Justice Robert McDonald
Plaintiff, association of condominium owners, sued the developers and builders of the condo for alleged construction defects. It asserted breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation and professional malpractice claims. Developer Bejamin-Beechwood entered into a contract with architects Fakler, Eliason and Procelli (FEP), but the contract made no mention of the plaintiff homeowners. The court noted defendants established that plaintiff was not in privity of contract with them. Plaintiff alleged it was a third-party beneficiary of the contract. The court rejected such claim noting the contract between the sponsor and FEP contained no provision expressly stating an intention to benefit plaintiff. It found plaintiff did not otherwise plead any facts or circumstances to support a finding it was more than a mere incidental beneficiary of the contract, ruling plaintiff was not a third-party beneficiary. Also, the court stated plaintiff was not in so close a relationship, nor did FEP owe it any duty, to have the functional equivalent of privity necessary to support a claim for negligent misrepresentation or professional malpractice, granting FEP dismissal of the complaint against it.
