emotional distress damages for breach of fiduciary duty california

4th 1041]. 2. Rader v. Thrasher (1962) 57 Cal.2d 244, 250; Oakland Raiders v. National Football League (2005) 131 Cal.App.4th 621, 632; Great Lakes Construction, Inc. v. Burman (2010) 186 Cal.App.4th 1347, 1355. Importantly, where a claimant asserts both a breach of fiduciary duty and a legal malpractice, the breach of fiduciary duty claim may be dismissed if it is based on a breach of the duty of care which is the standard for a legal malpractice. We granted a stay of the trial in this matter and issued an alternative writ to consider whether real party in interest (plaintiff) Kristy Bucher's first amended complaint for legal malpractice sufficiently alleges facts permitting recovery of emotional distress and punitive damages. COMPLAINT FOR: (1) NEGLIGENCE NEGLIGENTINFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS It claimed that the trustee committed multiple breaches of fiduciary duties in failing to provide income to the beneficiaries, intentionally inflicting emotional distress on the beneficiaries, and failing to protect the beneficiaries. Paragraph 11 of the amended complaint states: "As a further direct and proximate result of the representations and course of conduct of the defendants plaintiff was caused to suffer and continues to suffer severe emotional and mental distress ." In paragraph 14, plaintiff declares: "[D]efendants misrepresented and fraudulently concealed the true nature of the representation being afforded by defendants and that plaintiff's legal interests and rights were being protected, when in fact, they were not. However, costs incurred to treat emotional distress, even those due to physical injury, are taxable if they were previously deducted as . Id. A breach of fiduciary duty, however, is not the same as an attorney committing a legal malpractice or other form of professional negligence. Restatement section 133 provides that the forum state applies its own law concerning the burden of persuasion, unless the primary purpose of the relevant rule of the state of the otherwise applicable law is to affect decision of the issue rather than to regulate the conduct of the trial. See also Restatement 122, 127. App. It's time to renew your membership and keep access to free CLE, valuable publications and more. App. (Barbara A. v. John G. (1983) 145 Cal.App.3d 369, 382-383 [193 Cal.Rptr. You're all set! Rptr. For example, constructive fraud is being increasingly asserted, with the lender alleged to be a fiduciary or quasi-fiduciary of the borrower. You're all set! The TAC added an eighth cause of action against Dietrich, for breach of fiduciary duty. [Citations.] 4th 1042] second cause of action defective stating, "the second count's conclusory characterization of defendant's conduct as intentional, willful and fraudulent is a patently insufficient statement of 'oppression, fraud, or malice, ' within the meaning of section 3294. However, emotional distress damages may be recoverable for breach of fiduciary duty claims, such as with a claim for breach of loyalty. App. Oct 29, 1992. At all times relevant to this litigation, Defendant Makemson owed Welch a fiduciary duty. A fiduciary relationship can arise when confidence is reposed by persons in the integrity of others, and if the latter voluntarily accepts or assumes to accept the confidence, he or she may not act so as to take advantage of the others interest without that persons knowledge or consent. attorney's fees in breach of fiduciary duty disputes, such as trust disputes. 709]; Holliday v. Jones (1989) 215 Cal. 122 Get free summaries of new California Court of Appeal opinions delivered to your inbox! Rptr. If forced to proceed to trial on the amended complaint as it stands, petitioners will be required to conduct further discovery on plaintiff's emotional distress claim, and trial will be extended by the introduction of evidence on that issue. In most jurisdictions, the law of the state that has the most significant relationship to the occurrence and the parties under the principles is the substantive law that determines the rights and liabilities of the parties in the breach of fiduciary duty context. The reader should not consider this information to be an invitation to an attorney client relationship, should not rely on information presented here for any purpose, and should always seek the legal advice of counsel in the appropriate jurisdiction. Let a peremptory writ issue directing the superior court to vacate its order on petitioners' motion to strike and enter a new and different order striking plaintiff's allegations and prayer for emotional distress damages, loss of income and punitive damages. (2015) 236 Cal.App.4th 889, 915 (internal citation omitted). whole foods starting pay california; hanneton dangereux pour les chats; with apologies to jesse jackson n word