Is there a fiduciary obligation on a business partner?

However, circumstances dictate whether a fiduciary obligation does in fact arise and it is not every situation involving business partners which attracts such obligations. In Frame v. Smith 1987 CanLII 74 (SCC), [1987] 2 S.C.R. 99 (S.C.C. per Wilson J.) it identified three characteristics of relationships in which a fiduciary obligation has been imposed: i. The fiduciary has scope for the exercise of some discretion or power; ii. The fiduciary can unilaterally exercise that power or discretion so as to affect the beneficiary’s legal or practical interests; iii. The beneficiary is peculiarly vulnerable to or at the mercy of the fiduciary holding the discretion or power.