In most cases in which a plaintiff brings a lawsuit — whether it be for breach of trust or even a personal injury claim — the plaintiff must prove causation. In other words, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant’s improper conduct actually caused cognizable harm to the plaintiff. In certain circumstances, like medical malpractice…
Legal Articles
Breach of Fiduciary Duty/Trust, Causation, Trustee Discretion
Breach of trust is a type of breach of fiduciary duty. “To prevail on a breach of fiduciary duty, a plaintiff must show: (1) the existence of a fiduciary duty; (2) a breach of that fiduciary duty; (3) causation; and (4) harm.” Matter of Wilma G. James Trust, 487 S.W.3d 37 (Mo. Ct. App. 2016)….
Breach of Trust: Causation and Damages
To succeed on a breach of trust claim, a plaintiff must prove (1) the existence of a fiduciary duty, (2) breach of the duty, (3) causation and (4) harm. Brown v. Brown 530 S.W.3d 35, 41 (Mo. Ct. App. 2017). Causation and damages cannot rest upon “guesswork, conjecture or speculation beyond inferences that can reasonably…
Ghost Tortfeasor/Non-Party Liability, Negligence
A negligence case generally requires that a plaintiff prove a (1) legal duty on the part of the defendant to conform to a certain standard of conduct, (2) a breach of the duty, (3) proximate cause between the conduct and the resulting injury and (4) damages. Hoover’s Dairy, Inc. v. Mid-America Dairymen, 700 S.W.2d 426, 431 (Mo. 1985). A defendant…