count; pasteurization invented; wellington national golf club membership cost. Petitioners "failed to exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence in undertaking to perform such legal services." He went on to pursue his Law Degree at the University of LaVerne, College of Law in Ontario, California. %PDF-1.5 Assn. (Simon v. Superior Court (1992) 4 Cal. The $50,000 is tax-free, but the $5 million is fully taxable. (3 Cal.App.4th at p. 6 New September 2003; Revised June 2014, December 2014 Directions for Use 8-10.) It is also easier to prove a breach of fiduciary duty as there is no need to prove fraudulent or criminal intent. The State Bar Board of Governors has approved these instructions and authorized their publication and sale. These include: If the plaintiff is less than 18 years old. Fourth Dist., Div. Consequently, plaintiff lost the "fair, reasonable and rightful interest in the community property and assets owing her from her marriage to her former spouse ; payment of excessive, [10 Cal. 3d 363, 373-375 [281 Cal. (Basin Oil Co. v. Baash-Ross Tool Co. (1954) 125 Cal. Contrary to Cross-Defendants' contention, the cross-complaint does allege breach of the duty of loyalty. Last. Christina M. Carroll is an associate at Lynn Pinker Cox & Hurst LLP, in Dallas, Texas. 1154, 1157. Cross-Defendants contend that the breach of fiduciary duty cause of action is duplicative of the professional negligence cause of action. Stanley v. Richmond (1995) 35 Cal.App.4th 1070, 1086. Civil Code section 3294, subdivision (a) provides: "In an action for the breach of an obligation not arising from contract, where it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant has been guilty of oppression, fraud, or malice, the plaintiff, in addition to the actual damages, may recover damages for the sake of example and by way of punishing the defendant." Damages for mental suffering may now [10 Cal. A breach of fiduciary duty happens if a fiduciary behaves in a manner that contradicts their duty, and there are serious legal implications. Defendants Julias Stewart and Stewart-Reed Law Group, Inc. demur to the ninth cause of action for uncertainty and failure to state sufficient facts. 761.) Schubert advised Knutson to swim professionally rather than at Auburn or another university. For those claims, the substantial factor causation standard applies. Solely compensating a plaintiff is inadequate when a defendant has engaged in truly egregious behavior. App. Sign up for our free summaries and get the latest delivered directly to you. Defendants argue that they owed no duty to David Taran (Taran) because he ..aintiff Wholistic Investments, LLC (Wholistic) and that Wholistic was the only client. App. App. Plaintiff had given up a five-year scholarship package to swim for Auburn University when she was enticed by USA Swimmings head coach to swim professionally instead. Plaintiffs alleged that Dietrich improperly put his personal and business relationship with Lass above his duties to the homeowners in approving Lass's project and in failing to control the project, thus subjecting them to the nuisance which resulted. Damage to property. will be able to access it on trellis. Mr. Knez was also a member of the Justice and Immigration Clinic where he worked with people seeking asylum into the United States from countries where they had experienced persecution or threat of persecution. (See Devin v. United Services Auto. In this second in a series of columns about law school rankings, Illinois Law dean Vikram David Amar explains how rankings for law (and medical) schools can benefit from innovations in college sports rankings. Southern California Physicians Insurance Exchange (1998) 63 Cal.App.4th 1049-1050.) ), Also, in Brousseau v. Jarrett, supra, 73 Cal. It is important to bear in mind the role of the conflict of laws in breach of fiduciary duty cases. Budd v. In support of his 3rd Cause of Action for Professional Negligence and his 4th Cause of Action for Breach of Fiduciary Duty, plaintiff incorporates his allegations in paragraphs 5 and 17 that defendants answer for plaintiff on his 2003 insurance application, that plaintiff had not been treated for an eye disorder, was accurate and reasonable. (Slip opn., p. a third partys breach of fiduciary duties owed to plaintiff; defendants actual knowledge of that breach of fiduciary duties; substantial assistance or encouragement by defendant to the third partys breach; and, defendants conduct was a substantial factor in causing harm to plaintiff.. at pp. ), Applying the factors listed in Rowland v. Christian (1968) 69 Cal. (Burgess v. Superior Court (1992) 2 Cal. [] The closeness of the connection between the defendants' conduct and the injury suffered is problematic. 