Legal Terms Chapter 24 - Law of Agency Flashcards
Agency
A relationship that exists when one person is authorized to act under the control of another person.
Agency by ratification
A relationship that occurs when someone performs an act on behalf of another without authority to do so, but the other person later approves of the act.
Agent
A person who agrees to act on behalf of and under he control of another person.
Apparent authority
Authority that comes about when a principal, through some act, makes it appear that an agent has authority when none actually exists; also called agency by estoppel.
Attorney-in-fact
An agent who is authorized to act under a power of attorney.
Consignee
One to whom a consignment is made; or the bailee.
Consignment
The process of delivering goods to a bailee, called a factor, who attempts to sell them.
Consignor
One who makes a consignment; or the bailor.
Del credere agent
A factor who sells consigned goods on credit and who guarantees to the consignor that the buyer will pay for the goods.
Doctrine of respondeat superior
A rule of law that makes principals and employers responsible for the torts of their agents and servants committed within the scope of their authority or employment; literally means “let the superior respond.”
Dummy corporation
A lawful corporation created to take title assets while safeguarding the corporation owner’s identity and liability.
Employee
One who performs services under the direction and control of another; formerly known as a servant.
Employer
One who employs the services of others in exchange for wages or salaries; formerly known as master.
Express authority
Authority that is given explicitly.
Factor
A type of agent that is a bailee to whom goods are consigned for sale; Latin for doer or maker.
Fiduciary
A person in a position of trust, such as an executor, administrator, guardian, or trustee; one person owes a duty to act for the benefit of another.
General agent
An agent who is authorized to conduct all of a principal’s activity in connection with a particular business.
Implied authority
The power granted to an agent to perform incidental functions that are reasonably and customarily necessary to accomplish the overall purpose of the agency; often necessary to perform the duties that are the result of the grant of express authority.
Independent contractors
Differ from employees in that they perform services for others, but are not under the methodology control of the hiring party.
Malfeasance
The doing of an act that ought not to be done at all.
Misfeasance
The improper doing of an act.
Nonfeasance
The failure to do an act that ought to be done.
Partially disclosed principal
A principal on whose behalf an agent is transacting with a third party, where the third party is aware the agent is acting as an agent but does not know who the principal is.
Power of attorney
A formal writing that authorizes an agent to act for a principal.
Principal
The person that an agent acts on their behalf and under the control of.
Scope of employment
The zone in which employees operate, which is acknowledged to be broader than the employee’s stated job description.
Special agent
An agent authorized to carry out a single transaction or to perform a specified act.
Third party
The person with whom the agent deals.
Undisclosed principal
A person or a company on whose behalf an agent acts, but who is not revealed to the third party so the third party is not aware of the agency relationship.
