Deck 15: Liability of Principal and Agent; Termination of Agency

Question 1

Which of the following is true of ratification by the principal?

A)It can only occur prior to the actions of the agent.
B)It is a voluntary act by the principal.
C)It discharges the principal of liability for the agent's actions.
D)It requires the usual consideration of contract law.
E)It must be made in writing to be effective.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

An agent is not liable for torts of other agents unless he is personally at fault.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

As long as an agent has authorization,either express or implied,she may bind the principal legally.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

If a principal directs the agent to commit a tort or knows for a fact that the agent carrying out his instructions could cause someone harm,then the principal is liable.

Question 5

Even if the agent possessed no actual authority and there was no apparent authority on which the third party could rely,the principal may still be liable if he ratifies or adopts the agent's acts before the third party withdraws from the contract.

Question 6

An agent directed by the principal to commit a tort does not remain liable for his own conduct and hence,is not obligated to repay the principal.

Question 7

A principal can be held liable for actions by an agent that the principal had no knowledge of.

Question 8

When an agency is terminated after lapse of time or completion of work,it is said to be expressly terminated.

Question 9

Respondeat superior is the Latin term for the shop rights doctrine.

Question 10

Unlike wives,children are not presumed at common law to be agents or extensions of the father.

Question 11

The vicarious tort liability is primarily a function of agency status and not employment relationships.

Question 12

The key to determining whether a principal is liable for contracts made by his agent is the amount of compensation paid to the agent.

Question 13

Where a third party deals with an agent,but is unaware that he/she is dealing with an agent,the principal would be contractually bound to the third party for any tort.

Question 14

A principal is considered to be vicariously responsible for his/her agent's torts if:

A)the principal gave the agent improper orders or instructions that caused the tort to occur.
B)the principal had no intention to commit and no involvement in the agent's acts.
C)the agent was improperly or negligently chosen or employed.
D)the principal failed properly to supervise or oversee the work when he had a duty to do so.
E)the principal had been negligent in performing his duties.

Question 15

Bob,a professional hockey player,asks Will to be his sports agent and Will accepts.Bob tells Will that Will can review the contracts offered to Bob from the various state hockey teams.Here,Will has _____ authority to review contracts.

A)implied
B)express
C)written
D)apparent
E)irrecoverable

Question 16

According to the doctrine of _____,a person will not be allowed to deny a promise or assertion he/she previously made where there has been detrimental reliance on that promise or assertion.

A)employment-at-will
B)shop rights
C)ultra vires
D)respondeat superior
E)estoppel

Question 17

Under the zone of risk test an employer may be held liable for his employee's conduct even when devoted entirely to the employee's own purposes.

Question 18

Under the family purpose doctrine for the use of automobiles,a family member who negligently injures someone with a car subjects the owner to liability if the family member was furthering family purposes.

Question 19

In agency,_____ authority is a situation in which an agent leads a third party to believe that the agent has authority to bind the principal,even where the agent lacks actual authority to bind the principal.

A)incontestable
B)express
C)implied
D)apparent
E)independent

Question 20

Vicarious liability is not limited to harm caused in the course of an agency relationship.

Question 21

Kevin,a close friend of Dave's,borrowed Dave's car for the weekend,with Dave's permission.While driving,Kevin accidently ran into someone on the street.According to which of the following statutes would Dave be responsible or liable for Kevin's act?

A)The direct liability statute
B)The family purpose statute
C)The doctrine of estoppel
D)The owner's consent statute
E)The no-fault statute

Question 22

In case of the use of automobiles,explain two approaches that impose tort liability on the owner of the automobile.

Question 23

In which of the following cases would an agent be personally liable to the other party in a contract?

A)The agent is acting on behalf of an undisclosed principal.
B)The agent makes a contract on the principal's behalf.
C)The agent lacks the principal's authority or exceeds it.
D)Other agents of the principal committed torts.
E)The agent is directed by the principal to commit a tort.

Question 24

The modern basis for vicarious liability is termed the _____ theory as it assumes that the principal is better equipped to pay damages than an agent.

A)no-fault
B)ultra vires
C)deep pockets
D)entity
E)delectus personae

Question 25

According to the _____ standard,an employer can be held liable for his employee's conduct even when devoted entirely to the employee's own purposes,as long as it was foreseeable that the agent might act as he did.

A)employment-at-will
B)no-fault
C)zone of tolerance
D)zone of risk
E)scope of employment

Question 26

Termination of agency by operation of law occurs:

A)upon renunciation of agency by the agent.
B)on the death of the principal or agent.
C)upon revocation of agency.
D)upon the expiration of a fixed period of time.
E)on the accomplishment of a specific task.

Question 27

A principal can be held responsible for an agent whose authority has previously been terminated if the principal does not make the termination known to the parties who previously did business with the agent.This is known as _____ authority.

A)express
B)implied
C)lingering
D)master-servant
E)inter vivos

Question 28

Pete gave his agent chemical pesticides for use on a grove of fruit trees belonging to Lily.However,Pete made a mistake when giving his agent instructions about the application of the pesticides.If the fruit trees die or spoil due to this act,:

A)Pete would be directly liable.
B)Pete's agent would be directly liable.
C)Pete would be vicariously liable.
D)Pete's agent would be vicariously liable.
E)Lily would be liable.

Question 29

The principal's unilateral termination of agency is known as _____ of agency.

A)revocation
B)renunciation
C)cancellation
D)falsification
E)liquidation

Question 30

Differentiate between direct liability and vicarious liability of the principal.

Question 31

The agent's unilateral termination of the agency relationship is known as _____.

A)revocation
B)renunciation
C)cancellation
D)falsification
E)liquidation

Question 32

The _____ doctrine imposes vicarious liability on the principal in case of an agency relationship.

A)employment-at-will
B)estoppel
C)master-servant
D)ultra vires
E)family purpose