Court boots wrongful termination lawsuit against Lennar exec

A Miami appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a wrongful termination lawsuit filed against Stuart Miller, the executive chairperson of building giant Lennar Corp.

Three years ago, Viviana Santana, a former housekeeper at his Star Island estate, filed a suit that alleged she had been fired after reporting she had been sexually harassed by another household employee. The suit did not allege that Miller, who then held the title of Lennar CEO, engaged in any harassment.

Miller’s legal team denied the claim, saying Santana was fired for poor performance and never reported the supposed harassment to her proper supervisor. Santana claimed that she was harassed daily by a deckhand who reports to the captain of Miller’s boat.

A Miami-Dade circuit judge tossed out the suit. The reason: When she was fired and given severance pay, Santana signed a release form barring any lawsuits. During the lawsuit, Santana claimed she did not properly understand the form.

The Third District Court of Appeals on Wednesday agreed with the judge. “Santana was endowed with a duty to familiarize herself with the contents of the release prior to affixing her signature,” Judge Bronwyn Miller wrote in the opinion.

Miller, the son of Lennar founder Leonard Miller, recently sold one of two of his Star Island properties. In 2018, Stuart Miller stepped down as CEO of Lennar, one of the nation’s largest home builders, after more than two decades in the role. He assumed the new role of “executive chairperson.”

Lawyers for Miller did not return requests for comments on Wednesday afternoon.