Court Opinion

ID: 9853493
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 05:49:34.484445+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:22:50.067787
License: Public Domain

ON DENIAL OF PETITION FOR REHEARING
BAKES, Justice.
Defendant respondent Arrington Construction Company, Inc., has petitioned this Court for» a rehearing, arguing, among other things, that this Court in its original opinion should not have concluded as a matter of law that plaintiff appellant Just’s, Inc., was a third party beneficiary of the construction contract, but should have remanded that issue to the trial court to make that determination. However, in Stewart v. Arrington Construction Co., 92 Idaho 526, 446 P.2d 895 (1968), we ruled that the intent to benefit a third party “must be gleaned *476from the contract itself unless that document is ambiguous . . . 92 Idaho at 532, 446 P.2d at 901. See also Commercial Credit Corp. v. Chisholm Bros. Farm Equipment, 96 Idaho 194, 525 P.2d 976 (1974); Parks v. City of Pocatello, 91 Idaho 241, 419 P.2d 683 (1966).
An examination of the contract involved here and the uncontroverted portions of the parties’ affidavits reveals an intent to benefit a class of third parties, of which this plaintiff is a member. Therefore, the district court erred in granting the defendant’s motion to dismiss which, because of the parties’ submission of affidavits and their consideration by the district court, was transformed into a motion for summary judgment. I.R.C.P. 12(b) and 56; Cook v. Soltman, 96 Idaho 187, 525 P.2d 969 (1974). Although the plaintiff did not move for a summary judgment, the district court was nonetheless empowered to, grant it. See Idaho State University v. Mitchell, 97 Idaho 724, 733, 552 P.2d 776, 785 (1976); Glenn Dale Ranches, Inc. v. Shaub, 94 Idaho 585, 587 n. 4, 494 P.2d 1029, 1031, p. 4 (1972); 10 C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure, Civil § 2720 (1973). Under the circumstances of this case, the district court should have ruled as a matter of law that plaintiff appellant was a third party beneficiary of the contract and should have granted the plaintiff partial summary judgment on the issue of its allegation of a third party beneficiary contract. However, we emphasize that we do not reach here or express any opinion with respect to any issues concerning the defendant’s alleged breach of contract or the extent of recovery, if any, to which the plaintiff may be entitled under the terms of the' contract. Those are factual issues which the district court did not fully consider, and they must be resolved on remand.
Petition for rehearing denied.
McFADDEN and BISTLINE, JJ., concur.
SHEPARD, C. J., and DONALDSON, J., continue to adhere to their original opinions.