New Jersey Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection v. Pace

We agree with the Appellate Division that, generally, the statute of limitations on a claim for conversion of negotiable instruments begins to run from the date the instrument was negotiated. We add the following to clarify the application of that general rule.

In this case, an attorney misappropriated her clients’ funds “by forging their endorsements on settlement checks” and Summit Bank (Summit) “accept[ed] the forged ... checks for deposit.” New Jersey Lawyers’ Fund for Client Prot. v. Pace, 374 N.J.Super. 57, 59, 863 A.2d 402 (App.Div.2005). The New Jersey Lawyers’ Fund for Client…