Opinion ID: 615727
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Fiduciary/Confidential Relationship

Text: Plaintiffs argue that Hannaford owed a fiduciary duty to protect their credit and debit card data, which it breached. Although plaintiffs concede that the basic grocery purchase transaction does not give rise to a fiduciary relationship, they argue that a fiduciary relationship arises in the context of credit and debit card use because the customer trusts the merchant to safeguard her credit or debit card information. We agree with the district court that the plaintiffs' facts do not make out a confidential relationship [4] with Hannaford and so Hannaford did not owe a fiduciary duty. To state a claim for fiduciary duty under Maine law, a plaintiff must: (1) allege the actual placing of trust and confidence in the defendant; (2) show that there is some disparity in the bargaining positions of the parties; and (3) show that the dominant party has abused its position of trust. Leighton v. Fleet Bank of Me., 634 A.2d 453, 457-58 (Me.1993). The plaintiffs' pleading fails to satisfy these three elements. First, the plaintiffs have not shown the trust and confidence contemplated by Maine confidential relationship cases. Under Maine law, a fiduciary relationship has been described as `something approximating business agency, professional relationship, or family tie impelling or inducing the trusting party to relax the care and vigilance ordinarily exercised.' Bryan R. v. Watchtower Bible & Tract Soc. of N.Y., Inc., 738 A.2d 839, 846 (Me.1999) (quoting L.C. v. R.P., 563 N.W.2d 799, 801-02 (N.D. 1997)). Accordingly, Maine decisions typically find a placing of trust and confidence in the context of family relationships, joint ventures, or partnerships. See, e.g., Ruebsamen v. Maddocks, 340 A.2d 31 (Me.1975) (family context); Wood v. White, 123 Me. 139, 122 A. 177 (1923) (joint venture context). The Maine courts have extended the rule to lender/borrower relationships, but only where one party has a relationship which has permitted it to take advantage of the other in order to use or acquire the other's assets. See Stewart v. Machias Sav. Bank, 762 A.2d 44 (Me. 2000). The plaintiffs do not allege such a relationship here; there are no allegations that this relationship was anything other than an ordinary arms-length commercial transaction. Second, the plaintiffs have not pled facts demonstrating disparate bargaining power between the plaintiffs and Hannaford. In the commercial context, the Maine Law Court has required an especially heightened disparity of power. The plaintiffs must allege diminished emotional or physical capacity or ... the letting down of all guards and bars. Stewart, 762 A.2d at 46 (omission in original) (quoting Diversified Foods, Inc. v. First Nat'l Bank of Bos., 605 A.2d 609, 615 (Me.1992)) (internal quotation marks omitted) (holding that a creditor-debtor relationship is not a confidential relationship without a showing of diminished capacity or special vulnerability). Here, the customer is free to use cash or checks, as well as credit or debit cards, to buy groceries. The customer is free to purchase groceries elsewhere. Indeed, plaintiffs fail to distinguish themselves from any other credit or debit card user in any commercial setting. See Bryan R., 738 A.2d at 847 (dismissing a claim for breach of fiduciary duty where, inter alia, plaintiff did not allege that his relationship with the defendant church was distinct from [the defendant church's] relationships with any other members). Third, the plaintiffs fail to allege facts demonstrating that Hannaford abused a position of trust. Under Maine law, breach of fiduciary duty claims typically require a showing that the dominant party used its position of trust to obtain something from the subordinate party, acquiring rights in that [property] antagonistic to the person with whose interests he has become associated. Wood, 122 A. at 179 (quoting Trice v. Comstock, 121 F. 620, 627 (8th Cir. 1903)) (internal quotation mark omitted). As the district court noted, there is no suggestion in the complaint that Hannaford provided anything but a fair exchange in groceries in return for the customers' payments or somehow took advantage of the system of allowing customers to use cards. In re Hannaford, 613 F.Supp.2d at 123.