In Budri v. FirstFleet, Inc., an employee sued his employer and supervisor for a number of causes of action, including a claim for breach of fiduciary duty. No. 3:19-CV-0409-N-BH, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 188251 (N.D. Tex. September 20, 2019). The federal magistrate recommended dismissing the breach of fiduciary duty claim because there were no allegations that supported the defendants owing a fiduciary duty to the employee:

Under Texas law, the essential elements of a breach of fiduciary duty claim are “(1) a fiduciary relationship must exist between the plaintiff and defendant; (2) the defendant must have breached his fiduciary duty to the plaintiff; and (3) the defendant’s breach must result in injury to the plaintiff or benefit to the defendant.” Hunn v. Dan Wilson Homes, Inc., 789 F.3d 573, 581 (5th Cir. 2015) (quoting Graham Mortg. Corp. v. Hall, 307 S.W.3d 472, 479 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2010, no pet.)). Whether a party owes a fiduciary duty is a question of law. Meyer v. Cathey, 167 S.W.3d 327, 330 (Tex. 2005). Courts impose fiduciary duties on parties based on the special nature of the relationships between such parties. Johnson v. Brewer & Pritchard, P.C., 73 S.W.3d 193, 199 (Tex. 2002). A fiduciary duty arises from certain formal relationships as a matter of law, such as an attorney-client or trustee relationship. Id. Courts also recognize an informal fiduciary duty that arises from “a moral, social, domestic or purely personal relationship of trust and confidence.” Associated Indem. Corp. v. CAT Contracting, Inc., 964 S.W.2d 276, 287 (Tex. 1998). Here, Plaintiff alleges that on January 30, 2017, he put in a request to purchase a new headlamp bulb to replace the burnt-out bulb in his commercial truck as was necessary to comply with safety regulations, but Supervisor denied his request. Plaintiff contends by denying his request, Supervisor breached his fiduciary duty by failing to comply with a provision in the employee handbook that required him to assist Plaintiff while he was on the road, and to authorize electronic payments to allow him to pay for “parts and/or accessories of the truck equipment for minor repairs . . . to be made by the . . . [him] on the road” in order to comply with safety regulations. (Id.) Although Plaintiff appears to allege that Supervisor owed him a duty to assist him while on the road, he fails to identify any “special relationship” between him and Supervisor or any other Defendant, and he fails to allege how any breach directly resulted in an injury to him. (See id.) Even accepting all of his allegations as true, Plaintiff fails to state a claim for breach of fiduciary duty, and this claim should be dismissed. See Richardson v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC, No. 3:13-CV-2578-O, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 177318, 2014 WL 7336890, at *7-8 (N.D. Tex. Dec. 24, 2014) (dismissing breach of fiduciary duty claims where plaintiff failed to allege existence of a “special relationship of trust and confidence”); see also Johnson v. Affiliated Computer Servs., Inc., No. 3:10-CV-2333-B, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 102128, 2011 WL 4011429, at *6 (N.D. Tex. Sept. 9, 2011) (dismissing breach of fiduciary duty claim where plaintiff failed to plead sufficient facts that would indicate the existence of a fiduciary duty owed by the defendant); cf. Kardell v. Union Bankers Ins. Co., No. 05-01-00662-CV, 2002 Tex. App. LEXIS 5760, 2002 WL 1809867, at *7 (Tex. App.—Dallas Aug. 8, 2002, no pet.) (finding that a fiduciary duty did not exist between an employer and employee “based solely on the length of the employment relationship and the employee’s subjective trust of the employer.” (citing cases)).

Id.