Agency Flashcards
Rule statement
Agency relationship
Agency relationship exists when the principal manifests assent to create an agency relationship; the agent manifests assent to that control; the agent acts on the behalf of the principal, and is subject to the principal’s control.
Actual Authority
Actual authority results from a principal’s expressive conduct toward an agent. Through which the principal manifests assent to be bound by the agent’s action, and the agent’s reasonable understanding of the principal’s manifestation.
Express authority
Actual authority that a principal states in very specific or detailed language;
To do what is necessary, usual, and proper to accomplish or perform an agent’s express responsibilities.
Power of attorney
Written document by which the principal appoints another as agent and confers upon the latter the authority to perform certain specified acts on behalf of the principal.
Buyer as an agent
Factors indicating that the one who is to acquire the property and transfer it to the other is selling to, and not acting as agent for, the other are:
That he is to receive a fixed price for the property, irrespective of the price paid by him.
That he acts in his own name and receives the title to the property which he thereafter is to transfer.
That he has an independent business in buying and selling similar property.
Implied authority
.: The relation of agency need not depend upon express appointment and acceptance. And may be implied from the words and conduct of the parties and the circumstances of the particular case.
Silence as affirmation
when reasonable person would express dissent to an action, silence or “failure to express dissent will be taken as a manifestation of affirmance”)
Estoppel
A principal may be estopped to deny that his agent possesses the authority he assumes to exercise, where the principal knowingly causes or permits him so to act as to justify a third person of ordinarily careful and prudent business habits to believe that he possesses the authority exercised, and avails himself of the benefit of the agent’s acts. *
Apparent authority
Apparent authority in an agent to do an act for his principal must be based on the words and acts of his principal and cannot be based on anything the agent himself has said or done.’
ratification,
a principal may be liable when he knowingly accepts the benefits of a transaction entered into by one of his agents.
ratify long
[A] principal may ratify the unauthorized act of his agent if, at the time of such ratification he has knowledge of all the material facts connected with the transaction and the ratification may be by words or conduct indicating an intention on the part of the principal to adopt the act as his own, and such intention may be implied from an acceptance of the benefits of the unauthorized act.
Firing an employee
From a public policy standpoint, it would be an unwise rule of law that mandates disciplinary action whenever misconduct is alleged.
The continuance of [defendant’s] employment alone is insufficient to show such approval. Such continuance is “too readily open to explanation on other grounds.” If we held otherwise, we would in effect be requiring the discharge of an employee whenever an employer learns of an employee’s wrongful act.
Intentional torts
Typically, principles including employers are not found to be liable for intentional torts of their agents including employees. Such actions are usually found to be outside the scope of employment and are committed without any intent to serve the employer. however, there is an exception to this exclusion when the employees job is such that some part of the intentional tort might be characterized as being done with the intent of “serving the employer”.
Frolic
When an employee leaves employment to do something for personal reasons. Generally the employer will not be liable for an employee’s tort while he is on frolic.
Detour
if an employee is still engaged in employment but strays only slightly from the direct assignment that is known as a mere detour. If an employee commits a tort while on a detour the employer will still be liable.
