Good Faith: Discussions in Contracts

The topic of this podcast by Professor Scott J. Burnham is the basic concept of good faith. Good faith, sometimes called the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, is an implied term in a party’s obligation of performance in every contract. The podcast examines both the subjective and objective standards of good faith. It […]

The topic of this podcast by Professor Scott J. Burnham is the basic concept of good faith. Good faith, sometimes called the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, is an implied term in a party’s obligation of performance in every contract. The podcast examines both the subjective and objective standards of good faith. It discusses the obligations of good faith under common law – as expressed in Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 205 – and the Uniform Commercial Code § 1-304. It provides some history on the evolution of good faith in UCC Articles 1 and 2, and considers the variations on the definition of good faith adopted among the jurisdictions. Finally, the podcast covers the consequences of a breach of good faith. The cases of Reid v. Key Bank, Billman v. Hensel, and Neumiller Farms v. Cornett are discussed.

Learning Outcomes
On completion of the podcast, the student will be able to:
1. Identify when good faith is applicable.
2. Distinguish between subjective and objective good faith.

A transcript of this podcast is here.