Deanne L. Miller is a partner in Morgan Lewis's Litigation Practice. Ms. Miller's practice focuses on complex litigation, including product liability, mass tort, and environmental litigation. She defends major corporate clients in high-profile mass tort cases and serves as National Coordinating and Trial Counsel in product liability matters.
Ms. Miller's litigation and trial experience in the product liability, toxic tort, and environmental areas includes the successful resolution of numerous large-scale lawsuits by motion practice, summary judgment, trial, and favorable settlement. She is well versed in case management techniques to effectively and efficiently manage complex, mass tort lawsuits in state and federal trial courts and Courts of Appeal.
For example, Ms. Miller currently serves as National Coordinating and Trial Counsel for a major food ingredient manufacturer in serial product liability matters pending in state and federal courts in multiple jurisdictions throughout the country. She manages all aspects of the litigation, including the development of defense strategies, coordination with local counsel, and implementation of a cost-effective defense across all pending cases. Ms. Miller and the teams she leads have resolved more than a hundred cases through early motion practice and/or summary judgment and have tried two cases to juries within the last year.
Ms. Miller also represents one of the defendants in the high-profile mass tort cases involving Beverly Hills High School initiated by Erin Brockovich and the Baron & Budd law firm. These cases involve the claims of more than 1,000 plaintiffs who allege that chemicals from operations at and around the famous high school have caused them to develop various cancers. Ms. Miller led the defense team and argued motions for summary judgment which successfully excluded plaintiffs' experts and resolved all of the first twelve plaintiffs' claims before trial.
Ms. Miller's mass tort experience also includes a three-month jury trial of 42 toxic tort plaintiffs with Morgan Lewis partner Tom Meador that resulted in a complete defense in favor of her petroleum industry client. In another jury trial, she obtained a defense victory on behalf of her six joint defense clients following presentation of their case in chief. Ms. Miller has also successfully resolved numerous toxic tort cases at their inception by motion to dismiss, including an alleged toxic tort class action pending in the Northern District of California and another alleged class action pending in the District of Nevada.
Ms. Miller represents clients in cases involving air, soil, and groundwater contamination; toxic and chemical exposures; asbestos; pesticides; and other product liability issues. She represents clients in actions involving federal and state environmental statutes such as CERCLA, RCRA, and Proposition 65. She has handled cases involving a wide variety of alleged hazardous substances and chemicals including benzene, hexavalent chromium, petrochemicals, hydrocarbons, and chlorinated solvents, lead paint, dioxins, and asbestos.
Ms. Miller received her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. in 1996, where she received National Moot Court honors. She received her B.A. in history from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1993.
Ms. Miller is a frequent author in litigation, toxic tort, and environmental issues. She is currently coauthoring the 'Toxic Torts' chapter of Matthew Bender & Company's Environmental Law and Practice with Litigation partner James D. Pagliaro.
Ms. Miller is admitted to practice in California.
