William J. Peterfriend
Managing Partner - Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale
954.761.9900 | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Paralegal:
Rachel Borgman
954.847.2956 | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
"My tenured experience litigating catastrophic injury and fraudulent insurance claims has provided a basis for strategically attacking a system that shouldn’t depend on an adversary's ability to uncover falsehoods."
William J. Peterfriend
Contact
Contact Information
110 S.E. 6th Street
STE 1401
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
Biography
William J. Peterfriend, Esq., serves as the Co-Managing Partner of the Fort Lauderdale office and is a distinguished trial attorney with more than twenty years of experience defending complex insurance and liability matters throughout Florida and New York. Martindale-Hubbell and his peers have rated him AV® Preeminent™. William represents insurers, businesses, property owners, contractors, and commercial entities in high-exposure litigation involving catastrophic injury, wrongful death, fraud investigations, premises liability, construction disputes, and first-party property claims.
William possesses extensive experience litigating fraudulent insurance and medical provider claims, as well as coverage disputes involving complex property losses. His practice further encompasses roadway construction litigation, in which he advises and defends contractors and subcontractors in matters involving traffic control, MOT compliance, signalization, and MUTCD standards.
Renowned for his strategic and assertive defense approach, William has successfully managed matters involving serious bodily injury, retail and hospitality liability, construction-related claims, and special investigations concerning insurance fraud. He is also an approved instructor for Florida Adjuster Continuing Education and regularly delivers presentations on emerging legal and insurance defense issues.
William earned a Bachelor of Arts from Muhlenberg College (1994). He obtained a Juris Doctor from St. Thomas University (1998).
William is admitted to practice in the State of Florida (2002), U.S. District Court for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida and the State of New York (1999). He is the current President for the Florida Defense Lawyers Association. William is also an approved instructor for Florida Adjuster Continuing Education.
Practice Areas
Practice Areas
- Auto & Fleet Liability
- Bad Faith | ECO
- Construction Defect
- Commercial Litigation
- Excess Monitoring and Parachute Trial Team
- First Party Property
- Federal Practice
- General and Retail Liability
- Insurance Coverage
- PIP | PD | MedPay
- Premises Liability
- Product Liability
- Roadway Construction
- SIU | Fraud Special Investigations
- Time & Policy Limit Demands and Tenders
Experience
Martindale Rating
- AV® PreeminentTM
Awards & Honors
- Best Lawyers - Insurance Litigation, 2026
Bar/Court Admission
- 2002, Florida.
- 1999, New York.
- 2002, United States District Court, Southern District of Florida.
- 2008, United States District Court, Middle District of Florida.
Education
- Muhlenberg College, B.A., 1994.
- St. Thomas University, J.D., 1998.
Professional/Civil Memberships
- President and Executive Board of Directors Florida Defense Lawyers Association
Industries Represented
- Insurance Companies
- Third-Party Administrators
- Rental Car Companies
Verdicts
Verdicts
- Plaintiff v. Defendant Specialty Store
- Plaintiff v. Versailles at Wellington Association
- Mary Pravato v. G&H Concrete and Sod. Inc. and Sun. Communities, Inc.
- Joe L. Pressler v. Tower Hill Signature Insurance Company
- George Acevedo v. Fitzgerald Auto Sales and Celia T. Fitzgerald
- Island Roofing & Restoration, LLC a/a/o Timothy and Kathleen Burke v. United Property & Casualty Insurance Company
- Island Roofing & Restoration, LLC a/a/o Betty Hoffman v. United Property & Casualty Insurance Company
- Romeo Hebert v. Robert Boutin and Walks and Decks, Inc.
- Sultan v. Verdes Tropicana, Inc.,
- East Coast Medical Rehab, Inc. a/a/o Reyna Terrero v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company - Final Judgment
- Piloto v. Reyes
- Agenor Saint Cyr v. Jakubowycz
- Rizzo v. J & L Property Management
- Fajo v. Naso
- Garcia v. Rodriguez
- Marshall v. Durand
- Aguilar v. Ortiz and Alvarado
- Gray v. Sunburst Sanitation Corp., Et. Al. - Motion to Dismiss
Presentations
Presentations and Speaking Engagements
- The Gavel Grub Club Webinar Schedule
- Changes to the Rules of Civil Procedure Seminar
- Ensuing Confusion: Navigating the Treacherous Waters of Ensuing Damages
- Expert Series: Rebut with a Billing & Coding Expert
- Worley Line of Cases
- Webinar Florida Case Law Update
- Medical Claims Defense Network- Legal Issues in Social Networking: Seminar Speaker
- Navigating Discovery Issues