Vicarious liability Flashcards
Vicarious liability
‘liability in place of another’
qui facit per alium facit per se
he who does something through another does it himself
respondeat superior
let the master answer
locatio operarum
contract for service
locatio operis, faciendi
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Mersey Docks and Harbour Board v Coggins and Griffiths Ltd [1947] AC 1
‘The harbour authority let a mobile crane and driver to a firm stevedoers to assist in loading a ship. Althiough the driver was paid by the Board, which also retained the right to dismiss, the hire contract provided that the driver would be the servant of the hirers. A dock-worker was injured due to the negligence of the driver whilst operating the crane. He sued both of the driver’s employers in the alternative, leaving it to the court to determine which had responsibility. The HL refused to follow the terms of the hire contract and held that the Board remained the employer and was vicariously liable.
Neville v C&A Modes 1945 SC 175
‘an employer was vicariously liable for defamation when two sales assistants accused an innocent woman of shoplifting. The court held that the actions of the employees in taking steps to protect their employer’s property were incidental to their main duties’
Smith v Stages [1989] AC 928
worker send for two weeks in distance, they would get back money for rail tickets, however two of them were getting back in the ones car. There was accident - passenger injured. The court held that in the circumstances the driver was acting in the scope of employment and the employer was vicariously liable
Rose v Plenty [1976] 1 WLR 141
‘the employer of a milkman was held vicariously liable for injuries sustained by 13-year old boy who had been employed by the milkman, although employer prohibited this practice. The milkman was doing what he was employed to do at the time, albeit in an unauthorized manner’
Lister v Hesley Hall [2002] 1 AC 215
Held that the employer of a warden of a residential school who had abused boys at the school was vicariously liable because the close connection between employment and the wrongful conduct made it ‘fair and just to hold the employers vicariously liable’.
The Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973
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Various Claimants v Institute of the Bros of the Christian Schools [2013] 2 AC 1
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