1985) Extraordinary Writs, 105, p. The Court overrules the demurrer of defendants Dennis Gene Merenbach and Merenbach Law to the second cause of action for breach of fiduciary duty in the first amended complaint of p ..DeSoto, temporary conservator of the estate of plaintiff Laureen Marie Parker. Adding your team is easy in the "Manage Company Users" tab. Furthermore, petitioners argue the question of whether a plaintiff may recover emotional distress damages in a negligence action where he or she has suffered only economic injury is a question of widespread public importance. Nature of Proceedings: Demurrer/Motion to Strike Demurrer and Motion to Strike Attorneys: For Plaintiff: Timothy D. McGonigle (Los Angeles) For Defendants: Amanda M. Moghaddam (Nemecek & Cole Sherman Oaks) Ruling: 1. 2d 425; Jarchow v. Transamerica Title Ins. The mere carelessness or ignorance of the defendant does not justify the imposition of punitive damages. Scott v. Phoenix Schools, Inc., 175 Cal.App.4th 702, 715-716 (2009) (internal quotation and citations omitted). That is particularly true in family law matters. 7 In effort of demonstrating that a violation has occurred, the claimant may need to provide expert testimony. The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of the American Bar Association, the Section of Litigation, this committee, or the employer(s) of the author(s). 480, 510 P.2d 1032]; Crisci v. Security Ins. Rptr. Recovery for Emotional Distress Damages in Attorney Malpractice A Published by Scholar Commons, 1994. 2d 363, 370 [217 P.2d 951]; Hogya v. Superior Court (1977) 75 Cal. Plaintiffs are correct that other facts and circumstances may potentially support an attorney-client relationship but these are not pleaded. Phone: (951) 742-7681 FN 2. [Citations.]" When it comes to the statute of limitations in California there are certain exceptions. Assessing the damages available for a claim for breach of fiduciary duty requires that a litigant carefully consider the question of which state's law will apply to a breach of fiduciary duty claim. 2-21-23 Complaint - Civil Complaint filed February 21, 2023. (Cross-Complaint, 26-29.) Slovensky v. Friedman (2006) 142 Cal.App.4th 1518, 1534; Pierce v. Lyman (1991) 1 Cal.App.4th 1093, 11011102. Cable v. Bowlus8 is perhaps the ear- liest American case specifically addressing the issue. Evid. This means that the investigation, and eventually the legal conclusion, will be contingent on the facts and circumstances of each case. (3 Cal.App.4th at p. The burden to the defendant of avoiding malpractice is of no moment since that burden has already been imposed. ", In G. D. Searle & Co. v. Superior Court (1975) 49 Cal. Code Ann. But the claim of affirmative wrongdoing is merely a conclusion unsupported by any factual allegations. Makemson's reckless breach of her fiduciary duty to Welch. When both plaintiffs complained, the supervisors refused to investigate the incident and retaliated by creating a hostile work environment. 3d 102, 112-119 [264 Cal. 2.). After the head coach was fired, USA Swimming refused to honor the oral agreement and plaintiff retained an attorney, Foster, to attempt to get them to honor the agreement. Thus, [t]he law selected by application of the rule of [Restatement section] 145 determines the measure of damages. Restatement 171. Plaintiff's first amended complaint does not satisfy these requirements. Thus, sufficient facts were alleged to support the request for punitive damages. 1289.) Emotional distress refers to mental suffering as an emotional response to an experience that arises from the effect or memory of a particular event, occurrence, pattern of events or condition. App. 4th 1039] incremental liability for these damages are the additional costs of doing business as a lawyer and the benefits of socialization of the risk of emotional injury. 2d 263]; Branch v. Homefed Bank, supra, 6 Cal.App.4th at p. (Slip opn., pp. The Court of Appeal noted, "No California case has allowed recovery for emotional distress arising solely out of property damage, absent a threshold showing of some preexisting relationship or intentional tort." 3d 122, 128 [142 Cal. Although this may be true in theory, damages must be identified and quantified, and Shahinian has never done so. Nonetheless, "It is a fundamental principle of the law of damages that the compensation received shall be commensurate with the injury, and no more. " (Id. Petitioners' purported negligence clearly affected plaintiff. Matter Demurrer and Motion to Strike Portions of First Amended Complaint The availability of emotional distress damages for breach of an employment contract has been subject to much scholarly debate. Foster did not disclose to Knutson his close personal ties to the aquatics world, or that he had long-time relationships with USA Swimming, and other swimming organizations. when new changes related to " are available. FRITSCH VS. NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL LIFE INS. 2 years from the date of injury. Co. (2015) 239 Cal.App.4th 1088, 1114; see also Apollo Capital Fund LLC v. Roth Capital Partners, LLC (2007) 158 Cal.App.4th 226, 244. Rptr. As Merenda noted, the closeness between plaintiff's alleged emotional injury and petitioners' conduct is problematic since all litigation creates a certain amount of anguish. 