agency law
the large body of common law that governs agency; a mixture of contract law and tort law
agency
the principle-agent relationship; the fiduciary relationship "which results from the manifestation of consent by one person to another that the other shall act in his behalf and subject to his control, and consent by the other so to act"
PRINCIPAL
A PARTY WHO EMPLOYES ANOTHER PERSON TO ACT ON HIS OR HER BEHALF
agent
a party who agrees to act on behalf of another
principle-agent relationship
a relationship formed when an employer hires an employee and gives that employee authority to act and enter into contracts on his or her behalf
employer-employee relationship
a relationship that results when an employer hires an employee to perform some task or service but the employee has not been authorized to enter into contracts on behalf of his employer
independent contractor
a person or business that is not an employee but is employed by a principal to perform a certain task on behalf of the principal
express agency
an agency that occurs when a principal and an agent expressly agree to enter into an agency agreement with each other
exclusive agency contract
a contract a principal and agent enter into that says the principal cannot employ any agent other than the exclusive agent.
power of attorney
an express agency agreement that is often used to give an agent the power to sign legal documents on behalf of the principal
implied agency
an agency that occurs when a principal and an agent do not expressly create an agency, but it is inferred from the conduct of the parties
agency by ratification
an agency that occurs when (1) a person misrepresents himself as another's agent when in fact he is not and (2) the purported principal ratifies the unauthorized act
apparent agency
agency that arises when a principal creates the appearance of an agency that in actuality does not exist
duty to compensate
a duty that a principal owes to pay an agreed-upon amount to the agent either upon the completion of the agency or at some other mutually agreeable time
duty to perform
an agent's duty to a principal that includes (1) performing the lawful duties expressed in the contract and (2) meeting the standards of reasonable care, skill, and diligence implicit in all contracts
imputed knowledge
information that is learned by an agent that is attributed to the principal
duty to account
a duty that an agent owes to maintain an accurate accounting of all transactions undertaken on the principal's behalf, also known as duty of accountability
4 methods of termination of agency relationship by acts of the parties:
mutual agreement
lapse of time
purpose achieved
occurrence of a specified event
agency coupled with an interest
a special type of agency that is created for the agent's benefit and that the principal cannot revoke
wrongful termination
the termination of an agency contract in violation of the terms of the agency contract. The nonbreaching party may recover damages from the breaching party.
revocation of authority
when a principal terminates an agency contract
renunciation of authority
when an agent terminates an agency
termination of agency by operation of law (5)
death
insanity
bankruptcy
changed circumstances
War
