No. 5-450 / 04-1584Court of Appeals of Iowa.
Filed December 7, 2005
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Des Moines County, John G. Linn, Judge.
Both parties appeal from a district court judgment entered in favor of RPC Liquidation. AFFIRMED.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Mark Hunacek, Assistant Attorney General, for appellant/cross-appellee.
Robert W. Goodwin of Goodwin Law Offices, P.C., Ames, for appellee/cross-appellant.
Heard by Vogel, P.J., and Zimmer and Vaitheswaran, JJ.
VAITHESWARAN, J.
RPC Liquidation, a supplier of concrete beams for a bridge construction project, sued the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT). RPC alleged (1) it was a third-party beneficiary of several construction contracts executed by the IDOT and (2) the IDOT breached the contracts by rejecting its beams. Following trial, the district court ruled in favor of RPC and awarded damages in the amount of $103,589. The district court declined RPC’s request to also award lost profits damages of $401,064. The IDOT appealed and RPC cross-appealed.
The parties raise several issues: (1) whether the contracts contained an express disclaimer of third-party beneficiary liability, (2) whether RPC was an intended beneficiary of the contracts, (3) whether the IDOT breached the contracts by rejecting ten of eleven beams fabricated by RPC on the ground they were contaminated with soybeans, and (4) whether RPC was entitled to lost profit damages. The parties agree all issues are reviewed for errors of law, with fact findings being upheld if they are supported by substantial evidence. Midwest Dredging Co. v. McAninch Corp. 424 N.W.2d 216, 219-20 (Iowa 1988).
The district court thoroughly analyzed each of the issues, accurately setting forth the applicable law, and cogently applying law to fact. We discern no legal error and find substantial evidentiary support for the court’s fact findings. Accordingly, we affirm.[1]
AFFIRMED.