total absence of intention to seek unfair advantage or to defraud another party; an honest intention to fulfill one's obligations; observance of reasonable standards of fair dealing.
EXAMPLE:
Dion purchases securities for 60 percent of their face value from an associate. The associate had obtained the securities fraudulently, and the real owner then sued Dion for their return. Dion is protected from the owner's claims if he acted in good faith and is thus a bona fide purchaser. The owner states that Dion could not have acted in good faith since he purchased them at such a low cost in comparison with their face value. But that fact alone does not preclude Dion's good faith defense, since the low price can be justified by the associate's dire need for quick cash.
In property law, a good faith purchaser of land pays value for the land and has no knowledge or notice of any facts that would cause an ordinary, prudent person to make inquiry concerning the validity of the conveyance.
"But we share the district court's view that a company's president cannot deliberately ignore a lawsuit and then claim to have acted in good faith."
"We hold, instead, that "good faith" in this context must be judged by an objective standard. We consider a defendant's good faith in this type of case demonstrated when he seeks appellate review of any issue not frivolous."
"...Nevertheless, if from the face of the papers he has filed, it is apparent that the applicant will present issues for review not clearly frivolous, the Court of Appeals should then grant leave to appealin forma pauperis, appoint counsel to represent the appellant and proceed to consideration of the appeal on the merits in the same manner that it considers paid appeals."
Congratulations! You're now booked up on what Good Faith means!
You'll probably need to reference a legal glossary during your pursuit of justice.
