LAW OF AGENCY
CREATION OF AGENCY
1.the relationship of principal and agent is usually created by mutual consent. The consent (with one exception - see below) need not be formal-nor expressed in a written document It is usually an express agreement even if informal.
For example, P may ask A to take P's shoes to be repaired. P and A thereby expressly agree that A is to be P's agent in making a contract between P and the shoe repairer.
2.If the agent is to make a contract for his principal in the form of a deed, the agent must be formally appointed by a document called a 'Power of Attorney'.
3. Agency may be created by.
(a) consent
- express
- implied
- retrospective (ratification);
(b) operation of law;
(c) estoppel.
Each is considered below.
Implied agency
4.Two persons may by their relationship or their conduct to each other imply an agreement between them that one u the agent of the other. , for example , an employee's duties include making contracts for his employer, say by ordering goods on his account, the employee is, by implied agreement, the agent of the employer for this purpose.
5.when husband and wife live together it is usual for the wife to obtain household necessaries such as food or clothing for herself and any children. In such matters it i, implied that the husband has agreed that his wife is his agent with authority to order goods on credit - tile liability to pay for them rests on him. This implied agency is limited as follows.
(a)It only applies when a husband and wife are living together. Since cohabitation is the legal basis, a man's mistress. or housekeeper may also be his agent in this fashion.
(b) The agency is restricted to pledging the husband's credit for 'necessaries'. The wife is not the husband's agent for purchase of expensive luxuries inappropriate to the lifestyle of the spouses nor for items which, although....