Lawyers' Book Aids Consumers
July 22, 2001 - "Home and Condo Defects: A Consumer Guide to Faulty Construction,"
by Thomas E. Miller and Rachel M. Miller (Seven Locks Press, Santa
Ana, Calif., 2001), paperback, $9.95, 104 pages. Available from
Amazon.com and by special order from Barnes & Noble Booksellers,
Short Pump.
Thomas Miller estimates that, in the past 25 years, he's won more
than $400 million suing home builders for leaky roofs and cracking
stucco.
As Orange County, Calif.'s most prominent champion of construction-
defect lawsuits, he's sometimes blamed for escalating home prices -
the cost, home builders say, of endless and sometimes frivolous
lawsuits.
Whatever his impact on the market, he is one of the industry's
biggest tormentors.
And he has reinforcements. Since 1994, Miller's daughter Rachel
has worked at his Newport Beach, Calif., law firm.
In 1999, the father-daughter team published a book to guide
lawyers through the process of filing a construction-defect suit. Now
they've written a handbook for consumers titled "Home and Condo
Defects: A Consumer Guide to Faulty Construction." The book is due in
stores now.
Here, Thomas and Rachel Miller talk about their practice and their
relationship:
Q: A few years ago, you co-wrote a book about construction defects
that was geared toward other lawyers. Who had the idea to put
together a book for homeowners?
Rachel: It was Tom's idea. The need was pretty clear. Over the
years, I've fielded calls from all sorts of property managers and
homeowners, and they asked the same questions over and over.
Sometimes people called wanting to order the book we wrote earlier,
for lawyers, and I'd say, "No, that's not a book for the lay person."
But we kept handing them out.
Q: How many calls does your office receive in a week from people
wanting to talk about a problem with their home?
Rachel: About a dozen calls a week, and five to 10 e-mails a day.
Q: How many cases do you take?
Thomas: Our Newport Beach office, which basically covers Southern
California, is working on 20 cases. We settle about one a month. They
each take about two years to resolve.
Q: How do you determine whether a homeowner's problem is worth
further investigation? Are you able to rule out a lot of people based
just on a phone call?
Thomas: It doesn't make sense to represent just one owner. We look
for multiple owners with similar problems. Say we're talking about a
development with 100 homes; we'd hope to represent about half of the
owners. But generally the more expensive the homes, the fewer we
need.
Rachel: When people call, we complete a one-page form that briefly
describes the problem, who the builder was and how old the home is.
Knowing the builder's identity can be particularly helpful if we've
sued the company before.
Thomas: We see some builders time and again.
Q: Tom, your name is pretty well known in Orange County,
particularly among home builders. Does that very often make for
uncomfortable encounters outside the office?
Thomas: Orange County is small in some respects but large in
others. It's large in that there is no one place people tend to
congregate. But I occasionally have spotted builders out at
restaurants. I know people in the industry talk about me. I heard
about one meeting where someone held up my picture with a big line
drawn through the middle of it.
As far as I'm concerned, our firm provides a valuable service.
I've gotten pretty thick-skinned over time. In fact, I have a yacht
called "Sea of Defects" docked in front of my home on Balboa Island.
It's raised a few eyebrows.
Q: Sometimes cases drag on for years. How do you keep clients from
having a nervous breakdown?
Thomas: We have a contractor who takes care of immediate problems.
We also provide monthly status reports and quarterly disclosure
statements, which owners need if they decide to sell or refinance.
And we periodically hold meetings with the homeowners.
Rachel: I frequently field calls on the weekend. I'm basically
available 24 hours a day.
Q: Do you ever wish you chose a less-demanding career, Rachel? You
could have been, I don't know, a dentist.
Rachel: I never was interested in the medical profession.
Q: Tom, I understand you have a son who also is a lawyer. Does he
plan to join the firm?
Thomas: Yes, Matthew. He graduated from Hastings College of the
Law last year. Whether he eventually does [join] will be up to him.
Thomas: No, but we were high school sweethearts. At St. Anthony's
in Long Beach.
Q: And you Rachel?
Rachel: No, I'm single.
Q: Rachel, what is it like to work with your dad? After all, this
is the guy who used to set your curfew.
Rachel: I basically was raised in the practice, so I have a strong
sense of what he is trying to accomplish. In high school, I spent
summer vacations answering the phone and filing documents. Now, our
offices are side-by-side, and we share a balcony. In the morning, we
touch base over coffee, but the rest of the time, other than when we
travel [together], we usually work apart.
I think we're maybe a little more open, a little more frank,
because we're father and daughter, but we never argue.
Q: Growing up, did he encourage you to become a lawyer?
Rachel: He never said, "Rachel, you ought to be a lawyer," but he
did tell me that the firm could offer me a unique opportunity.
Q: Is that how you remember it, Tom? Did you look at her in the
fourth grade and see a budding partner?
Thomas: Well, she was very argumentative growing up. She and her
mom had some huge fights. I usually tried to stay on the sidelines.
© Copyright 2010 The Miller Law Firm. All rights Reserved.
If you experience problems or have questions, contact us at Info@ConstructionDefects.com.
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