Tort Negligence Liability For Principals And Agents In Wake
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Key Takeaway. 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.
For example, a driver on the road has a duty to drive at a reasonable speed. If a driver travels 20 miles over the speed limit, they have acted negligently. If they hit someone and hurt them, they have committed a negligence tort and likely owe the victim for their losses.
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.
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.
If the principal directed the agent to commit a tort or knew that the consequences of the agent's carrying out his instructions would bring harm to someone, the principal is liable. This is an application of the general common-law principle that one cannot escape liability by delegating an unlawful act to another.
A principal is vicariously liable for the tort of his agent committed within the course of his authority.
When an agent acts within the authority given to it by its principal, the principal is liable for the agent's actions. The principal will be held liable even if the specific act was not authorized by or known to the principal.
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.
An agent is liable to a principal when he/she acts without actual authority, but with apparent authority. An agent is liable to indemnify a principal for loss or damage resulting from his/her act. A principal owes certain contractual duties to his/her agent.
A principal can also be held vicariously liable - or indirectly liable - for their agent's tortious conduct. In this context, the agent is not acting with actual authority when committing the tort, so it is not as if the principal itself committed the tort.
