In Re Gertzman

COZORT, Judge.

Claimants petitioned the superior court seeking to obtain a portion of the funds held by a trustee/conservator appointed to protect the interest of the clients of an attorney who had committed suicide. Claimants had loaned money to the attorney to invest in a corporation. The trial court denied the claimants’ request, holding that claimants were “investors” in a debtor-creditor relationship with the attorney, and not “clients” in a fiduciary relationship customary to the practice of law. We affirm.

Stanley A. Gertzman, attorney at law, was a sole practitioner in Charlotte, North…