Opinion ID: 1238266
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Ubi Jus, Ibi Remedium (or For Every Wrong, There is a Remedy)

Text: As law students, we learn that in the law, for every wrong there is a remedy. Because this Court cannot properly give relief by prohibition or mandamus, we cannot untangle the web that has been woven. The fiduciary duties of the Commissioner are of great magnitude, and they are not diminished by our judicial restraint in this case. By declining to grant the requested mandamus, we do not disregard the fiduciary duty; we simply find that the existence of the fiduciary duty in the context of the record presently before us does not compel the conclusion that the Commissioner had a mandatory, non-discretionary duty to continue to pursue the underlying lawsuits. Although this Court has not previously identified precisely the elements of a cause of action for a breach of a fiduciary duty, courts have held that the elements of such a cause of action are the existence of the fiduciary relationship, its breach, and damage proximately caused by that breach. Pierce v. Lyman,, 1 Cal.App.4th 1093, 3 Cal.Rptr.2d 236, 240 (1991). A cause of action for breach of fiduciary duty requires proof of fraud, breach of trust, or an action outside the limits of the fiduciary's authority. Gerdes v. Estate of Cush, 953 F.2d 201, 205 (5th Cir.1992). Thus, there may well be a cause of action for the alleged breach of a fiduciary duty. Such a lawsuit would entail a complete and thorough exposition of the facts at the heart of this issue. The people of West Virginia deserve the facts. They deserve to find out how and why the present and former administrations have spent three and one-half million dollars of their tax money for nothing, and what closed-door meetings and/or deals were held to decide the issues at the heart of this dispute. Will the Commissioner really dismiss these lawsuits without further explanation in view of this fiduciary duty? If he does, will a lawsuit(s) for breach of fiduciary duty be brought against the Commissioner and the Performance Council? Will the people of West Virginia really know the truth? Stay tuned.