The respondent, a bookkeeper, made voluntary cash advances to her employer, a law firm experiencing financial difficulties.
The law firm also provided limited legal services to the respondent.
When the firm went bankrupt, the respondent sued for negligence, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty.
The trial judge dismissed the claims, but the Court of Appeal found an ad hoc fiduciary duty based on a power-dependency relationship.
The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal, holding that an ad hoc fiduciary duty requires an undertaking by the fiduciary to act in the best interests of the other party, which was absent here.
The Court also found no breach of duty arising from the limited solicitor-client relationship.
