Agency law is a relationship where one party under control allows another party to act on their behalf. The party in control of the actions and activities is the agent, while the one acting on behalf of the person is called the principal. Generally, the agent represents the principal acting for or on their behalf (Munday, 2010).
Understanding the relationship between an agent and a principal is contractual. This means that the rights and duties of both parties are spelt out in the contract. An agency is built on consent between both parties on what should be done and expected. Agents may perform duties that include being legal representatives of their principals (Munday, 2010). This is in the case where the principals can sue or be sued by their name, which may affect their legal relationships through actions or transactions.
Agents may mostly be representatives of organizations or corporations. Agents are also helpful in the event of a legal disability when principals’ contracts are not binding. However, all these specific roles are spelt out in a written authorization. Agent cannot outline their roles except with permission from their principal based on the nature of their business or environment (Story, 2020).
The plaintiff
The arguments in favour of the plaintiff are that there was a breach of contract. Based on the explanation of the contract, Wilson was employed to perform his expected duties but on alert of attendance. This means that all his duties could only be performed legally under permission from the attendant- that is, the following filling in the clearance form from the attendant if there is a need to perform any activity (Munday, 2010). Again, the company has restrictions. Wilson is to use the cars only if his actions pertain to company activities. In this case, we see a breach of contract between Wilson and the company in two ways the plaintiff could use in their arguments. First (Story, 2020), Wilson’s operations are not coded in the attendance book. This means that the company managers are unaware that their vehicle is out of the company premises since nothing has been coded.
Again, the purpose and usage of the vehicle in question were not as agreed upon in the agency contract. Wilson used the vehicle to visit his mother and not to perform company duties, which included cleaning, gassing, moving vehicles from one lot to another, and maintaining vehicle lots and the showroom (Munday, 2010). The plaintiff could also make an argument on the attendance in question.
Agency law states that an agent should act on behalf of the principal. The principal, in this case, is Carz Bazaar. The attendant is responsible for ensuring that they record the details of the cars leaving the premises. The attendance, in this case, acts in the position of the principal –the organization/company that is supposed to manage the vehicles without their presence. By failing to account for the car which left the organization, she fails to act as per the requirements of the principal and agent (Story, 2020).
The defendant
The defendant before the court can argue from the perspective of tort liability, personal perspective and contract liability. In tort liability, the principal initially holding liability to pay damages to the plaintiff does not excuse the agent who took part in the illegal act (Story, 2020). Tort liability is under exception when the person is insane, intoxicated or under duress. Hence, an agent is personally responsible for their wrong acts unauthorized by the principal. In this case, the agent was to make a recording of vehicles leaving the premises and ensure the vehicle was being used for company reasons only.
In this case, the agent did not do so, breaching the contract. In an accident, the agent is liable for compensating the plaintiff since she participated in a wrongful act without the principal’s permission (Story, 2020). Based on a personal capacity, the principal could argue that the agent entered into a contract without the principal’s consent and authority. This, in turn, does not bind the principal in the personal contract made between the agent and employee. In this case, they handed the car to the employee without taking note, even though the employee had convinced her that he would take thirty minutes with it.
It is essential to understand that agency law helps companies know how to act, especially in the relationship between an agent and a principal. Mainly, agency law promotes accountability in the company structure, ensuring the laws are binding (Munday, 2010). Specifically, under agency law, the actions of the principal and agent are well-defined, which makes each of them responsible for their actions promoting the company’s greater good. Additionally, it creates a type of board setting since agents must care for and be loyal to the company. It also protects the directors from being sued unreasonably, especially when decisions were made poorly or in self-dealing circumstances (Munday, 2010).
References
Munday, R. (2010). Agency: Law and principles. Oxford University Press.
The story, J. (2020). Commentaries on the Law of Agency. BoD–Books on Demand.
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