Is there an implied duty of good faith in commercial contracts between sophisticated parties?

Ontario, Canada


The following excerpt is from Alliance H. Inc. v. Henry Schein Ash Arcona Inc., 2012 ONSC 5535 (CanLII):

I disagree. Courts have found an implied duty of good faith to exist in commercial contracts between sophisticated parties.The comments of O’Connor A.C.J.O. in Transamerica Life v. ING[ii] are of assistance. He noted, It is fair to say that Canadian courts have proceeded cautiously in recognizing duties of good faith in the performance and enforcement of contracts. Interestingly, when Canadian courts have referred to duties of good faith, they have done so in circumstances where the result of the case has been determined by the application of other, more established, legal principles…Canadian courts have not developed a comprehensive and principled approach to the implication of duties of good faith in commercial contracts…The implication of a duty of good faith has not gone so far as to create new, unbargained-for, rights and obligations. Nor has it been used to alter the express terms of the contract reached by the parties. Rather, courts have implied a duty of good faith with a view to securing the performance and enforcement of the contract made by the parties, or as it is sometimes put, to ensure that parties do not act in a way that eviscerates or defeats the objectives of the agreement that they have entered into…

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