Judge rejects call to replace overseers of Huguette Clark’s fortune

NEW YORK — A Manhattan judge on Thursday rejected the request of Huguette Clark's relatives to appoint a guardian for the 104-year-old heiress, saying their claim relies on hearsay. The judge left her affairs in the hands of an attorney and accountant who are being investigated by the New York state district attorney.

Without even hearing the case, Judge Laura Visitación-Lewis of New York County Supreme Court said the relatives' petition was "insufficient in its hearsay, conclusory and speculative assertions" on the capacity of Clark to handle her affairs.

This Associated Press photo, taken Aug. 11, 1930, is the last known image of copper heiress Huguette Clark. She has secreted herself away in a New York hospital room for the past 22 years. The photo is from the day of her divorce, in Reno, Nev. Her marriage lasted two years, and she has no children.