Publication
2025 Annual Litigation Trends Survey
Norton Rose Fulbright has released its 2025 Annual Litigation Trends Survey, analyzing litigation trends across the legal landscape.
Commercial division update – Fiduciary duties arising from close personal relationships
It is well-settled in New York that a fiduciary relationship arises between two persons when one of them is under a duty to act for, or to give advice for the benefit of another, upon matters within the scope of the relation. Roni LLC v. Arfa, 18 N.Y.3d 846 (2011). Oftentimes, a fiduciary relationship arises out of a formal agreement between the parties. Classic examples include relationships between attorneys and their clients, physicians and their patients, and corporate directors and their corporations.
New York courts have also acknowledged, however, that a fiduciary relationship can be created informally under "special circumstances." These informal relationships require a much more fact-intensive analysis by the courts to determine if the parties owe certain fiduciary duties to one another. Recently, the Commercial Division has grappled with the question of whether a close friendship could be the kind of special circumstances that can give rise to fiduciary duties.
Co-Head of Litigation and Disputes, New York
Email
thomas.hall@nortonrosefulbright.com
Recent publications
Publication
Sault Dock, take two (and three): Ontario Court of Appeal clarifies its clarification of leave to appeal test
In late December 2024, the Ontario Court of Appeal clarified the applicable test for leave to appeal from the province’s Divisional Court, which the Court of Appeal had only recently discussed at length earlier that month.
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