Home › Forums › West Seattle Rants & Raves › RANT – real estate broker Laura Miller, Catalyst Commercial Partners
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September 12, 2009 at 7:37 pm #670316
cjboffoliParticipantJust a quick follow-up…. I’m delighted to report that I received today the payment in full for the court judgment against Laura Miller of Catalyst Commercial Partners. She used every one of her 30 days to pay it.
And ever the gracious professional, she felt the need to write a couple of colorful things on the check. Stay classy Laura Miller.
It is unfortunate that she still seems to have a problem being responsible for her mistake. But I hope that this experience, as documented here on the WSB and elsewhere in the press, with be an instructive lesson for business interests who think they can steal creative works with impunity.
September 12, 2009 at 8:14 pm #670317
JanSParticipantat least we all know who not to hire, huh…she has a ding in her reputation in these parts, for sure. Thanks for the update.
September 12, 2009 at 8:17 pm #670318
JoBParticipantcjboffoli..
i must have missed the part where you got a judgement.. but good for you!
and thanks for letting us know how it turned out.
September 12, 2009 at 8:20 pm #670319
SueParticipantGlad that’s finally over, Christopher! Too funny thought about the “colorful” comments on the check. Makes it all the more pleasurable to cash it, no doubt! :)
September 12, 2009 at 8:23 pm #670320
ErikParticipantFunny how a name can stick in your brain when out and about.
The past couple of weeks I’ve been out window-shopping for commercial space of my own in West Seattle. And when I saw a place with her name listed as the agent I decided not to bother.
Thanks for the heads-up Christopher.
September 12, 2009 at 8:33 pm #670321
cjboffoliParticipantSue: Exactly. Ms. Miller’s monetary atonement is going to buy a lot of tasty Swinery bacon!
Erik: I can’t say I ever paid much notice to commercial real estate before this situation but it seems as though her name is everywhere in West Seattle these days. Since my story hit the press I’ve been approached by real estate agents who have related their own stories of their unfortunate experiences with Laura Miller.
Anyway, I hope you find a great commercial space and that whatever you plan to put in it is a huge success!
September 12, 2009 at 8:35 pm #670322
WSBKeymasterFor anybody else who missed it, the story about Christopher’s judgment was in the main news section last month:
https://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=19784
and received a fair amount of play/linkage around the Web/twittersphere/etc.
We offered Ms. Miller the chance to comment and she declined, as noted in the story.
September 12, 2009 at 9:23 pm #670323
miwsParticipantGlad this has finally come to a conclusion for you Christopher.
It’s not only pathetic that she never owned up to her “mistake”, but that she has continued to act in such and immature, and unprofessional manner.
If it truly *had* been an honest mistake, for example if she was new to the business, or at least new to using the internet in conjunction with such a business, and was like, “wow, I *really* didn’t know”, and paid right up on the damages, and make a very public apology, truly atoning for her actions, I could see the *possibility* of wanting to do business with her, should I need those services. But, considering how this situation has transpired, if I actually *were* in need of that type of service, I *definitely* would not go through her.
Actually, I’d even likely refrain from doing business with Catalyst altogether. It’s one thing to tarnish your own name professionally, but to tarnish the reputation of the company you work for, and possibly in some potential clients eyes the other agents within that company, is another thing altogether.
If I were the owner/manager of Catalyst, I’d seriously consider whether or not I wanted to continue to have her in my employ.
And, *as if* those colorful words would even get under your skin, Christopher.
You’re gonna be laughing all the way to the Swinery! ;-)
Mike
September 12, 2009 at 10:32 pm #670324
JanSParticipantbacon party @ Christopher’s !!! YAY !!!!
September 13, 2009 at 1:47 am #670325
cjboffoliParticipantMike: Well said. Ignoring all opportunities to be responsible and apologize was her biggest mistake (after the actual uploading of the image to a third party and representing it as her own).
But even giving her the benefit of the doubt and accepting her excuse that they “get images for free all the time and don’t know where they come from” I have to wonder this: If you were going to choose a real estate agent with which to list the multi-million dollar sale of your building, would you be comfortable with a real estate agent who is so cavalier about the marketing images used with the listing? I’m not a real estate agent but I’ve seen a lot of listings. And to my eye good photographs are one of the most vital parts of any professional presentation of a property for sale. I would want an agent who put some thought and some budget into presenting the property in the best possible light, not someone who is content with grabbing random images off the web. Ya know?
