KREINDLER, Lee (Stanley) 1924-2003

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born March 11, 1924, in New York, NY; died of complications from a cerebral hemorrhage February 18, 2003, in New York, NY. Attorney and author. Kreindler was an expert in aviation law and was often credited for helping to spur changes in air disaster legislation. A graduate of Dartmouth College, where he earned an A.B. in 1947 after serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, Kreindler received his law degree from Harvard University in 1949 and was admitted to the New York Bar the same year. He then joined his father's law firm as a partner. His first airplane crash case was a 1952 dispute in which a DC-6 owned by National Airlines went down in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Kreindler's thorough research, which included teaching himself about airplane maintenance, resulted in his winning $300,000 for his client, the largest jury award ever at that time. From that point on, Kreindler became obsessed with cases involving airplane accidents, and worked on behalf of victims of such disasters as the 1988 Pan American Flight 103 bombing over Scotland, the 1996 Trans World Airlines Flight 800 crash near Long Island, and the September 11, 2001, terrorist airplane attacks. In 1963 Kreindler wrote a definitive book on the subject, Aviation Accident Law (1963; revised edition, 1973), and he was also the author of World Peace through Law and Lawyers (1974) and coauthor of New York Law of Torts (1997).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

books

Writers Directory, sixth edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1983.

periodicals

Los Angeles Times, February 24, 2003, p. B9.

Montreal Gazette, February 21, 2003, p. E7.

Newsday, February 20, 2003, p. A39.

New York Times, February 19, 2003, p. A25.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette February 22, 2003, p. D3.

Times (London, England), March 14, 2003.