There are many ways in which bad faith manifests itself, apart from so-called insurer bad faith. A list is never going to be complete. It is in the nature of the beast of bad faith. See generally Dennis J. Wall, 1 Litigation and Prevention of Insurer Bad Faith §§ 2:1 - 2:9 (various Contrasting Good Faith Requirements) (Thomson Reuters West, Third Edition and 2013 Supplement). "No statement about these terms expresses greater truth than this: '[T]he terms "good faith" and "bad faith" mean different things in different contexts." Id., volume 2, §9:3, "The Question of Bad Faith".
"While a comprehensive listing of the examples of bad faith is not possible," a Federal Court in Pennsylvania recently pointed out, nonetheless "the Pennsylvania courts have recognized that certain patterns of conduct may evidence bad faith." Jackson v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 2013 WL 5945732 * 14 (W.D. Pa. November 6, 2013). The patterns of conduct that have been recognized by Pennsylvania (and many other) Courts as evidencing bad faith include:
- Evasion of the spirit of the bargain.
- Lack of diligence and slacking off.
- Willful rendering of imperfect performance.
- Abuse of a power to specify terms; and
- Interference with or failure to cooperate in the other party's performance.
To this list-in-progress may be added the recognition in that same case of "allegations that give rise [to] a plausible showing that W.F. Bank [Wells Fargo Bank] charged a SFHD [Standard Flood Hazard Determination] fee that significantly was above actual cost and not entirely consumed by the specific services provided at closing." Jackson v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 2013 WL 5945732 * 15 (W.D. Pa. November 6, 2013). That case revolved around a central issue of whether flood insurance was required under the mortgage loan for the particular home involved in the transaction. The Federal Court's quoted holding was to deny Wells Fargo Bank's motion to dismiss the plaintiffs' bad faith claim (in Pennsylvania, included within a breach of contract claim) that they were charged for a flood hazard determination which included the cost of an illegal kickback or markup.
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