Doe v. Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester

In Doe v. Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester (51 AD3d 1392 [4th Dept 2008]) the Appellate Division, Fourth Department reversed the lower court's dismissal of a breach of fiduciary duty claim against a priest, based on an alleged adulterous relationship between plaintiff and the priest, who was providing plaintiff with marriage counseling. Doe v. Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester was reversed on appeal to the Court of Appeals, which held, "to demonstrate the existence of a fiduciary duty between a cleric and a congregant involved in a formal counseling relationship, a congregant must set forth facts and circumstances in the complaint demonstrating that the congregant became uniquely vulnerable and incapable of self-protection regarding the matter at issue.'" Doe v. Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester, 12 NY3d 764, 766, 907 N.E.2d 683, 879 N.Y.S.2d 805 (2009).