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ARTICLE · 23 FEBRUARY 2009

Fiduciary Duties And Commission Income

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
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In a recent British Columbia Supreme Court case, “Longstaff v. Robinson and IPC Investment Corporation”, the plaintiff alleged that his broker had a fiduciary duty to him which had been breached, in addition to breaching contractual and tort duties.

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
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In a recent British Columbia Supreme Court case, Longstaff v. Robinson and IPC Investment Corporation, the plaintiff alleged that his broker had a fiduciary duty to him which had been breached, in addition to breaching contractual and tort duties.

In the spring of 1999, Mr. Robinson (the broker) recommended that Mr. Longstaff (the client) borrow $200,000 in order to leverage his investments. Because of a dramatic downturn in the stock market, Mr. Longstaff suffered financial losses, which he sought to recoup from Mr. Robinson.

Mr. Longstaff argued that Mr. Robinson had breached his fiduciary duties in recommending that Mr. Longstaff switch to a leveraged investing plan. Mr. Longstaff submitted that Mr. Robinson promoted this plan and frightened Mr. Longstaff into borrowing $200,000 for the purpose of purchasing investments so that Mr. Robinson could earn a substantial commission. Mr. Longstaff argued that the advice was motivated by self-interest and was given

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