{"id":942,"date":"2015-05-26T16:20:05","date_gmt":"2015-05-26T16:20:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/masterybusinesslaw1x6xmaster\/?post_type=chapter&p=942"},"modified":"2017-01-09T19:42:42","modified_gmt":"2017-01-09T19:42:42","slug":"introduction-to-agency-and-the-types-of-agents","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/montgomerycollege-masterybusinesslaw2\/chapter\/introduction-to-agency-and-the-types-of-agents\/","title":{"raw":"Reading: Introduction to Agency and the Types of Agents","rendered":"Reading: Introduction to Agency and the Types of Agents"},"content":{"raw":"

LEARNING OBJECTIVES<\/h3>\r\n
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  1. Understand why agency law is important.<\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Recognize the recurring legal issues in agency law.<\/li>\r\n\t
  3. Know the types of agents.<\/li>\r\n\t
  4. Understand how the agency relationship is created.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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    Introduction to Agency Law<\/h2>\r\n
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    Why Is Agency Law Important, and What Is an Agent?<\/h2>\r\n

    An agent is a person who acts in the name of and on behalf of another, having been given and assumed some degree of authority to do so. Most organized human activity\u2014and virtually all commercial activity\u2014is carried on through agency. No corporation would be possible, even in theory, without such a concept. We might say \u201cGeneral Motors is building cars in China,\u201d for example, but we can\u2019t shake hands with General Motors. \u201cThe General,\u201d as people say, exists and works through agents. Likewise, partnerships and other business organizations rely extensively on agents to conduct their business. Indeed, it is not an exaggeration to say that agency is the cornerstone of enterprise organization. In a partnership each partner is a general agent, while under corporation law the officers and all employees are agents of the corporation.<\/p>\r\n

    The existence of agents does not, however, require a whole new law of torts or contracts. A tort is no less harmful when committed by an agent; a contract is no less binding when negotiated by an agent. What does need to be taken into account, though, is the manner in which an agent acts on behalf of his principal and toward a third party.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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    Recurring Issues in Agency Law<\/h2>\r\n

    Several problematic fact scenarios recur in agency, and law has developed in response.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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    John Alden<\/h2>\r\n

    Consider John Alden (1599\u20131687), one of the most famous agents in American literature. He is said to have been the first person from the Mayflower<\/em> to set foot on Plymouth Rock in 1620; he was a carpenter, a cooper (barrel maker), and a diplomat. His agency task\u2014of interest here\u2014was celebrated in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow\u2019s \u201cThe Courtship of Miles Standish.\u201d He was to woo Priscilla Mullins (d. 1680), \u201cthe loveliest maiden of Plymouth,\u201d on behalf of Captain Miles Standish, a valiant soldier who was too shy to propose marriage. Standish turned to John Alden, his young and eloquent prot\u00e9g\u00e9, and beseeched Alden to speak on his behalf, unaware that Alden himself was in love with Priscilla. Alden accepted his captain\u2019s assignment, despite the knowledge that he would thus lose Priscilla for himself, and sought out the lady. But Alden was so tongue-tied that his vaunted eloquence fell short, turned Priscilla cold toward the object of Alden\u2019s mission, and eventually led her to turn the tables in one of the most famous lines in American literature and poetry: \u201cWhy don\u2019t you speak for yourself, John?\u201d John eventually did: the two were married in 1623 in Plymouth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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    Recurring Issues in Agency<\/h2>\r\n

    Let\u2019s analyze this sequence of events in legal terms\u2014recognizing, of course, that this example is an analogy and that the law, even today, would not impose consequences on Alden for his failure to carry out Captain Standish\u2019s wishes. Alden was the captain\u2019s agent: he was specifically authorized to speak in his name in a manner agreed on, toward a specified end, and he accepted the assignment in consideration of the captain\u2019s friendship. He had, however, a conflict of interest. He attempted to carry out the assignment, but he did not perform according to expectations. Eventually, he wound up with the prize himself. Here are some questions to consider, the same questions that will recur throughout the discussion of agency:<\/p>\r\n\r\n