Also known as: mala fides · malafide · malafides · bad faith
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Conduct undertaken with a dishonest or improper motive. The term identifies action taken to gain an unfair advantage or to evade a legal obligation rather than to pursue a legitimate purpose.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Musa Mensah filed suit in state court against Marathon Logistics more than a year earlier. When an expert report later quantified damages above the diversity threshold, Marathon sought removal. The court denied the motion because Musa had deliberately withheld damage details to keep the case in state court.
Mohan Malhotra offered secondary evidence of a contract after the original was destroyed in a flood. Mosaic Retail objected that the loss was suspicious. The court admitted the evidence because Mohan had not caused the destruction and no bad faith appeared.
Miranda Morales threatened to sue Michelle Murphy for breach of warranty on a car sold years earlier even though inspection records showed no defects. Michelle signed a new contract under the threat. The court later found the threat improper because it was made without any good-faith basis.
Mason McCarthy, trustee of a family trust, diverted assets for personal use. The trust instrument contained an exculpatory clause. Beneficiaries sued and the court held the clause unenforceable because Mason's conduct involved bad faith.
Megan Moore listed property with Monarch Pharmaceuticals' broker. The broker produced a buyer ready to pay the full price and the parties signed a contract. Megan then refused to close, claiming the buyer was unable to perform, solely to avoid paying the commission. The court awarded the commission because the refusal was in bad faith.
Midwest Airlines' limited partnership agreement attempted to shield a general partner from all liability. When the partner diverted partnership funds, limited partners sued. The court held the clause invalid to the extent it purported to excuse bad faith conduct.
A plaintiff who acts in bad faith to prevent removal may lose the protection of the one-year bar on diversity removals. The court may permit removal even after the statutory period if it finds the plaintiff deliberately concealed the amount in controversy or otherwise acted to block removal.
Secondary evidence is admissible if the original is lost or destroyed without bad faith by the proponent. Routine destruction under neutral policies or accidental loss satisfies the rule, but deliberate spoliation to gain an evidentiary advantage bars the secondary evidence.
…In order to escape the rule articulated in the cases cited in the next paragraph of this opinion that, absent harassment and bad faith, a defendant in a pending state criminal case cannot affirmatively challenge in federal court the statutes under which the State is prosecuting him, Dr. Hallford seeks to distinguish his…
…it was a "cavalier ignoring of the falsity of the advertisement [from which] the jury could not have but been impressed with the bad faith of The Times, and its maliciousness inferable therefrom." The statement does not indicate malice at the time of the publication; even if the advertisement was not "substantially…
…and safety of others. The harm BMW inflicted on Gore was purely economic, and the record contains no evidence that BMW acted in bad faith
…award attorneys' fees is sharply circumscribed. See Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. v. Wilderness Society , 421 U. S. 240 (1975) ("bad faith" requirement); F. D. Rich Co. v. United States ex rel. Industrial Lumber Co. , 417 U. S. 116, 129 (1974). [^maj-31]: Section 18 of the 1934 Act creates a private cause of action against…
…duties. The California Tort Claims Act of 1963 provides for indemnification of public employees against liability, absent bad faith
A threat to sue is improper when made in bad faith, such as when the threatened claim lacks any reasonable basis or is asserted only to extract contractual concessions. The absence of a good-faith belief in the claim's validity renders the resulting agreement voidable.
No. An exculpatory clause is unenforceable to the extent it relieves a trustee of liability for breach committed in bad faith or with reckless indifference to the trust purposes or beneficiaries' interests.
A seller who produces a buyer ready, willing, and able to purchase on the listed terms earns the commission upon execution of the contract. The seller may not later refuse to close in bad faith and then deny the commission on the ground that the buyer was not able.
No. A partnership agreement may not relieve or exonerate a person from liability for conduct involving bad faith, willful or intentional misconduct, or knowing violation of law.