Tort Negligence Liability For Principals And Agents In Massachusetts
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Principal's liability for acts of agent A principal is normally liable for all acts of an agent within the agent's authority, whether responsibility arises in contract or in tort. Authority means the agent's actual, apparent (ostensible) or usual (customary) authority.
An agent is not generally liable for contracts made; the principal is liable. But the agent will be liable if he is undisclosed or partially disclosed, if the agent lacks authority or exceeds it, or, of course, if the agent entered into the contract in a personal capacity.
Additionally, principals can be held liable for the torts of their agents under the doctrine of vicarious liability. A principal is always liable for torts committed while the agent completes their official responsibilities.
Filing a tort claim in Massachusetts is simple and straightforward. It is initiated by filing a complaint with the clerk of court ing to Rules 8–15 of the Massachusetts rules of civil procedure.
However, the principal can then turn around and sue the agent to recover any damages caused. In such a scenario, the principal will only be able to recover for the damages caused outside the scope of authority. There are many benefits to hiring agents to carry out functions for your business.
A person is always liable for her own torts, so an agent who commits a tort is liable; if the tort was in the scope of employment the principal is liable too. Unless the principal put the agent up to committing the tort, the agent will have to reimburse the principal.
This is especially true if the third party is made aware of the agent's authority limitations. In this situation, the third party may still attempt to sue the principal for any damages caused. However, the principal can then turn around and sue the agent to recover any damages caused.
To recover on a negligence claim, the plaintiff must establish the existence of a legal duty on the part of the defendant, a breach of that duty, causation, and damages. United Blood Servs. v. Quintana, 827 P.
Primary tabs. Negligence is the failure to behave with the level of care that a reasonable person would have exercised under the same circumstances. Either a person's actions or omissions of actions can be found negligent.
Under the well-established legal principle of vicarious liability, the actions of an agent carried out with a principal's authorisation are legally attributed to the principal themselves. The principals could be liable regardless of whether they were aware or consented to the specific act.