asbestos. Though a jury ruled for the defendants in this first case, Stephenson tried again with a different client, and in 1973 a jury awarded Stephenson's plaintiff $79,436.24 in damages.

Rickard On Oct. 19, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released "Asbestos Injury Compensation: The Role and Administration of Asbestos Trusts," a report to Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Rickard Illinois is known for a few things that make it unique among all states: the tallest tower in America; Chicago-style deep-dish pizza; Abraham Lincoln.

Rickard The unfortunate continuing irony, however, is that in many class actions, particularly those that go on in state courts, the plaintiffs are not the real winners in the case. A number of high-profile cases continue to result in class members "winning" coupons worth maybe a few dollars while the lawyers walk-away with millions.

Rickard Imagine if a foreign government defined employees of General Motors and AIG as "foreign officials" of the United States government because the government owns portions of the company or called Bloomberg Media employees "foreign officials" because 85 percent of the company is owned by a government official, the Mayor of New York City. Take a GM senior manager out to lunch and you may have committed bribery!

Last week, more than any other time in recent history, a bright spotlight was cast upon the crisis that has taken hold of America’s courts.