Opinion ID: 874415
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The district court erred by granting summary judgment in favor of the Grovers on the theory of account stated.

Text: An account stated is a document, a writing, which exhibits the state of account between [the] parties and the balance owed one to the other, and when assented to, either expressly or impliedly, it becomes a new contract.  Needs v. Hebener, 118 Idaho 438, 442, 797 P.2d 146, 150 (Ct.App.1990) (emphasis added). To constitute an account stated the transaction must be understood by the parties as a final adjustment of the respective demands between them and the amount due. O'Harrow v. Salmon River Uranium Dev., Inc., 84 Idaho 427, 430-31, 373 P.2d 336, 338 (1962). Two things must be present (1) a mutual examination of the claims of each other by the parties and (2) an agreement to settle the respective claims with the final statement intending to be an adjustment of the whole account and demands on both sides. Id. at 431, 373 P.2d at 338. That is, both parties must have a known bona fide dispute as to the amount owed for the theory of account stated to apply. In the present case, there was no dispute between the Grovers and the Wadsworths. The Grovers were merely a substituted party for the Gatson-Jensen contract. Gatson and Jensen were not parties to this action, so it is unknown whether the Grovers were a substituted party to a bona fide dispute. Further, there is no evidence that Wadsworth ever reached an agreement with either Gatson and Jensen or the Grovers to alter the amount due. This Court reverses the district court and holds that the theory of account stated is inapplicable in the present action because Gatson and Jensen, as the original contracting parties, are not parties to this action and neither party has submitted their sworn affidavits. Without such information there is a genuine issue of material fact as to whether there was a bona fide dispute and whether the statement of account was intended to be a final adjustment of the parties' claims.