Court Opinion

ID: 9843522
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 02:40:02.063137+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:16:48.540735
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE TRIEWEILER
specially concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I concur in the majority’s conclusion that the District Court erred when it dismissed that part of plaintiff’s complaint which sought contract damages for breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
I dissent from that part of the majority’s opinion which concludes that, based upon Story v. City of Bozeman (1990), 242 Mont. 436, 791 P.2d 767, plaintiff has not satisfied all the elements necessary to recover tort damages for a breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Under the Story decision, it is virtually impossible to satisfy all five elements which are necessary to recover tort damages. For all practical purposes, the Story decision, without benefit of briefing or arguments by the parties, eliminated tort damages for bad faith conduct in Montana.
For these reasons, as more specifically set forth in my dissent in McNeil v. Currie (Mont. 1992), [253 Mont. 9,] 830 P.2d 1241, 49 St.Rep. 312, I would reverse the Story decision and remand this case to the District Court for consideration of plaintiff’s claim for tort damages based on defendants’ alleged breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
JUSTICE HUNT concurs in the foregoing concurrence and dissent of JUSTICE TRIEWEILER.