Profile

Cary W. Miller, Esq. brings 41 years of litigation experience in business, employment, tort, healthcare, professional liability, and class action/mass tort cases. He tried over 100 cases to juries, judges, and arbitrators in his legal practice.

Since 2010, Mr. Miller has been a full-time mediator and arbitrator of healthcare disputes, professional liability claims, employment claims, and business disputes. He has arbitrated over seventy-five cases and served as a mediator in dozens of matters. Mr. Miller also serves as a hearing officer in Judicial Review Hearings and Skelly Appeals.

Areas of Expertise

  • Healthcare Law / Peer Review
  • Professional Liability
  • Employment
  • Business / Commercial Disputes

Legal Background

  • 2011 – 2015 Full-Time Mediator and Arbitrator
  • 2004 – 2011 Hooper Lundy & Bookman, Partner
  • 1996 – 2004 Luce Forward Hamilton & Scripps, LLP, Partner
  • 1975 – 1996 McInnis Fitzgerald Reed Sharkey & McIntyre, Partner

Dispute Resolution Training

  • 2005 AHLA, Arbitration Training Program
  • 2004 Straus Institute – Pepperdine School of Law, Mediation Training

Professional Affiliations & Honors

  • American College of Trial Lawyers (1995-2016)
  • American Board of Trial Advocates, President of San Diego Chapter (1996)
  • Best Lawyers in America (1999-2015)
  • California Society of Healthcare Attorneys, Board of Directors (2008-2010)

Education

  • J.D., University of San Diego School of Law
  • B.A., Southern Methodist University

Representative Cases

Business

  • Mediated a lawsuit for significant property damage as a result of one of
    the massive wildfires in San Diego County.
  • Mediated a dispute between a San Diego biotech firm against a Dallas based company for breach of contract and fraud based upon the
    defendant’s alleged failure to honor the terms of a marketing agreement
    between the parties.
  • Mediated multiple class action lawsuits involving claims of unfair business practices, false advertising and trade secret violations.
  • Arbitrated a dispute between a San Diego company and its Mexican
    franchisee involving breach of contract, trade secrets, unfair competition
    and trade libel. Decision was rendered following a 12-day arbitration.
  • Arbitrated a dispute between a professional group and its insurer. The
    insurer claimed the professional group breached its contractual duty to
    cooperate and the professional group cross-complained for bad faith.
    Decision rendered after an 8-day arbitration.
  • Arbitrated a dispute involving the alleged breach of an insurance
    agreement between a professional group and its professional liability
    carrier. Decision rendered following a 3-day arbitration.
  • Arbitrated a partnership dispute among three partners who engaged in
    the business of buying apartments and converting them into condos. The parties resolved the dispute after 8 days of arbitration and before a
    decision was rendered.

view all

Employment

  • Mediated multiple wrongful termination lawsuits. One such case involved
    the alleged wrongful termination of a former executive of the El Paso,
    Texas subsidiary of a Taiwanese software company.
  • Arbitrated a case brought against a professional college. Plaintiff alleged
    that the college violated the ADA in failing to accommodate her disability
    arising from a diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Decision
    rendered following 4 days of arbitration.
  • Served as the hearing officer in three Skelly appeals brought by employees who had been terminated by their employer.

Healthcare

  • Arbitrated numerous payment disputes between payers and healthcare
    providers.
  • Served as binding arbitrator for a specialty medical group that had a
    deadlocked board of directors. Decisions were made on multiple issues
    over a period of one year.
  • Mediated a shareholder derivative lawsuit involving a specialty medical
    group. The mediation consumed eight sessions. The parties reached a
    settlement that involved the restructuring of the medical group’s board of directors, management team and operations.
  • Arbitrated a case involving a large specialty medical group and its MSO. A Motion for Summary Adjudication was granted on a major issue, after
    which the parties resolved the rest of the case.
  • Mediated multiple product liability lawsuits against medical device
    companies.

    Medical Malpractice

    • Mediated numerous medical malpractice claims brought by patients
      against hospitals, physicians, dentists and other healthcare providers.
    • Arbitrated numerous medical malpractice claims against hospitals,
      physicians, dentists and other healthcare providers.
    • Arbitrated a claim against an ophthalmologist for damages following Lasik surgery. The lawsuit involved claims of professional negligence, fraud and unfair advertising. Decision was rendered following a 10-day arbitration.
    • Arbitrated a claim against a major hospital system which resulted in a $5.4 million award following an 8-day arbitration.

    Peer Review Hearings

    • Mediated 2 peer review matters brought by hospital medical staffs against physicians. Both matters involved recommended termination of medical staff membership and clinical privileges based on quality of care concerns and alleged disruptive conduct.
    • Arbitrated a matter in which the hospital medical staff recommended termination of a physician based on his failure to honor the terms of an agreement made following the rescinding of a summary suspension.
    • Served as the Hearing Officer in 23 Judicial Review Hearings brought against physicians by hospital medical staff and physician groups. These
      matters involved summary suspensions and/or recommended terminations for a variety of reasons, including quality of care concerns, poor surgical technique, disruptive behavior, false billing claims, false applications, and suspected drug addiction or impairment. One case involved the acting chief of staff at the time the corrective action was taken.
    • Served as the Hearing Officer in 5 board appeals from Judicial Review Decisions.