Good faith
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 311 U.S. 138 - American United Mut Life Ins Co v. City of Avon Park Fla · 1940Most cited · 391 citing opinions
Equity and good conscience obviously will not permit a finding that an acceptance of a plan by a person acting in a representative capacity is in 'good faith' where that person is obtaining an undisclosed benefit from the plan.
How the Supreme Court has restated “Good faith”
Each Supreme Court definition of “Good faith,” sized by how often later courts cited it. “Change” is measured by wording overlap with earlier definitions — a rough signal, not a semantic judgment.
How often courts cite the cases defining “Good faith”
Court decisions citing the 4 opinions that defined “Good faith” — 1,061 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 4 definitions, chronological · 1855–1958
- ORIGINAL
Good faith,' (say the court,) 'is doubtless used here in its popular sense, as the actual existing state of the mind, whether so from ignorance, skepticism, sophistry, delusion or imbecility, and without regard to what it should be from given legal standards of law or reason.
Illinois statute
A petition shall be deemed not to be filed in good faith if (3) it is unreasonable to expect that a plan of reorganization can be effected; or (4) a prior proceeding is pending in any court and it appears that the interests of creditors and stockholders would be best subserved in such prior proceeding.
Chapter X bankruptcy petition
The only statutory requirement for the allowance of an indigent's appeal is the applicant's 'good faith.' In the absence of some evident improper motive, the applicant's good faith is established by the presentation of any issue that is not plainly frivolous. The good-faith test must not be converted into a requirement of a preliminary showing of any particular degree of merit. Unless the issues raised are so frivolous that the appeal would be dismissed in the case of a nonindigent litigant, the request of an indigent for leave to appeal in forma pauperis must be allowed.
in forma pauperis