Discuss whether the principal is liable in each of the following situations. Explain your answer. a. Andrew hires Patricia, an attorney, to negotiate a contract to purchase some property. He agrees to pay her $75 an hour for her services, and she agrees

Question

to use her own office and secretarial staff to negotiate and draft the agreement. One day, Patricia is driving her own automobile to a meeting with Edward to discuss the purchase of the land that he owns. Patricia drives too fast for conditions and has a minor traffic accident that results in $600 damage to the other vehicle. b. George owns a retail store. He hires Carolina to work for him as a salesclerk in the small appliance department. George instructs Carolina to make certain representations to customers regarding a microwave oven, which Carolina sells. George knows these misrepresentations are false, but Carolina does not. Henrietta buys a microwave in reliance on the misrepresentations. c. George owns a retail store. He hires Carolina to work for him as a salesclerk. George doesn't specifically tell Carolina to make misrepresentations, but he gives ambiguous instructions to her that led her to believe she should make such misrepresentations. Henrietta buys a microwave based upon the mistaken information conveyed to her by Carolina. d. Megaborne Corporation hires Ed as an outside salesman and instructs him to call on customers in a specified territory and to solicit orders for their products. One day Ed is driving the company car to call on a client. He accidentally drives the wrong way on a one-way street and has an accident with another vehicle that results in $6,000 in property damage and $30,000 in medical expenses. e. The Advanced Business Machines Company (ABMC) hires John as an outside salesman for its computers. It sets high sales quotas for him and instructs him to beat up salesmen from competing firms in order to keep them away from ABMC customers. In order to meet his monthly sales quota, John roughs up Ralph, who is a salesman for a competing firm and then tells Ralph to find his own customers and to stay away from John's territory.

Answer 1

a. Andrew is the principal and Patricia is an independent contractor. Patricia's accident was caused by her own negligence. Under the doctrine of respondeat superior, a principal is held liable for the negligence of his agent. However, because Patricia is an independent contractor, the doctrine would not apply here. Andrew has no liability for Patricia's accident.
b. George is liable, because he is a principal who has authorized his agent to commit a tortious act with respect to the property or person of another.
c. George is responsible for his own negligent or reckless conduct in failing to give proper instructions to his employee. A principal is liable if he negligently trains his employee.
d. Even though Ed's acts were unauthorized by Megaborne, under the doctrine of respondeat superior, the company will be liable for Ed's negligent driving in the course of his employment.
e. ABMC is liable for the intentional torts of assault and battery committed by John, because it instructed him to beat up competing salesmen and because the tort is so reasonably connected with John's employment as to be within the scope of his employment. John is also liable for these intentional torts. Both ABMC and John may also have criminal liability for John's actions.