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Hendericks v. Clemson University3/20/2000
d reliance upon the judgment and advice of Defendant.
21) Defendant breached its fiduciary duty to Plaintiff by failing to correctly advise Plaintiff as to his course requirements to maintain academic eligibility for the 1996 baseball season.
22) As a direct and proximate result of Defendant's breach of the fiduciary duty, Plaintiff has been injured and damaged, incurred substantial expenses, including but not limited to lost tuition, lost income and lost opportunity.
We have previously determined that a factual issue exists as to whether Clemson, through Kennedy-Dixon, assumed a duty to advise Hendricks, We further hold that there is a factual question concerning whether any duty that exists consitutes a fiduciary duty.
III. Hendricks's Contract Claim
Hendricks argues the trial court erred in ruling no breach of contract had occurred because he received all benefits to which he was entitled as a student. He contends he agreed to enroll at Clemson and pay tuition, and Clemson agreed it would provide him with a scholarship to pay the cost of his books, advise him as to what classes and number of class hours he needed to be athletically eligible, and give him the opportunity to play baseball.
In South Carolina, the formation of a contract is governed by well-settled principles. "A contract exists where there is an agreement between two or more persons upon sufficient consideration either to do or not to do a particular act." Benya v. Gamble, 282 S.C. 624, 628, 321 S.E.2d 57, 60 (Ct. App. 1984).
Courts have recognized the contractual nature of the relationship between a student and university or college. See e.g., Ross v. Creighton Univ., 957 F.2d 410 (7th Cir. 1992)(remanding case to determine whether university had breached specific promise to student athlete); Begley v. Mercer Univ., 367 F. Supp. 908 (E.D.Tenn. 1973); Wickstrom v. North Idaho College, 725 P.2d 155 (Idaho 1986) (holding valid cause of action in contract could exist if the terms of implied contract between student and college were not complied with); Tolman v. Cencor Career Colleges, Inc., 851 P.2d 203 (Colo. Ct. App. 1992) (ruling that if properly pleaded and proved, breach of contract and deceit claims may be brought by student against educational institution); Taylor v. Wake Forest Univ., 191 S.E.2d 379 (N.C. Ct. App. 1972)(finding university fully complied with its agreement while student athlete failed to do so).
The Supreme Court of Idaho described the basis of the contractual relationship:
Since a formal contract is rarely prepared, the general nature and terms of the agreement are usually implied, with specific terms to be found in the university bulletin and other publications; custom and usages can also become specific terms by implication. Wickstrom, 725 P.2d at 157.
In Ross, the Seventh Circuit explained, " o state a claim for breach of contract, the plaintiff must . . . point to an identifiable contractual promise that the defendant failed to honor." 957 F.2d 410, 416-417.
To adjudicate Hendricks's claim for breach of contract, the trial court must determine the terms of Hendricks's contract with Clemson and whether Clemson breached that contract by advising Hendricks to take classes which rendered him ineligible to play baseball. We find at least a genuine issue of material fact exists as to these questions. Therefore, we remand this issue for further development of the facts. See Hook v. Rothstein, 275 S.C. 187, 268 S.E.2d 288 (1980) (Summary judgment should not be granted when inquiry into the facts is desirable to clarify the application of the law.).
IV. Damages
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