Dixson v. City of North Las Vegas

duty of fair representation. The district court dismissed the suit, holding that appellants did not have standing to enforce the agreements and that the complaint should have been brought to the Employee-Management Relations Board. Appellants appealed. For the following reasons, we affirm. Standing is a question of law that this court reviews de novo. Arguello v. Sunset Station, Inc., 127 Nev., Adv. Op. 29, 252 P.3d 206, 208 (2011). We have previously concluded that a unionized employee lacks standing to appeal the outcome of negotiated grievance procedures when a collective bargaining agreement expressly provides that the union is the party responsible for filing a grievance and pursing arbitration. Ruiz v. City of N. Las Vegas, 127 Nev., Adv. Op. 20, 255 P.3d 216, 219 & n.3 (2011). Similarly, appellants in this case would generally lack standing to enforce the agreements because they are not parties to the agreements. Although we have recognized that a third-party beneficiary is capable of enforcing an agreement to which they are not a party, Hartford Fire Ins. Co. v. Ti's. of Constr. Indus. & Laborers Health & Welfare Trust, 125 Nev. 149, 156, 208 P.3d 884, 889 (2009), appellants' complaints failed to allege that they were third-party beneficiaries. See NRCP 8(a) (stating that a complaint "shall contain" a statement of the pleader's claim for relief). Nor did appellants' complaints allege that the memorandum of understanding or collective bargaining agreement was intended to benefit them or that their reliance on those agreements was foreseeable. See Lipshie v. Tracy Inv. Co., 93 Nev. 370, 379-80, 566 P.2d 819, 824-25 (1977) (concluding that an intended third-party beneficiary must show that the parties to the contract clearly intended to benefit the third party and that the third party's reliance on the contract was foreseeable). SUPREME COURT OF NEVADA 2 (0) 1947A es. Thus, for the reasons discussed, we conclude that the district court did not err in dismissing appellants' suit. Appellants lacked standing.' Accordingly, we ORDER the judgment of the district court AFFIRMED. Sat\ , C.J. Hardesty P Parraguirre . J. J. Saitta J. Gibbons cc: Hon. Jerry A. Wiese, District Judge Ara H. Shirinian, Settlement Judge Law Office of Daniel Marks North Las Vegas City Attorney Attorney General/Las Vegas Eighth District Court Clerk 'Because we affirm the dismissal of appellants' action on standing grounds, we need not address appellants' remaining arguments. SUPREME COURT OF NEVADA 3 (0) 1947A e