Robson v. Robson

Father and son co-owned a business together. They drafted a contract that provided that in the event of the death of the son, the son's shares would go to the father and the father would pay the son's wife $500 per month from the proceeds of the company. Prior to the son's death, the father and son tried to modify the contract, so the son's wife wouldn't get the $500 per month after the son's death. After the son's death, the wife sued to enforce the provisions of the original contract.

"A donee beneficiary of a contract is a third-party to whom the promised beneficial performance comes without cost as a donation or gift. . . [W]here the contract rights of a donee beneficiary have not yet vested and where the beneficiary has not detrimentally relied upon a promise contained in the contract, [the] Court will not subvert the intent of the contracting parties when it is clear that they desired to alter the terms of the contract."

Rights and Duties of Nonparties | Third Party Beneficiaries