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1. Plaintiff and Defendant share a confidential or fiduciary relationship;
2. Defendant abused the relationship, or took unconscionable advantage of Plaintiff; and
3. Plaintiff suffered damages as a result.

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1. Plaintiff and Defendant share a confidential or fiduciary relationship;
2. Defendant abused the relationship, or took unconscionable advantage of Plaintiff; and
3. Plaintiff suffered damages as a result.

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FLORIDA STATE COURTS

Supreme Court: Douglas v. Ogle, 80 Fla. 42, 45 (Fla. 1920).

First District: First Union Nat’l Bank v. Turney, 824 So.2d 172, 191 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001); Taylor v. Kenco Chem. & Mfg. Corp., 465 So. 2d 581, 589 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985).

Second District: Halkey-Roberts Corp. v. Mackal, 641 So. 2d 445, 447 (Fla. 2d DCA1994).

Third District: Levy v. Levy, 862 So. 2d 48, 53 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003).

Fourth District: Niles v. Mallardi, 828 So. 2d 1076, 1078 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002).

Fifth District: Wishinsky v. Choufani, 278 So.3d 803, 804-05 (Fla. 5th DCA 2019); Beers v. Beers, 724 So. 2d 109, 116 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998).

FLORIDA FEDERAL COURTS

Eleventh Circuit: SFM Holdings, Ltd. v. Banc of America Securities, LLC, 764 F.3d 1327, 1339 (11th Cir. 2014); Servicios de Almacen Fiscal Zona Franca Y Mandatos S.A. v. Ryder Int’l, 264 Fed. Appx. 878, 881 (11th Cir. 2008).

Southern District: Conley v. Vacanti, No. 23-CV-60384-AHS, 2025 WL 1042239, at *16 (S.D. Fla. Mar. 3, 2025);Regions Bank v. NBV Loan Acquisition Member LLC, 2022 WL 1499942, *9 (S.D. Fla. May 12, 2022) ;  Feng v. Walsh, 2021 WL 8055449, *11 (S.D. Fla. Dec. 21, 2021); Kleiman v. Wright, 2021 WL 5447110, *8 (S.D. Fla. Nov. 22, 2021).

Middle District: Rutstein v. Viva 5 Group, LLC, 766 F. Supp. 3d 1189, 1198 (M.D. Fla. 2025); Chunghong Jia v. Boardwalk Fresh Burgers & Fries, Inc., 2021 WL 3493313, *12 (M.D. Fla. Aug. 9, 2021); Kraz, LLC v. Branch Banking & Trust Co., 570 B.R. 389, 407 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2017); Craig v. Kropp, No. 2:17-cv-180-FtM-99CM, 2017 WL 2506386, at *4 (M.D. Fla. June 9, 2017).

Northern District: Marine Solutions, LLC v. Gulf Coast Aggregates, LLC, No. 4:16cv482-RH/CAS, 2017 WL 72399, at *2 (N.D. Fla. Jan. 6, 2017); Kelly v. Regions Bank, No. 3:11cv252-MCP/EMT, 2013 WL 5436674, at *7 N.D. Fla. Sept. 27, 2013).

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2 Defenses to Claim for Fraud – Constructive

(1) Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.110(d) (pleading affirmative defenses), and other standard defenses. See § 1.

(2) Statute of Limitations: § 95.11(3)(j), Fla. Stat. (four years); Saadi v. Pierre a Maroun, No. 8:07-cv-1976-T-24JSS, 2020 WL 1894351, at *5 (M.D. Fla. January 3, 2020);  see also Fla. Stat. § 95.031(2)(a) (An action founded upon fraud under § 95.11(3), including constructive fraud . . . must be begun within 12 years after the date of the commission of the alleged fraud); Kinchla v. Ran Investments, LLC, 397 So. 3d 1064, 1068 (Fla. 6th DCA 2024)(“for ‘[a]n action founded upon fraud under § 95.11(3), including constructive fraud… the limitations period runs from the date that the factual bases for the claim was discovered or should have been discovered.’ § 95.031(2)(a), (b).”)

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(3) Marital Relationship: “[O]ne spouse may not be sued by the other in tort for a breach of this confidential relationship which results in a loss of marital property, in the absence of a distinct agreement or transaction between the spouses.” Beers v. Beers, 724 So. 2d 109, 117 (Fla./ 5th DCA 1998).

(4) Assignment of Fiduciary Duty: “Fiduciaries are generally not able to avoid the negligent performance of their own special responsibilities by handing them off to someone else.” Morgan Stanley DW, Inc. v. Halliday, 873 So. 2d 400, 403-04 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004).

(5) Intent to Deceive: “Constructive fraud is possible even in the absence of an intent to deceive.” First Union Nat’l Bank v. Turney, 824 So. 2d 172, 191 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001); Carbiener v. Lender Processing Services, Inc., No. 3:13–cv–970–J–39PDB, 2014 WL 12610224, at *16 (M.D. Fla. July 16, 2014).

(6) When the parties are dealing at arm’s length, a fiduciary relationship does not exist because there is no duty imposed on either party to protect or benefit the other. See Servicios de Almacen Fiscal Zona Franca Y Mandatos S.A. v. Ryder Int’l, 264 Fed. Appx. 878, 881 (11th Cir. 2008); Kraz, LLC v. Branch Banking & Trust Co., 570 B.R. 389, 407 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2017).

(7) A plaintiff may assert a claim for fraud and breach of contract where the claim for fraudulent inducement is based on facts separate and distinct from the breach of contract claim and such tort (e.g., a species of fraud or negligent misrepresentation) is committed independently of the breach of contract. E.g., Tiara Condominium Assoc.’n, Inc. v. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., 110 So.3d 399, 402-403 (Fla. 2013).

(8) “It is a fundamental, long-standing common law principle that a plaintiff may not recover in tort for a contract dispute unless the tort is independent of any breach of contract.” Island Travel & Tours, Ltd., Co. v. MYR Independent, Inc., 300 So.3d 1236, 1239 (Fla. 3d DCA 2020) citing Peebles v. Puig, 223 So.3d 1065, 1068 (Fla. 3d DCA 2017).

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