Opinion ID: 677610
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Civil conspiracy; aiding and abetting breaches of fiduciary duty

Text: 129 The trustees' complaints allege that AY conspired with the FPI and Agretech principals to commit the fraudulent acts comprising the Ponzi scheme. The complaints allege in the alternative that AY aided and abetted these acts. Both causes of action were dismissed without explanation. To the extent the district court based its dismissal on the absence of secondary tort liability in Hawaii, however, it erred. 130 The Restatement (Second) of Torts establishes liability both for conspiring to commit a tort and for aiding and abetting the commission of a tort. 27 The Hawaii courts appear to recognize the existence of liability for conspiracy to commit a tort. See Doleman v. Meiji Mutual Life Ins. Co., 727 F.2d 1480, 1482 n. 3 (9th Cir.1984); Chedester v. Stecker, 643 P.2d 532, 536 (Haw.1982). To assert a conspiracy, the complaints must allege that the FPI and Agretech officers owed a duty to the corporations and that they breached this duty. Doleman, 727 F.2d at 1482 n. 3. Both complaints do so. Therefore, the civil conspiracy allegations properly state a claim and should not have been dismissed. 131 Furthermore, although the Hawaii courts have not addressed whether one may be held liable for aiding and abetting the tortious conduct of another, both the Restatement (as noted above) and the California courts have recognized such liability. Pasadena Unified Sch. Dist. v. Pasadena Fed'n of Teachers, 140 Cal.Rptr. 41, 49 (Cal.App.1977). Hawaii courts will look to both of these sources where Hawaii precedent is lacking. See, e.g., Cunha v. Ward Foods, Inc., 804 F.2d 1418, 1424 (9th Cir.1986) (Hawaii's reliance on Restatement); Locricchio v. Legal Services Corp., 833 F.2d 1352, 1357 (9th Cir.1987) (Hawaii's reliance on California law). Therefore, we conclude that the Hawaii Supreme Court would recognize aiding and abetting liability if faced with the issue, and that the district court should not have dismissed this cause of action.