Opinion ID: 1802098
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Whether the Howards, as Administrator and Licensee, May Be Held Liable for Breach of Fiduciary Duty.

Text: ¶ 22. Finally, the Howards assert that a fiduciary relationship, as a matter of law, cannot exist between nursing home patients and a nursing home's administrator and licensee based solely on their positions as administrator and licensee. This Court has defined what type of relationship produces one with fiduciary duties: [A] fiduciary duty exists where one person or institution assumes a trust relationship with another, such that the former, as a matter of choice or legal obligation, assumes the responsibility to act in the best interest of the latter, even to the detriment and peril of the best interests of the former. Roman Catholic Diocese v. Morrison, 905 So.2d 1213, 1239 (Miss.2005). As we stated above, a licensee and administrator's duties are owed to their employer and licensing agencies, not to nursing home patients. In Gray v. Beverly Enters. Miss., Inc., 261 F.Supp.2d 652, 662-63 (S.D.Miss.2003), reversed on other grounds by Gray v. Beverly Enters.Miss., Inc., 390 F.3d 400 (5th Cir.2004), the district court stated: If the Court were to find a fiduciary relationship between Plaintiff and [the nursing home licensee and administrators], then a reasonable inference could be made that each and every employee of [the nursing home], from the janitorial staff who cleaned Plaintiff's room to the chief executive officer who established policies and procedures for [the nursing home], owed a fiduciary duty to the Plaintiff. The [nursing home licensee and administrators] were primarily responsible for the management of [the nursing home], a responsibility that typically does not create a fiduciary duty. We find as a matter of law that a fiduciary duty cannot exist simply because of the Howards' roles as licensee and administrator; nor do we find a duty exists otherwise, as the Plaintiffs have failed to state facts giving rise to a fiduciary relationship between the Howards and Plaintiffs. The Plaintiffs provide little information about the relationship between the Howards and the Plaintiffs, other than asserting general claims that by the type of care the Howards and the other defendants were providing, the Plaintiffs and their families held a special confidence and trust which the Defendants accepted.