Mr. William R Scherer is a lawyer practicing commercial litigation, class actions, land use litigation and 6 other areas of law. William received a B.S. degree from Franklin College of Indiana in 1969, and has been licensed for 53 years. William practices at Conrad & Scherer, LLP in Fort Lauderdale, FL and 3 others locations.
Significant Matters/Cases
Lori Parrish, Broward County Property Appraiser v. Board of County Commissioners, Broward County, Florida, Case No.: 13-023090. Successfully obtained a writ of m
amus on behalf of Broward County Property Appraiser Lori Parrish after the Broward County Board of Commissioners failed to comply with its statutorily m
ated duty to fully fund the first quarter payment of the Property Appraiser’s Fiscal Year 2014 Budget as approved by the Department of Revenue.
Mr. Scherer led his team of attorneys
para-professionals in the representation of a diverse group of plaintiffs seeking recovery of over $225 million in investor losses resulting from a multi-billion dollar structured settlement Ponzi scheme. This nationally publicized case focused on Toronto Dominion Bank’s (TD Bank) role in facilitating this criminal enterprise asserting novel claims that the Bank willfully aided
abetted the Ponzi fraud. After months of litigation, the matter was resolved through settlement resulting in the highest percentage recovery for victims entangled in a Ponzi scheme.
In conjunction with the Rothstein Ponzi scheme civil litigation, Mr. Scherer served as Chairman of the Creditors’ Committee in Rothstein’s law firm’s bankruptcy proceeding from December 2009 through December 2012.
In 2005, Mr. Scherer co-represented a doctor
health care entrepreneur who had purchased HIP of Florida—now Vista Health Plans of Florida—from HIP of New York. Scherer filed a suit on behalf of his client against HIP of New York alleging that HIP hid financial information from his client who had purchased the company for $40 million. Following a 14 week trial,
despite HIP of New York’s countersuit for breach of contract, a jury awarded one of the largest individual verdicts in Broward Circuit Court history. That award included an award of compensatory damages for fraud
the cancellation of a multi-million dollar note to the defendant. Jurors had found liability for punitive
compensatory damages, but before they could determine an award on punitive damages, the case was settled out of court.
Mr. Scherer led his team of attorneys representing President George W. Bush during the historical 2000 vote recount
personally represented the President in the high stakes Broward County recount. Conrad & Scherer’s responsibilities as counsel to President Bush included advising the President on his legal strategy in Broward County
also acting as a key contributor in Bush’s distinguished statewide Florida legal team. In fact, President Bush has praised Conrad & Scherer’s attorneys for their important legal contributions to his success in Florida. The firm’s contribution has also been implicitly recognized in the United States Supreme Court decision of Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000), where the high court freed Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris’s certification of George W. Bush as the winner of Florida’s electoral votes in the 2000 presidential election.
Mr. Scherer led his team of attorneys in defending a client against a third-party government agency’s interference with Broward County’s public bid process, which put at risk an existing five year janitorial services contract for the Fort-Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport totaling approximately $69 million. The firm successfully asserted constitutional due process violations challenging the third-party agency’s involvement in the process
deviation from the County Code
Charter. The firm prepared to file a bid protest
to seek judicial relief for the constitutional violations if a successful political resolution was not reached.
Mr. Scherer led his team of attorneys defending one of the largest mega-yacht marina
shipyards in the US from being over-regulated by a local fire marshal
was able to resolve the matter favorably through the political process
without litigation. The fire marshal had attempted to regulate the shipyard’s spray painting of mega-yachts/large vessels within temporary enclosures – an industry-wide practice already regulated under OSHA. Resolution required multi-government lobbying of the Florida CFO in his capacity as the State Fire Marshal, Broward County Commission, the Broward Board of Rules
Appeals (“BORA”), the City of Fort Lauderdale,
the local Fire Prevention Bureau. If the fire marshal was successful, the impacts to the Tri-County’s multi-billion dollar marine industry would have been devastating. In addition to the government relations aspect of this matter, the firm prepared to seek judicial relief for the constitutional violations if a successful political resolution was not reached.
Successfully enforced a $41 million judgment against a prominent real estate developer by attacking an offshore Nevis trust. Pursued multiple court actions in domestic
international jurisdictions, including the Cayman Isl
s. This was one of the first instances in the U.S. where a U.S. creditor was able to successfully attack a Nevis trust. The case resulted in a settlement of over $44 million for the client.
614 South Federal HighwayFort Lauderdale, FL 33301U.S.A.
Show on mapEdificio Officenter, Suite 304 Avenida Pampite S/N y Chimborazo - CumbayáQuito n/aEcuador
Show on map1600 Steel Creek Rd.Brevard, NC 28712U.S.A.
Show on mapOne Rockefeller Plaza 10th floorNew York, NY 10020U.S.A.
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