September 13, 2009 at 6:55 am #670326
grrParticipantexactly. And, if you peruse the Catalyst website and look at the VERY high fees they charge per sq ft for rentals, it’s no wonder you see their sign on a lot of vacant spaces. Boggles my mind how landlords would rather let a place sit vacant month after month after month, rather than reduce the rates a bit to encourage a new business. SOME rent has to be better than none, right??
– Congrats on your award and willingness to NOT just let some use your work.
May 26, 2010 at 8:09 am #670327
FullTiltParticipantI was looking through CL and came across this ad. You would think that once someone was made to pay $1000 for image theft, they would learn. Nope.
May 26, 2010 at 2:06 pm #670328
timeslidParticipant“Getty Images” across the top gives a notion of legitimacy, but if you purchase the image the “Getty” is not on the purchased image. Giving credit without compensation is still theft. Or, maybe the image was purchased and the comp image was used in error.
We know that the image is most likely not an image of the property since it is a stock image. If it is a stock image, why would you broadcast this to your prospective clients?
May 26, 2010 at 4:01 pm #670329
christopherboffoliParticipantConsidering that Laura Miller wrote “jackass” in parentheses after my name on the check for damages that the court ordered her to pay me (not to mention also writing “scam” in the memo line) it is clear that she has no interest in abiding by copyright law. :-)
There is no copyright flag on legally purchased Getty Images. Again, it seems she has simply grabbed an image off the web and illegally reposted it. Personally, if I were trying to sell or lease an expensive piece of real estate I’d hire a commercial real estate agent who would invest a bit more time and effort in the listing than simply grabbing images off the web.
As with my case, what makes her practices even more odious is the fact that the purloined Getty image has a CBA copyright flag on the lower right, meaning that Miller apparently once again clicked a disclaimer statement, fraudulently asserting she had ownership rights to the image.
Someone really needs to take her to Federal court and let her pay REAL damages ($150,000 and up). Maybe then she’ll get the point.
May 26, 2010 at 4:06 pm #670330
GenHillOneParticipantAre you KIDDING me? Who’s the real jackass in this? Getty should definitely give her a call.
May 26, 2010 at 4:09 pm #670331
CarsonParticipantShe is also the listed agent for the new Safeway, needless to say, buyer beware!!
May 26, 2010 at 5:39 pm #670332
FullTiltParticipantJust spoke to Getty Images. They were very interested in her site.
May 26, 2010 at 5:43 pm #670333
christopherboffoliParticipantCarson: I’ve seen her name on listings all over West Seattle! She seems to be a popular commercial agent around these parts. I hope she’s better to her clients than the unfortunate photographers that she apparently seems to constantly be exploiting.
Getty Images is clearly much better capitalized than I am. And I expect they might be even more aggressive about protecting their copyrights.
Justin: Thanks! Someone needs to stop that woman.
PS: That coffee Oreo I had the other night was amazing!
May 26, 2010 at 5:44 pm #670334
christopherboffoliParticipantMay 26, 2010 at 6:03 pm #670335
inactiveMemberThere’s no picture on the CL ad as of two minutes ago.
May 26, 2010 at 6:12 pm #670336
CarsonParticipantI totally missed the thread the first time it was posted. Whats amazing, and it’s no knock on you Chris, but how hard is it to take a picture of a piece of property for sale? Or for that matter, find free pictures of a Bar Scene? She reminds me of RE agents back a few years ago when all they had to do was list a property, field offers and take the 3%!
May 26, 2010 at 6:19 pm #670337
christopherboffoliParticipantCarson: Exactly! While there really is an art to lighting interiors for real estate photography, it would be so easy just to grab an exterior shot (or inexpensive to hire a stringer to do it).
May 26, 2010 at 6:25 pm #670338
CarsonParticipantTotally! To get an exterior street shot is childs play. Every agent I know has a digital camera for just that work. Plus, if you are selling commercial its usually empty space, even less of a need for professional pictures. Must be lazy, to an extreme.
May 26, 2010 at 7:22 pm #670339
sam-cParticipantwith all the talk on this thread (and I’m surprised lessons weren’t learned the first time), I’m wondering if permission was sought from the architect/ artist that did the renderings for Admiral safeway (that are posted on Catalyst Commercial Partners’ website).
I imagine those are copyrighted too, but things like that get reproduced on the internet all the time.
May 26, 2010 at 8:07 pm #670340
FullTiltParticipantAll the photos on the site have changed too. I am guessing they got a call from Getty.
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