Can a plaintiff bring a cause of action for tortious breach of the implied covenant?

Although plaintiffs have characterized this count as the tortious breach of the implied covenant, it is obviously possible to state a cause of action for a breach of such covenant even though no basis for a tort recovery exists. Thus, we must consider if a cause of action has been stated on any theory, irrespective of the label attached by the pleader. (Zumbrun v. University of Southern California (1972) 25 Cal.App.3d 1, 8-9, 101 Cal.Rptr. 499.) After a review of the applicable law, ¹⁴ we will conclude that plaintiffs' allegations are not sufficient to state any cause of action for a breach of the implied covenant of good faith, irrespective of the remedy sought. First, plaintiffs have not pled sufficient facts to justify a recovery in tort. Secondly, they have not even attempted to plead a basis for a recovery of anything other than ordinary contract damages and their claim is simply duplicative of their two contract causes of action and thus may be disregarded.