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The Four-Party System
It takes two to tango, but four to square dance.
—Juston Paskow1
Parties dealing with each other in business have ordinal numbers: first, second, and third. In law, the first two are parties to an agreement. The third party is one that has an interest in the dealings between the first and second parties, but has no legal rights within those dealings (though possibly obligations), unless the third party is recognized by the other two as a beneficiary. First, second, and third parties also map to first, second, and third person voices in speech.
In business, however, the most commonly numbered party is the third one. Credit ...
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