98, 770 P.2d 278]; Molien v. Kaiser Foundation Hospitals (1980) 27 Cal. endobj fn. B Motion for Summary Judgment and/or Adjudication DENIED We have notified your account executive who will contact you shortly. Your membership has expired - last chance for uninterrupted access to free CLE and other benefits. Procedure (3d ed. In other words, the state law controlling the determination of the breach of fiduciary duty will be the state has the most significant relationship to the specific claim for breach of fiduciary duty rather than the entire case. For example, personal injury accidents, wrongful death, assault, battery, intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress, wrongful act, or negligent act, etc. The demurrer to the cause of action for breach of fiduciary duty is likewise sustained with leave to amend. Laureen Marie Parker vs Dennis Gene Merenbach et al, Herold vs. Hom Sothebys International Realty, damage proximately caused by the breach.. (McDaniel v. Gile (1991) 230 Cal. (Superior Court of Orange County, No. % Claims of fraudulent concealment and intentional breach of fiduciary duty by a client against his or her attorney are subject to the substantial factor causation standard; and where the plaintiffs emotional distress consisted of anxiety, shame, a sense of betrayal, and a continuing impact on personal relationships, plaintiff's testimony alone was sufficient to support emotional distress damages. Disclaimer: Justia Annotations is a forum for attorneys to summarize, comment on, and analyze case law published on our site. The plaintiff suffers from emotional distress (such as grief, shame, humiliation, worry, etc.) . Whether the defendant breached that duty towards the plaintiff is a question of fact. Marzec v. Public Employees Retirement Sys. Knutson testified that Foster never told her that he represented Schubert or that he declined to represent Schubert against USA Swimming because he felt there was a conflict of interest due to his relationships with people within USA Swimming. at p. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or downloaded or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association. 4th 1064, 1074, 1077 [9 Cal. CCP . Petitioners John H. Smith III, an attorney, and the law firm of Carpello, Wishart, Hall & Smith have petitioned for a writ of mandate to set aside a superior court order denying part of their motion to strike portions of a complaint. Under Civil Code section 3333, "For the breach of an obligation not arising from contract, the measure of damages, except where otherwise expressly provided by this Code, is the amount which will compensate for all the detriment proximately caused thereby, whether it could have been anticipated or not." Your IP: The defendants' conduct was intentional, knowing, malicious, fraudulent, false and deceitful. 9 west covina police scanner; private transportation from nassau airport to baha mar; what authority cannot issue a medical waiver for the physical readiness . a breach of fiduciary duty is a species of tort distinct from a cause of action for professional negligence. at a higher-than-normal level as a result of the defendant's behavior and/or actions. Rptr. Extreme and Outrageous Conduct Emotional Distress ( Word ; PDF) Chapter 24. In addition, the ability of a party to recover emotional distress damages in negligence actions involving only economic injury is an issue of great public importance and requires immediate resolution. Case No. The pressure and stress of the deal she ultimately agreed to reactivated a prior eating disorder and eventually plaintiff retired from the sport. He orally promised her support to train at a Center for Excellence formed by USA Swimming in Fullerton, California, including room, board, tuition, and a stipend until she earned her degree. This means that the claimant has only a small window of time to file a claim in order for the case to be heard. 743. The trial court also granted a new trial on the jury's award of $400,000 for noneconomic damages on the grounds the damages were excessive. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. Arguably, damages affect the outcome of the case and are substantive law. App. Judge Colleen K. Sterne Punitive damages are normally not awarded in the context of a breach of contract claim. 325].) at p. " (3 Cal.App.4th at pp. 831, 616 P.2d 813, 16 A.L.R.4th 518]. 