Board of Education of Community School District No. 220 v. Village of Hoffman Estates
Illinois Appellate Court
467 N.E.2d 1064 (1984)
Developers and the Village of Hoffman Estates (defendant) contracted to hold funds in escrow: if District 15 was annexed within five years, the escrowed money would go to District 15; if not, it would go to District 220 (plaintiff). Shortly before the five years ran out, the developers and the Village extended the annexation deadline to nine years. After the original five-year period expired, District 220 sued for a declaratory judgment that it was already entitled to the escrowed funds, and the trial court granted summary judgment in its favor. The Village appealed.
Whether a third-party beneficiary to a contract has no vested rights until the beneficiary becomes identifiable, so the contracting parties may rescind or modify the contract until that point.