Months before his shocking death, real estate mogul Brandon Miller was being sued for more than $100,000 over unpaid rental fees for the high-end furniture in his luxury Manhattan apartment, according to court records.
Miller, who was a managing partner at REEC and was married to popular fashion blogger Candace Miller, died last week in the Hamptons at the age of 43.
The cause of death has not been made public.
The couple and their two young daughters lived a lavish lifestyle, including summering in a $3 million mansion in Southampton, as well as owning a $9 million condo in SoHo and a luxury home on the Upper East Side.
Brandon Miller was sued in Manhattan Supreme Court in April by luxury real estate design firm Interior Marketing Group for $102,730.27, according to the complaint obtained by The Washington Post.
In December 2022, Miller stopped making monthly payments for the company’s furniture rental and styling services at his home at 737 Park Avenue, according to the lawsuit.
Miller also refused to return $64,140.36 worth of furniture, including fixtures, lamps, desks, chairs, bed frames, pillows and artwork, according to legal documents.
After multiple attempts to recover the furniture and demand payment, the company filed suit on April 19.
The case remains unsolved.
An attorney for Interior Marketing Group did not respond to a request for comment. Miller’s legal representation was not disclosed in court documents.
Miller worked in shopping center development and was managing partner of Real Estate Equities Corp., which was founded in 1978 by his late father, Michael Miller.
A graduate of Brown University, he joined his father’s real estate company in 2004 as head of acquisitions and finance, according to REEC’s website.
The company has purchased or developed more than 20 million square feet of real estate across the U.S., including numerous properties in New York City, such as 985 Park Ave., 156 Prince St. and 1228 Madison.
The furniture rental dispute isn’t the first legal headache Miller has faced in recent years.
The 2019 indictment alleged that Brandon Miller’s father, who died in 2016, instructed an assistant to forge his son’s signature on loan documents related to an apartment construction project.
According to court documents reported by The Real Deal, the lawsuit has been settled.
In 2022, TD Bank filed a lawsuit against Brandon Miller, his mother and sister, alleging that they made fraudulent transfers to stop the bank from collecting $2.1 million from his mother.
A third lawsuit, filed last May, alleged that Brandon Miller owed more than $55,000 in back mooring fees at a Hamptons marina.
He died last Wednesday after being reported to have been admitted to hospital in Southampton a few days earlier.
The Southampton Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.
Candace Miller launched the fashion blog Mama + Tata with her sister Jenna Crespi in 2016, is the co-founder of vintage-inspired clothing brand Black Iris, and is the head buyer at Southampton shop Tenet.
She has not commented since her husband’s death.
