Opinion ID: 150234
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Whether Pratt Violated the Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing

Text: The actual declaratory judgment issued by the court referred only to Pratt's breach of the CBA and not to any violation of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. But the district court did find, in the course of its opinion, that the Closure Plan violated Pratt's implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. There is an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing in every contract. See, e.g., Magnan v. Anaconda Indus., Inc., 193 Conn. 558, 566, 479 A.2d 781, 785-86 (1984); cf. 511 W. 232nd Owners Corp. v. Jennifer Realty Co., 98 N.Y.2d 144, 153, 746 N.Y.S.2d 131, 135, 773 N.E.2d 496, 500 (2002) (New York law). However, in general, [i]f the allegations do not go beyond the statement of a mere contract breach and, relying on the same alleged acts, simply seek the same damages or other relief already claimed in a companion contract cause of action, they may be disregarded as superfluous as no additional claim is actually stated. Hall v. EarthLink Network, Inc., 396 F.3d 500, 508 (2d Cir.2005) (internal quotation marks omitted) (California law); see also Deer Park Enters., LLC v. Ail Sys., Inc., 57 A.D.3d 711, 712, 870 N.Y.S.2d 89, 90 (2d Dep't 2008) (A cause of action to recover damages for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing cannot be maintained where the alleged breach is intrinsically tied to the damages allegedly resulting from a breach of contract. (internal quotation marks omitted)) (New York law); Monahan v. GMAC Mortg. Corp., 179 Vt. 167, 187 n. 5, 893 A.2d 298, 316 n. 5 (2005) ([W]e will not recognize a separate cause of action for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing when the plaintiff also pleads a breach of contract based upon the same conduct.  (emphasis in original)) (Vermont law); but see Gen. Clutch Corp. v. Lowry, 10 F.Supp.2d 124, 133-34 (D.Conn.1998) (upholding, as non-overlapping, separate jury awards of damages for breach of employment agreement and breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, based on the same factual evidence or conduct evidence). We need not decide whether the district court's finding of a breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing by Pratt was clearly erroneous as a matter of fact or mistaken as a matter of law. The declaratory judgment, as noted, made no mention of any breach of the implied covenant. It was explicitly based on the district court's finding as to the breach of contract claim. We conclude that the declaratory judgment and the injunction issued by the district court were amply supported by the court's finding that Pratt's Closure Plan breached Letter 22 of the CBA. We therefore affirm the judgment on that basis without reaching the assertions as to the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.