M. William Scherer

M. William Scherer represents national and regional retailers, shopping center developers, family business owners, and real estate investors. Bill divides his practice among specialized real estate litigation issues, real estate development, and retail leasing, and acts as de facto outside general real estate counsel for clients.

After law school, Bill served as a law clerk to The Honorable John J. Gibbons who was at the time an appellate judge in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

• Established leading precedent in the New York Court of Appeals for important rule of contract interpretation.
• Obtained reinstatement of a complaint by the U.S. Court of Appeals of a RICO claim arising from misrepresentations regarding the environmental condition of development property.
• Established the only New York appellate precedent requiring a major American retailer to depart from company-wide insurance program and provide first-dollar coverage for both liability and property damage claims.
• Obtained negotiated settlements in favor of owners that avoided refusals by various bankruptcy courts to approve lease assignments from bankrupt major retailers.
• Developed the strategy and prosecuted litigation that resulted in a major American retailer being able to open a store directly adjacent to a competitor’s store and use the competitor’s parking located on adjacent property.