A Fayetteville surgeon entered into a fiduciary relationship with his patient-to-be as soon as the patient entrusted the doctor with his confidential medical information, the Supreme Court has ruled. As a result, a divided court refused to enforce an arbitration ...

Tagged with: fiduciary duty

North Carolina does not currently recognize a claim for aiding and abetting a breach of fiduciary duty. But that hasn’t stopped litigants in the state from pushing for the cause of action. The latest attempt came in a case before ...

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Troche v. Bimbo Foods Bakeries Distribution, Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-04-0843, 13 pp.) (Robert Conrad Jr., J.) 3:11-cv-00234; W.D.N.C. Holding: Although the parties’ “independent operator” contract gives defendant discretion to negotiate prices and promotions with chain stores, such discretion creates ...

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The two men behind a private jet charter company that was sanctioned by the North Carolina Business Court for filing a frivolous lawsuit against several of their employees have a litigious – and colorful – history. “They like to sue ...

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As a general rule in North Carolina, lenders typically do not owe a fiduciary duty to borrowers. But the state Court of Appeals has noted an exception to that rule in a case involving a lender that also served as ...

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Poulos v. Poulos (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-15-0570, 12 pp.) (Gregory McGuire, J.) 2015 NCBC 55 Holding: Generally, one member of a limited liability company doesn’t owe a fiduciary duty to another; however, plaintiff is not only a 50 percent owner ...

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Trana Discovery, Inc. v. Southern Research Institute (Lawyers Weekly No. 14-02-1018, 17 pp.) (James Fox, Sr. J.) 5:13-cv-00848; E.D.N.C. Holding: Both parties were sophisticated business entities with a great deal of technical knowledge; defendant did not hold all the cards, ...

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Gerringer v. Pfaff The plaintiff-client’s breach of fiduciary duty claim was essentially a professional malpractice claim; therefore, the trial court appropriately applied the three-year statute of limitation and four-year statute of repose. Since

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Austin Maintenance & Construction, Inc. v. Crowder Construction Co. In a company with 7,000 employees and an annual income between $300 million and $500 million, the foreman of a four-person crew working on a $2 million-per-year contract did not exercise control over the company’s operations and did not owe a fiduciary duty to the company. We affirm summary judgment for defendants.

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Blue Ridge Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, Inc. v. First Colony Healthcare, LLC When the plaintiff-doctors were looking for new office space, the defendant-developer allegedly assured them that the parties had a relationship of trust and confidence and that the developer had the doctors’ best interests at heart. This was not sufficient to create a fiduciary relationship between the parties.

Tagged with: Commercial Lease Corporate fiduciary duty Fraud Landlord/Tenant Real Property Tort/Negligence