Belli, Melvin Mouron

▪ 1997

      U.S. lawyer (b. July 29, 1907, Sonora, Calif.—d. July 9, 1996, San Francisco, Calif.), was renowned for his flamboyant presentations in court and was dubbed the "King of Torts" because of the large awards he gained for clients involved in personal-injury cases. Belli was educated at the University of California, Berkeley, and at that university's law school, Boalt Hall, from which he graduated in 1933. He first gained attention in the early 1940s with a number of high-profile cases, including one in which a young woman's leg had been severed by a San Francisco trolley. When the trolley company appealed the original award, Belli made a dramatic presentation to the jury—a package that contained her artificial leg. He won her an award that was even larger than the first judgment and much higher than was customary for a severed limb. Later victories included a $19 million settlement for families of U.S. servicemen killed in a plane crash in Newfoundland and a $32 million judgment against California crematoriums that mishandled human remains; by 1987, Belli estimated, he had won over $350 million for his clients, most of whom were "ordinary" people. He also represented the famous, including Errol Flynn, Mae West, Lana Turner, and Lenny Bruce; in the case that made Belli a celebrity, he defended Jack Ruby after Ruby killed Lee Harvey Oswald (accused of assassinating U.S. Pres. John F. Kennedy). In 1995, however, Belli had to file for bankruptcy when he had difficulties collecting money due from the Dow Corning breast-implant case. Belli was the author or coauthor of dozens of books, some of which were used as textbooks.

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