Judge settles lawsuit accusing lawyer of threatening her with intimate photos to stop deposition
Judiciary
Judge settles suit accusing lawyer of threatening to release her intimate photos in bid to scuttle deposition
September 11, 2024, 10:46 am CDT
A Florida judge has settled her lawsuit against a lawyer she sued for allegedly trying to blackmail her with nude photos chronicling her pregnancy. (Image from Shutterstock)
A Florida judge has settled her lawsuit against a lawyer she sued for allegedly trying to blackmail her with nude photos chronicling her pregnancy.
Lawyers for Judge Marni Bryson of the 15th Judicial Circuit in Florida settled her emotional-distress suit against lawyer William Scherer and his law firm, Conrad & Scherer, their lawyers told a judge during a Zoom hearing Monday. Scherer, in his only comment to the ABA Journal, said that the settlement was confidential. It was reached just weeks before the scheduled trial for September 23. Scherer represented the ex-husband’s then-girlfriend, who was a “powerful lawyer/lobbyist,” according to a March 2021 story by the Florida Bulldog.
According to Bryson, she was told that her nude photos and other damaging information would be released if she insisted on taking a deposition of the then-girlfriend. She sought punitive damages against the defendants.
In an Aug. 13 motion for summary judgment, Scherer had alleged that Bryson presented no evidence of a threat, let alone any “outrageous” threat by an emissary, who was a lawyer who previously advised Bryson.
Scherer’s motion said he met with the lawyer and suggested that Bryson had to know the kind of information that would come out if the then-girlfriend was deposed, so that Bryson could decide whether to proceed. The motion states that the lawyer told Bryson about his conversation with Scherer. The motion states that the evidence that should not be admitted includes “post-divorce arguments,” the people who Bryson sent pictures to, and “such irrelevant questions as who was sleeping who.” The Sept. 9 Zoom hearing was happening to consider Bryson’s motion to exclude evidence.
Oliver M. Birman, a lawyer representing Bryson, chose not to comment to the Journal. Gail A. McQuilkin did not respond immediately to the Journal’s email request for comment. Bryson did no return a phone call seeking comment.
