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Notes:

I.

2.

3.

A minor who cannot contract for himself may contract as an agent for someone else.

Anyone can be an agent to do anything he is sufficiently intelligent to do.

A parent is not bound by the contract of a minor child unless he has expressly or impliedly made the child his agent.

§ 123. General Agents

A general agent is one authorized to assume entire charge of his principal's business, or all of one phase of the business, or all of his principal's business at some particular place.

Unless notified to the contrary, people dealing with an agent have the right to presume that his agency is a general one, and that he is authorized to do anything usually done in such a business. A general agent has unrestricted powers to deal along the line he is engaged in.

The manager of a business is a general agent with power to use his individual judgment and to act largely upon his own initiative. His employer controls and limits his general policy, but he does many specific acts at his own discretion, and delegates authority in minor details to subagents who answer to him for what they do.

For instance, the manager of a grocery store is a general agent for that purpose and has authority to purchase all kinds of goods that are sold in the store, and to contract for necessary repairs and improvements in the store. He has no authority to buy dry-goods, hardware, or other things outside his line of business. He has no authority to sell the whole store, or to buy real estate, or to build a new store. If such an agent wanted to contract for an addition to the existing store, the contractor would do well to find out whether or

not the agent had authority to do this, because this would seem not to be included in his general authority.

An agent may possess direct authority to bind his principal in a particular transaction; that is to say, the principal may expressly empower the agent to bind him; and this direct authority will carry with it, by implication of law, such powers as are suitable and reasonably necessary to accomplish the intended purpose.5

A superintendent of a factory is a general agent for the purpose of running the factory, and is presumed to have power and authority to do anything necessary to keep it in operation, and in case of emergency to preserve the business and the building and to protect the employees.

Notes:

I. A general agent has wide powers in his particular line of business.

2.

He has no authority to bind his principal outside of his general line of business.

3. It is expedient to know, when you are dealing with an agent, whether he is a general agent or a special agent.

4.

A third person, having ascertained the general character and the scope of an agency, may rely on the agent's having such powers as naturally and properly belong to his position.

5. In doubtful cases, it is safest for those dealing with a general agent to ascertain the extent of his authority.

$124. Special Agents

A special agent is one authorized to act in a specific transaction or in a limited line of business. The authority of a

5 Hackett v. Frank, 105 Mo. App. 384.

special agent is not so broad as the authority of a general agent.

A special agent is authorized to do some special thing. He may make, for instance, but the one contract or the one sale for which he has been appointed. Should he do some other special thing, which he honestly considers more to the interest of his principal, he would depart from his instructions and he alone would be liable; the party represented would not be bound. For example, an agent authorized to sell a particular painting would have authority to sell that painting and to bind his principal in what he did in connection with the one transaction, but he would have no authority to do anything else.

Similarly, a special agent might be authorized to buy wheat for his principal; in that case he would have no right to buy lumber, coal, or another grain, but he could bind his principal in any transaction for the purchase of wheat. If the agent has an established office or place of business where he has been doing business for some time with a sign or signs indicating his agency and line of business, a third person would be safe in doing business with him in the particular line.

In dealing with a special agent engaged for a particular transaction, a third party should ask to see the agent's authorization, which is usually in writing.

In a New York case, a father authorized his son, to accept a draft for $2,000, drawn upon the father at not less than thirty days. The son accepted a draft for $482, payable ninety days after date, in the name of his father. The court held that he was a "special agent," and had no right to go outside of his authority."

A written request to a real estate broker as special agent, to find a purchaser for real estate, does not confer upon him

"Nixon v. Palmer, 8 N. Y. 398.

any authority to sign a binding contract of sale for his principal. To do this, he must also have authority from his principal to sell.

Notes:

I. A special agent has limited authority.
2. This authority may be indicated by:
(a) Written authorization.

(b) An established office with signs and adver-
tisements.

(c) A continued course of dealing.

3. No one can become the agent of another except by the will, expressed or implied, of the principal. An agent cannot create in himself a particular authority merely by the performance of the act.

4.

§ 125. Del Credere Agents

A del credere agent is one who guarantees to his principal that any goods sold by the agent will be paid for.

An agent employed to sell goods sometimes guarantees his principal against loss from any of the customers to whom he sells; in such case, the agent is termed a del credere agent. It is not a common arrangement, but nevertheless it is used occasionally in mercantile circles.

A factor with a del credere commission or agency is one who in consideration of a higher compensation expressly agrees to pay his principal the price of the goods he sells himself, if the purchaser does not."

A contract of a commission merchant whereby he, for a commission of 5 per cent, undertakes to sell goods and guarantees his sales, need not be in writing.

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REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Who may appoint an agent?

2.

Who may act as agent though not as principal?

3. Distinguish between general and special agents.

4.

5.

Can a real estate agent as such sign a contract binding his pri cipal to sell?

What is a del credere agent?

6. If a boy came into a store and wanted to buy an Ingersoll watch and have it charged to his father, what would you advise?

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