Chapter 29 Flashcards
The large body of common law that governs agency; a mixture of contract law and tort law.
agency law
the principal-agent relationship
agency
A party who employs another person to act on his or her behalf.
principal
A party who agrees to act on behalf of another
agent
A relationship formed when an employer hires an employee and gives that employee authority to act and enter into contracts on the employer’s behalf.
principal-agent relationship
A relationship that results when an employer hires an employee to perform some task or service but the employee has not been authorized to enter into contracts on behalf of the employer.
employer–employee relationship
The relationship between a principal and an independent contractor who is not an employee of the principal but who has been employed by the principal to perform a certain task on behalf of the principal.
principal–independent contractor relationship
An agency that occurs when a principal and an agent expressly agree to enter into an agency agreement with each other.
express agency
An express agency agreement that is often used to give an agent the power to sign legal documents on behalf of the principal
power of attorney
A power of attorney in which a principal confers broad powers on the agent to act in any matters on the principal’s behalf.
general power of attorney
A power of attorney in which a principal confers powers on an agent to act in specified matters on the principal’s behalf.
special power of attorney
An agency that occurs when a principal and an agent do not expressly create an agency, but it is inferred from the conduct of the parties
implied agency
An agency that occurs when (1) a person misrepresents him- or herself as another’s agent when in fact he or she is not and (2) the purported principal ratifies the unauthorized act.
agency by ratification
Agency that arises when a principal creates the appearance of an agency that does not exist.
apparent agency (agency by estoppel)
A duty that a principal owes to pay an agreed-on amount to the agent either upon the completion of the agency or at some other mutually agreeable time.
duty to compensate
Unless otherwise agreed, the principal owes a duty to reimburse the agent for expenses incurred by the agent on behalf of the principal.
duty to reimburse
A principal owes a duty to indemnify the agent for any losses the agent suffers because of the principal’s conduct.
duty to indemnify
Unless otherwise agreed, the principal owes a duty to cooperate with and assist the agent in the performance of the agent’s duties and the accomplishment of the agency.
duty to cooperate
An agent’s duty to a principal that includes (1) performing the lawful duties expressed in the contract and (2) meeting the standards of reasonable care, skill, and diligence implicit in all contracts.
duty to peform
An agent owes a duty to notify the principal of important information concerning the agency.
duty to notify
Information that is learned by an agent that is attributed to the principal.
imputed knowledge
A duty that an agent owes to maintain an accurate accounting of all transactions undertaken on the principal’s behalf.
duty to account (duty of accountability)
A situation in which the parties to an agency contract terminate their contract by mutual agreement or when a previously agreed on event occurs.
termination of an agency by an act of the parties
A situation in which an agency terminates because an unusual change in circumstances has occurred that would lead the agent to believe that the principal’s original instructions should no longer be valid.
termination of an agency by an unusual change of circumstances
A situation in which an agency terminates because a situation arises that makes the fulfillment of the agency impossible.
termination of an agency by impossibility of performance
A situation in which an agency terminates because of the occurrence of legally specified events
termination of an agency by operation of law
The termination of an agency contract in violation of the terms of the agency contract. The nonbreaching party may recover damages from the breaching party.
wrongful termination
