Opinion ID: 2747894
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: NTPB provision in the Credit Agreement

Text: The Gorsuch Entities have not demonstrated they were intended beneficiaries of the Credit Agreement. Under the intent-focused inquiry prescribed by Colorado law, the express NTPB provision offers the clearest indication of the agreement between Gorsuch, Ltd. and Wells Fargo. Furthermore, the documents the Gorsuch Entities attached to their complaint identify Gorsuch, Ltd. and Wells Fargo as the sole contracting parties. Wells Fargo recognized the Gorsuch Entities as affiliates of Gorsuch, Ltd. and guarantors for security purposes, but never as borrowers with rights against Wells Fargo. Simply because a contract contemplates or references another party does not undermine an NTPB provision. Maisel v. Erickson Constr., Inc., No. 11-cv-00555, 2012 WL 3155834, at  (D. Colo. Aug. 3, 2012). The Gorsuch Entities cite Diamond Castle Partners IV PRC, L.P. v. IAC/InterActiveCorp, 82 A.D.3d 421 (N.Y. App. Div. 2011), for the proposition that -14- NTPB provisions are not dispositive, but the decision is readily distinguishable. In Diamond Castle, the boilerplate NTPB provision appeared alongside another provision giving the buyer’s affiliates enforceable rights, and the term “parties” was used throughout the agreement to include the buyer’s affiliates. Id. at 421-22. In the instant case, no such ambiguity exists. The Credit Agreement did not give the Gorsuch Entities enforceable rights against Wells Fargo, and the terms “Borrower” and “Affiliates” are used independently.11 The Gorsuch Entities refer to corporate resolutions delivered to Wells Fargo that identify the Gorsuch Entities as providers of “third party collateral,” but also acknowledge they “will benefit by any credit now or hereafter extended by Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (‘Bank’) to Gorsuch, Ltd. (‘Borrower’).” 12 App. at 306, 317. The language indicates Wells Fargo was aware the Gorsuch Entities would benefit from the line of credit, but does not contradict the terms of the Credit Agreement, which indicates the proceeds from the line of credit “shall be used to finance Borrower’s 11 The term “parties” in the NTPB provision refers to Wells Fargo and Gorsuch, Ltd., who are listed as the Bank and the Borrower in the Credit Agreement. App. at 63, 78. 12 The resolution for Gorsuch, Limited at Keystone Mountain and certificate for Gorsuch Cooper contain this phrase but omit the word “any.” App. at 87, 328. The various guaranty agreements between Wells Fargo and the Gorsuch Entities were referenced in the complaint and the Credit Agreement, App. at 37, 69, and the certificate for Gorsuch Cooper was attached to the complaint, App. at 87. -15- working capital requirements” and bars third parties from staking claims to it. Id. at 63. In light of the Credit Agreement’s clear distinction between Gorsuch, Ltd. as the borrower and the Gorsuch Entities as guarantors or third-party obligors, language acknowledging the Gorsuch Entities would benefit from credit does not make them intended beneficiaries. The district court did not err in deciding the explicit text of the NTPB provision barred the Gorsuch Entities’ claims, even in light of these collateral documents.