Opinion ID: 723515
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Bad-Faith Denial of Contract

Text: 4 We affirm the judgment dismissing the claim for bad-faith denial of contract sounding in tort because the Supreme Court of California, during the pendency of this appeal, overruled Seaman's Direct Buying Service, Inc. v. Standard Oil Co., 686 P.2d 1158 (Cal.1984) and has now adopted a general rule precluding tort recovery for noninsurance contract breach, at least in the absence of violation of an independent duty arising from principles of tort law ... other than the bad faith denial of the existence of, or liability under, the breached contract. Freeman & Mills, Inc. v. Belcher Oil Co., 900 P.2d 669, 679-80 (Cal.1995) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). The remedy, if any, is for breach of contract.