Apparent Authority: Apparent authority arises from
the reasonable beliefs of third parties
. … Inherent Authority: Even if the agent has no actual or apparent authority, the agent might still have the inherent authority to act on behalf of the principal.
In a situation of apparent authority, it means that a person’s conduct gives the impression that they are allowed to act in the principal’s interest. … Express authority occurs when an agent
is working
on behalf of his or her company to act on behalf of a principal.
While actual authority requires a third party to have been officially granted the authority to act on behalf of a company,
apparent authority does not require an official granting of power
. … Any actions taken under apparent authority may not be legally binding.
Apparent authority may arise, for example, by giving
someone who has no authority to contract materials, stationery
, forms, a truck with a company logo, or letting him work out of the company office.
Apparent authority is
the power of an agent to act on behalf of a principal
, even though not expressly or impliedly granted. … Typically, if an agent has apparent authority, the agent’s principal will be held liable for the actions of the agent which are within the scope of the apparent authority.
Generally, to prove apparent agency one must establish (1) the principal actually or negligently acquiesced in another party’s exercise of authority; (2) the third person had knowledge of the facts and a good faith belief that the apparent agent possessed such authority; and (3)
the third person relied on this apparent
…
‘apparent authority is created by a representation, made by the principal to the third party, that
the agent has authority to enter on behalf of the principal into a contract of a kind within the scope of the
“apparent” authority, [rendering] the principal liable to perform any obligations imposed upon him. ‘
- Express Authority. Express authority is the authority that an agent has in writing in the contract with the insurer that the agent represents. …
- Implied Authority. …
- Apparent Authority.
A relationship between two parties that reasonably leads a third party to believe that one is the agent of the other; for example, an
emergency room physician who may be employed by an outside contractor
, not the hospital, may nonetheless be deemed the “ostensible agent” of the hospital.
Another example of implied authority is
an employee who bears a name tag or a business card with a company logo
. This person has implied authority. Potential clients or customers are going to assume that employee has the authority to act on behalf of the company, and they do.
- Ostensible or apparent authority is the authority of an agent as it appears to others.
- The court held that defendant’s father had the apparent authority to consent to search of defendant’s computer.
- Richard Bradshaw conducted with apparent authority.
What is an example of ratification?
A written contract signed by individuals who have the authority to bind the corporation to the agreement
is one example of ratification. Contracts describe the specific obligations and rights of an arrangement and allow a party to seek legal action if the other party breaches the agreement.
“Actual authority
and apparent authority are quite independent of one another
. Generally they coexist and coincide but either may exist without the other and their respective scope may be different.”
This is called lingering apparent authority. Business owners can avoid being liable by
giving public notice of the termination of authority
, and by contacting any individual third parties who would have had reason to know of such authority.
Apparent authority of an agent can also be terminated by the principal. This can be done by expressly
communicating to a third party that an agent can no longer act
on behalf of the company.
An agent’s power to act on behalf of a principal, intentionally granted by the principal as a result of the principal’s conduct
, but without an express agreement. Failure to object after a prior exercise of such power may give rise to implied authority.