In recent months, the Second Department issued a number of opinions on contract law. As discussed below, the court addressed what is necessary to prosecute a claim as a third-party beneficiary of a contract, when unsigned documents could be given binding effect and other topics.
Third-Party Beneficiary
The Second Department issued two decisions concerning the ability of a non-signatory to a contract to enforce the contract as a third-party beneficiary. The cases show that in order to proceed with a third-party beneficiary claim, the claiming party must set forth facts from which it could be concluded that the parties to the contract intended to confer a benefit upon it.
