In a significant opinion, disguised by its concise length, a United States District Judge has denied a Motion to Dismiss filed by Optimum Title, LLC against a Claim of Fiduciary Breach by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The identities of the Defendant and of the Plaintiff are irrelevant to the outcome in this case.
The Defendant argued that the Fiduciary Breach Claim filed against it should be dismissed because of the Economic Loss Rule. The Court disagreed. The Economic Loss Rule in Florida does not bar a Fiduciary Breach Claim alleged in the same Complaint with a Breach of Contract Claim:
Because a claim for breach of fiduciary duty addresses the breach of a duty imposed by law for reasons that serve the public and enforce public policy but a claim for breach of contract addresses the breach of a duty imposed by a discrete contract for reasons serving the interest of the contracting parties, the plaintiff properly maintains each claim. The motion (Doc. 10) is DENIED.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. v. Optimum Title, LLC, Download Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. v. Optimum Title, LLC (M.D. Fla. Case No. 8.10cv1486, Order Filed October 15, 2010) PUBLIC ACCESS, also published as 2010 WL 4674427 *1 (M.D. Fla. October 15, 2010)(authorized password required to access Westlaw).
Note from Westlaw to the Westlaw publication of this Order: "This decision was reviewed by West editorial staff and not assigned editorial enhancements."
Fiduciary Duties of Liability Insurance Companies are analyzed along with hundreds of decided cases in §§ 3:26-3:30 by Dennis J. Wall, "Litigation and Prevention of Insurer Bad Faith" (Shepard's/McGraw-Hill Second Edition, West Publishing Company 2010 Supplement), and Fiduciary Duties in First-Party Insurance Cases are analyzed in § 9:8, id.
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