2 0 obj 798.) Cotkin & Collins, William D. Naeve, Philip S. Gutierrez, Jeffrey L. Garland and Amy E. Abdo for Petitioners. Carroll and Radys were represented by attorney Kevin Gerry in the Underlying Action. Such consideration is particularly important where, for example, a case is governed by a states laws that treat attorney fees as procedural but is tried in the forum state that treats attorney fees as substantive law. Rptr. Practice Guide: Family Law I (The Rutter Group 1992).). App. (Slip opn., p. 4 Her first amended complaint contains one cause of action entitled "Negligence-Legal Malpractice." Foster did not disclose his close ties to USA Swimming or his previous representation of the head coach who had made the oral agreement. x[k1?jy4V2@MB>>vuL&aa=sp:`\OGY ADK"!]+ zce#,\L'0#}C&ajQAG8@=O?-F9}q]Z,,eyh`PB4ncXkGjN}r6=\rj#V*&5h&eMjv_) Vd;2:AtHd &YZM+6&)xg. In legal terms, this is known as "tolling" and is essentially just a delay. Suppose you are injured in a car crash and receive $50,000 in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. A breach of fiduciary duty is a species of tort distinct from a cause of action for professional negligence. However, a breach of fiduciary duty will carry a separate tort and will also implicate different remedies than what is typically required for legal malpractice cases so long as the claim is based on one of the fiduciary duties owing to the client beyond a breach of a duty of care. The breach of fiduciary duty claim is not duplicative of the legal malpractice claim. Salahutdin v. Valley of California, Inc. (1994) 24 Cal.App.4th 555, 563; see also Federal Deposit Ins. Handling Breach of Duty Claims Our attorneys collectively have decades of experience in handling claims for breach of fiduciary duty and corresponding damages claims. breach of a written buy-sell agreement ("the Buy-Sell Agreement") according to which Plaintiff was supposed to sell his shares of SBI to SBI if the later chose, claiming that it chose to buy but Plaintiff then refused to sell as agreed; 2) breach of fiduciary duty by using corporate Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. He attached to the demand letter a copy of the draft complaint with claims for embezzlement, breach of fiduciary duty, and conversion. On May 15, 2018, Plaintiff filed the operative Complaint alleging causes of action for (1) fraud, (2) breach of fiduciary duty, (3) negligence, (4) fraud, (5) breach of fiduciary duty, (6) professional negligence, (7) civil conspiracy to defraud, (8) professional negligence, (9) professional negligence, (10) negligence, and (11) negligence. 872.). Said acts and omissions were undertaken with a conscious and knowing disregard of the interests and rights of plaintiff and to benefit the defendants financially, and were part and parcel of a scheme and plan to defraud plaintiff. Punitive damages and interest are always taxable, even if your injuries are 100 percent physical. Rptr. The sixth cause of action for civil conspiracy in the proposed second amended complaint appended to the petition, fails to allege a valid cause of action for civil conspiracy to breach fiduciary duty. You already receive all suggested Justia Opinion Summary Newsletters. This means that a party in a position of trust, such as a director, agent or broker, failed the duty to act solely in the best . 17-18.) ( Bus. See . 3 Lopez & Hodes and Michael E. Raabe for Real Party in Interest. The materials on this Web site are not intended to be, nor should they be interpreted as, legal advice or opinion. Defendants' conduct was thus such as to constitute oppression, fraud or malice ." The pleading seeks general and special damages including damages for emotional distress, loss of income, attorney fees and punitive damages. COUNT III: INTENTIONAL BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY 33. Your subscription was successfully upgraded. FN 1. Cooper v. Superior Court, supra, 153 Cal. Sign up for our free summaries and get the latest delivered directly to you. The court noted that, prior to the enactment of the bad faith statute, breach of a health insurance contract gave rise already to contract damages and attorney's fees. See e.g. Accessing Verdicts requires a change to your plan. 4th 1036] unnecessary and unwarranted attorney's fees and court costs; loss of interest in banking accounts, businesses, and such other assets to which she was rightfully entitled by way of her legal rights and causes of action involved in the underlying marriage dissolution action .". Plaintiff's reliance on Monge v. Superior Court (1986) 176 Cal. App. A few months after Knutson moved to Fullerton, Schuberts employment was terminated by USA Swimming. If this case is complex under rule 3.400 et seq. See also Crisci v. Security Ins. The Court held: (1) claims of fraudulent concealment and intentional breach of fiduciary duty by a client against his or her attorney are subject to the substantial factor causation standard, not the "but for" or "trial within a trial" causation standard employed