Tort Negligence Liability For Principals And Agents In Virginia
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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.
Generally, intentional torts are harder to prove than negligence, since a plaintiff must show that the defendant did something on purpose.
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.
Similarly, if the agent or principal loses capacity to enter into an agency relationship, it is suspended or terminated. The agency terminates if its purpose becomes illegal. Even though authority has terminated, whether by action of the parties or operation of law, the principal may still be subject to liability.
Tort liability is predicated on the existence of proximate cause, which consists of both: (1) causation in fact, and (2) foreseeability. A plaintiff must prove that his or her injuries were the actual or factual result of the defendant's actions.
A principal is always liable for torts committed while the agent completes their official responsibilities. For torts occurring outside of official duties, the liability of the principal depends on whether the agent's tort occurred during a frolic or a detour.
An unidentified or partially disclosed principal is one that the other party to a transaction knows only that the agent may be acting on behalf of but not the identity of that principal; both the agent and the undisclosed principal are liable for such transactions.
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.
Tort liability. No pecuniary liability of any kind shall be imposed upon the Commonwealth or the locality, town, or landowner therein because of any act, agreement, contract, tort, malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance by or on the part of a district or its agents, servants, or employees.