Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2004, started out like any other day in Illinois' Madison County Circuit Court. Paul Palmer, a Louisiana man, was suing 87 companies–among them Viacom, Ford and BP–for allegedly causing his mesothelioma, a cancer related to asbestos exposure.

Palmer lived and worked in Louisiana his entire life. His residence was only 15 miles from the Baton Rouge courthouse. His asbestos exposure occurred in Texas and Louisiana, and his doctors were based in Baton Rouge. The only real connection the case had to Madison County was that it was filed there.

But Palmer's suit isn't unique. Plaintiffs filed 953 asbestos cases in Madison County in 2003, about 75 percent of which were from out of state. Most of those plaintiffs walked away with hefty settlements.