Breach of Confidence
Three elements must exist for a breach of confidence to have occurred:
- the information conveyed was confidential;
- it was communicated in confidence; and
- it was misused by the party to whom it was communicated.
The law of confidence and the law relating to fiduciary obligations are not coextensive and yet are not completely distinct. A claim for breach of confidence will only be made out, however, when it is shown that the confidee has misused the information to the detriment of the confider. Fiduciary law, however, is concerned with the duty of loyalty and does not require that harm result. Duties of confidence, unlike fiduciary obligations, can arise outside a direct relationship. Another difference is that breach of confidence also has a jurisdictional base at law, and accordingly can draw on remedies available in both law and equity, whereas fiduciary obligations arise only in equity and can only draw upon equitable remedies.
The court can exercise considerable flexibility in fashioning a remedy for breach of confidence because the action does not rest solely on any one of the traditional jurisdictional bases for action - contract, equity or property - but is sui generis and relies on all three.
Read more about this topic: Lac Minerals Ltd. V. International Corona Resources Ltd., Decision of The Supreme Court of Canada
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