the contract because the contract provides no direct benefit to the doctors.
While the doctors can perform the services to satisfy the contractual obligations of the corporation, there are no direct benefits flowing to the plaintiff doctors. Simply stated, in the absence of a direct benefit conferred by the contract, the doctors cannot be third party beneficiaries pursuant to LSA-C.C. art. 1978.
A person may derive a benefit from a contract to which he is not a party without being a third party beneficiary. In this case, any benefit created by the contract in favor of the doctors was only incidental to their employment with SMAA.
The doctors contend that they benefitted from the contract because the Hospital granted them the exclusive right to provide anesthesiology services. However, a review ofthe contract establishes it is SMAA as the Contractor which is granted the exclusive right to provide anesthesia services. The contract provides: "HOSPITAL hereby EXCLUSIVELY retains CONTRACTOR, and CONTRACTOR hereby accepts such retention, to make available anesthesia services and to provide such other services in accordance with this agreement." Thus, SMAA is specifically and clearly granted the exclusive right to provide anesthesia services. Additionally, the contract provides SMAA can "from time to time retain the services of other physician SPECIALISTS," further indicating it is not the plaintiff doctors which have exclusivity, but rather SMAA. Based on this clause, physicians other than the plaintiff doctors could provide services on behalf of SMAA. As such, the contract does not provide the plaintiff doctors the exclusive right to provide anesthesia services