Tort Negligence Liability For Principals And Agents In Miami-Dade
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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.
However, there are six circumstances where an agent can be personally liable: (1) when contracting for goods for a merchant abroad; (2) when failing to disclose the principal's name; (3) when the principal cannot be sued due to incompetence; (4) when there is an express contract for the agent's liability; (5) when ...
The agent is personally liable upon a contract she enters into with a third person on behalf of an undisclosed principal (see Figure 29-3). The agent is liable because the third person has relied upon the agent individually and has accepted the agent's personal undertaking to perform the contract.
An agent who does not have any authority to act as an agent or who has exceeded the authority and the same has not been ratified by the principal, is personally liable for any loss bearded by a third party (Sec. 235).
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.
A principal can be held directly liable for their agent's tortious conduct when their agent is acting with actual or true authority on the principal's behalf.
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.
Key Takeaway. The principal will be liable for the employee's torts in two circumstances: first, if the principal was directly responsible, as in hiring a person the principal knew or should have known was incompetent or dangerous; second, if the employee committed the tort in the scope of business for the principal.
Under the doctrine of respondeat superior, a principal is generally liable for acts by a servant within the scope of employment. A principal usually will not be held liable for acts of nonservant agents that cause physical damage, although he will be held liable for nonphysical torts, such as misrepresentation.