Erma L. Miller struck her first blow for disability rights in 1997. She sued Coco's after one of its restaurants refused to serve her when she showed up with an assistance dog.
Coco's settled the case, but Miller was just getting started. The Marriott hotel chain and a string of McDonald's restaurants, among other defendants, would soon feel her wrath.
The 64-year-old Moorpark woman is behind a stack of multimillion-dollar lawsuits accusing business establishments of illegally refusing to accommodate disabled people who use assistance, or service, dogs. Miller and various relatives and associates have filed at least 21 discrimination claims in Los Angeles and San Diego, typically charging hotels, restaurants and others with "despicable" violations of civil rights laws, according to court records.
The targets of these lawsuits deny the charges and say that behind the lofty rhetoric hangs the odor of a scam.
They cite one case in which a federal judge found Miller's tale of outrageous mistreatment to be "totally fabricated" and "nothing more than a sham."
Also raising their suspicions is Miller's practice of providing Rottweilers to other people, who took the dogs to businesses, got bounced and filed lawsuits.
Then there's the involvement of Miller's notorious ex-husband, Lynn Boyd Stites.
Stites is a disbarred lawyer who served a federal prison term for masterminding "the Alliance" insurance fraud scheme, which triggered one of the largest prosecutions of attorneys in U.S. history.
Stites became Miller's co-plaintiff in two disability cases after his release from prison in 2001. He claimed that when Miller and her dog were refused service, he was snubbed too.
But his involvement goes deeper, some defendants say. Good Nite Inns Inc., which recently settled one case, claimed that Stites supplied dogs to people and paid them to visit targeted businesses with the aim of contriving lawsuits. "Stites is the mastermind behind this and a series of other dog discrimination cases which are totally fabricated," according to court papers filed by the company.
Albert Davis, one of those who sued Good Nite Inns, said in a deposition that Stites was a member of the plaintiffs' legal team. Davis' lawyer, Samuel G. Jackson, contradicted his client, telling The Times, "I don't even know what the guy [Stites] looks like." Jackson accused Good Nite Inns in a court filing of trying "to besmirch the parties by spinning a tale" of Stites' involvement.
