- October 19, 2022
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Lee Kreindler is a household name in law, and he’s often been called “the founder of air disaster law” thanks to his work representing victims and their families in many of the major aviation disasters of the 20th century.
But in his fights for justice, few people realized he had an invisible partner — his wife, Ruth Kreindler. She was there for every aspect of his cases, whether that meant hosting for dinner people involved in a case or simply talking through research with him.
Twenty-one years after his death in 2003, Ruth, a Plymouth Harbor resident, has self-published “The Fight For Justice,” a book about her husband’s most challenging case and the deadliest terrorist attack on American civilians before 9/11 — Pan Am Flight 103. She hopes it will help readers understand Lee’s passion and impact on aviation today.
In 1950, near the start of his legal career, Lee started a firm in New York with his father, Kreindler & Kreindler.
In November 1952, a woman told the firm that she had survived the crash of National Airlines Flight 101 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. When her husband found out about the plane crash, he had a heart attack and died.
The woman had asked three other law firms to help her sue the airline. All three had turned her away because they were only interested in auto accidents.
Before his father dismissed the woman, Lee began researching to see if he could find an angle to help her.
Lee learned as much as he could about planes to see if he could figure out why the plane crashed. He started his research by working at a propeller shop for 10 days.
He then spent the next six months interviewing the surviving passengers and consulting with experts. After discovering that the crew didn’t check the oil level before takeoff, Lee filed a lawsuit against National Airlines and won a settlement for a payout to families of over $1 million.
Afterward, Lee was approached to help many more plane crash survivors or victims’ families. He wrote several books on air disaster law that are used in law schools today.
Lee met his wife, Ruth, at a debutante ball in 1952. He saw her dancing and was immediately smitten. He called her the next day to ask her on a date.
When they met, Ruth told him she had thought she was meeting someone completely different. They laughed about the mix-up and decided to continue on the date anyway. The couple got married that same year in September.
In her day job, Ruth was an interior and architectural designer. But when she came home to her husband, she was Lee’s partner in his cases.
Every night, he would share everything that happened at the law firm and in court. Their “pillow talk” tradition, as Ruth called it, was the start of her assistance in his cases.
The Pan Am Flight 103 bombing took place Dec. 21, 1988, over Lockerbie, Scotland. A terrorist bomb exploded in the cargo hold of the passenger plane, killing all 259 people on board, 35 of whom were Syracuse University students. Eleven more people on the ground were killed.
Lee and Ruth were about to leave for a vacation to Longboat Key when they heard the news. Lee’s name was given to one of the families of the college students. His colleagues knew he was the right one for the case.
After they arrived in Florida, Lee’s relaxation was cut short. NBC News flew to the island by helicopter the second day he was there to get his opinion. Ruth recalled being furious this was happening during their vacation. This kicked off the start of a case that would consume the -Kreindlers’ lives for the next 15 years.
Ruth said the case was present in almost every conversation. Before bed, Lee would lay drawings of jet engines on the floor to help him think through different parts of the case. Ruth was there next to him with markers, listening and talking things through with him.
At one point, they were attending a dinner with multiple teams from the case. So Lee and Ruth tag-teamed the dinner. Lee talked with one of the teams while Ruth entertained the others.
Lee spent the next roughly 15 years traveling, researching and discussing the case. Ruth was with him every step of the way, taking notes and sharing her opinion.
Lee died in February 2003 before the final settlement from Libya.
Ruth said she could barely get out of bed immediately afterward. While she was still grieving, she found a manuscript that Lee wrote before dying. It was supposed to be a book about Pan American World Airways Flight 103.
Ruth tried to read it, but she was overwhelmed with grief. Lee’s writing inspired her to write her own book on her late husband, though. She wanted to honor his memory by showing his dedication to the case and the affected families.
She partnered with local writer Chris Angermann because she found it hard to write by herself without getting emotional. She and Angermann began the writing journey two years ago.
While Ruth recalled her memories with the aid of her notes from Lee’s cases, Angermann recorded her and took his own notes.
They released “The Fight For Justice” in July.
“Lee was the most exciting man I ever met,” said Ruth. “He brought justice for these people through his integrity and the hard facts. While doing that, he made airplane flying more safe.”
Ruth hopes readers will see Lee the way she did, as a David fighting -Goliaths to amplify victims’ voices.
