Breach: 02. Breach of Third-Party Beneficiary Contract

“A contract, made expressly for the benefit of a third person, may be enforced by him at any time before the parties thereto rescind it.” Cal. Civ. Code § 1559.

1. Defendant and a third-party entered a valid contract;
2. Plaintiff is not a party to the contract;
3. The contracting parties expressly intended to benefit Plaintiff, as evidenced by the terms of the contract, even if Plaintiff is not specifically named;
4. Defendant breached the contract; and
5. Plaintiff suffered damages as a result of the breach.

A third-party beneficiary must be a creditor or donee beneficiary. Epitech, Inc. v. Kann, 204 Cal. App. 4th 1365, 1372 (2012).

“‘A creditor beneficiary is a party to whom a promisee owes a preexisting duty which the promisee intends to discharge by means of a promisor's performance. . . ”. . . A person cannot be a creditor beneficiary unless the promisor's performance of the contract will discharge some form of legal duty owed to the beneficiary by the promisee.

Id.

A person is a donee beneficiary only if the promisee’s contractual intent is either to make a gift to him or to confer on him a right against the promisor.

Subscribers To The California Litigation Guide Can See:

• The rest of the elements for this cause of action;
• The citations to the most recent state and federal court cases citing the cause of action;
• The statute of limitations; and
• The defenses to this cause of action.

Click Here To See A Sample Chapter From The Guide

Subscribe to The California Litigation Guide To Access Everything!