Opinion ID: 2123601
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Charles Peterson

Text: Charles Peterson is a thoracic surgeon. He met Lurie in 1971, when, on the recommendation of friends he called Lurie for investment advice. At the time, Peterson was participating in some limited partnerships for the purpose of sheltering income from taxation and was concerned because with regard to one of the limited partnerships he had been asked to contribute an additional $5,000. Lurie advised Peterson to consult a lawyer on the matter and liquidated the investments for him. Lurie became Peterson's tax accountant. He called Peterson in the spring or summer of 1971 and suggested Stone House to him as a tax shelter. Peterson testified that he reminded Lurie of his previous difficulties with tax shelters and asked Lurie what was the worst possible thing that could happen as a result of an investment in Stone House. He described Lurie's response: He said that there was no risk involved. He said that  he said that the most you could lose if we had a major depression  and the words that he used  If the country went to hell, the most that you could lose is your $40,000, but don't worry about that because the benefits that you would receive from entering into this investment would exceed the losses that you would have if you lost the $40,000. Peterson received the partnership agreement in the mail, signed it, and returned it to Lurie's office without reading it. Peterson testified that he would not have invested in Stone House if he had known that his liability could exceed the amount of his capital contribution. He also stated that he would have known this if he had read the partnership agreement.