in cases of legal malpractice based on negligence; and (2) where the plaintiff's You can always see your envelopes " (Id. Defendants object that the employee handbook itself states that it is does not create a contract, and Plaintiff does not allege any other term of contract. The principal consequences to the community of imposing an [10 Cal. The complaint alleges the following causes of action: 1) Sexual Harassment in Defined Relationship; 2) Sexual Battery; 3) Ralph Act - Gender Violence; 4) Professional Negligence; 5) Breach of Fiduciary Duty; and 6) Fraud/Concealment. This may result in one states law applying to breach of fiduciary duty and another states law applying to other claims in the case. Proc., [10 Cal. Your content views addon has successfully been added. For instance, in a legal malpractice claim, emotional distress damages generally are not recoverable except in extraordinary circumstances. 448]; Betts v. Allstate Ins. Intentional Interference With Contractual Obligations ( Word ; PDF) Chapter 25. The damages a terminated employee may recover for a wrongful discharge lawsuit in California depend on the case. In Texas, establishing the breach of fiduciary duty elements is contingent upon the existence of a fiduciary relationship. 528]; Annot., Measure and Elements of Damages Recoverable for Attorney's Negligence in Preparing or Conducting Litigation-Twentieth Century Cases (1991) 90 A.L.R.4th 1033, 1040, 1060-1062, 1084-1086.) Symptoms of emotional distress may include : Depression Anxiety Shame or guilt Insomnia or nightmares Flashbacks Fatigue Chronic headaches Weight gain or loss Uncontrollable crying. This case is also on the courts 8:30 Case Management Calendar. Also, where a plaintiff sufficiently alleges intentional or affirmative misconduct by an attorney or noneconomic injury resulting from an attorney's professional negligence, recovery of emotional distress damages is permitted. A fiduciary duty arose between Mr. Runyon (and arguably Mr. Ruyon's community property estate) by virtue of respondent's . But generally, they will include one or more of the following: Lost wages and benefits; Back pay and wages; Compensation for emotional distress / pain and suffering arising from the loss of the job; Attorney's fees; and/or (Id. The case concerns allegations of professional negligence, as well as claims for sexual misconduct. App. All rights reserved. Rptr. [Citations.] Nature of Proceedings: Demurrer and Motion to Strike Petitioners moved to strike the allegations seeking recovery for: (1) excessive litigation expenses paid to petitioners; (2) emotional distress; (3) loss of income; (4) punitive damages; and (5) attorney fees and costs. Rptr. Fifth COA (Breach of Fiduciary Duty): The Cross-Complaint adequately alleges facts to support a cause of action for breach of fiduciary duty. Anxiety, depression, loss of ability to perform tasks, or physical illness). [] (3) 'Fraud' means an intentional misrepresentation, deceit, or concealment of a material fact known to the defendant with the intention on the part of the defendant of thereby depriving a person of property or legal rights or otherwise causing injury. Your credits were successfully purchased. See Jahn v. Brickey, 168 Cal. When the plaintiff alleges an intentional wrong, a prayer for exemplary damage may be supported by pleading that the wrong was committed willfully or with a design to injure. 4 0 obj The damages for a claim of negligent infliction of emotional distress are calculated by how much suffering a tenant endured. 10. Therefore, you must research your own state laws to check which ones apply to you as a board member. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the trustee on all of the claims in the petition. The defendant hurts you with or without intending to hurt you. Element #1: Fiduciary Duty. Co. (1984) 154 Cal. Riverside, CA 92501 4th 1038] be recovered in the absence of either physical injury or impact. A breach of fiduciary duty and legal malpractice both fall under the capacity of tort law. The elements of a claim for aiding and abetting a breach of fiduciary duty are: Nasrawi v. Buck Consultants, LLC (2014) 231 Cal.App.4th 328, 343; see also, American Master Lease, LLC v. Idanta Partners, Ltd. (2014) 225 Cal.App.4th 1451, 1477-1478 (where the defendant has actual knowledge of the fiduciary duties one person owes to another and provides the fiduciary with substantial assistance in breaching those duties, the defendant can be held liable for aiding and abetting a breach of fiduciary duty even though the defendant did not owe a fiduciary duty to the plaintiff). Not all states have the same law as California, though. Negligent infliction of emotional distress is a legal cause of action which allows an individual to seek compensation for mental or emotional harm caused by another person's reckless or negligent behavior.