Attorney obtained a dismissal at trial in favor of an attorney in a legal malpractice/fraud action brought by a lender against an attorney for the borrower

Attorney obtained a dismissal at trial in favor of an attorney in a legal malpractice/fraud action brought by a lender against an attorney for the borrower. The lender had alleged that the attorney for the borrower made a material misrepresentation about the value of an underlying personal injury case on which the lender relied to make the loan. The lender further alleged that the attorney gave the lender confirmation that the lender would be protected and that the lender would be fully paid back out of the proceeds of the settlement of the underlying personal injury case. When the client passed away, the case was worth less, and the case settled well below the opinion given by the attorney. The court granted the attorney's trial motion finding that the attorney did not owe a duty to the lender under the circumstances because there is no proof that the attorney committed either an actual fraud, a material misrepresentation, or a conspiracy, which proofs are necessary in the state in order to substantiate a claim brought by a non-party against an attorney arising out of a loan transaction in which the attorney represents the borrower.