Klamath Water Users Protective Association v. Patterson
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
204 F.3d 1206 (9th Cir. 1999)
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau) (defendant) and California Oregon Power Company (Copco) (defendant) entered and later renewed a contract giving Copco operating rights over the government-owned Link River Dam; the Klamath Water Users Protective Association and other irrigators (plaintiffs) who used the Dam sued after the Bureau began changing the Dam's operating plan in 1997, claiming they were intended third-party beneficiaries of the Bureau-Copco contract based on provisions referencing irrigation requirements and barring Copco from using water needed for irrigation purposes, along with a clause stating the contract "binds and inures to the benefit of the parties hereto" and their successors. The district court granted Copco summary judgment, and the plaintiffs appealed.
Whether a third party beneficiary of a contract is an intended beneficiary if the contract does not reflect the express or implied intention of the parties to the contract to benefit the third party.