Apparent Authority of Agent to Bind Principal

You may have heard the terms actual authority and apparent authority. This pertains to the authority of an agent to bind its principal. Focusing on apparent authority, a recent case provided a worthwhile definition: The doctrine of apparent agency stems from “the policy ‘that a principal should be estopped to deny the authority of an agent when the principal permitted an appearance of authority in the agent and, in so doing, justified a third party's reliance upon that appearance of authority as if it were actually conferred upon the agent.' ” To show apparent agency, a plaintiff must establish “(a) a...

04 March

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Yes, There is Such a Thing Called Apparent Authority

Posted by David Adelstein

in Trial Perspectives

“But he did NOT have the authority….” This is the beginning of a sentence that does not start well. Agents have the authority to bind their principal. “Even where there is no express agent/principal relationship, a principal may be bound by the acts of an agent acting with apparent authority.” Clayton v. Poggendorf, 43 Fla.L.Weekly D436a (Fla. 4th DCA 2018). Apparent authority sometimes gets lost in the shuffle and the reason why the sentence, “But he did not have the authority…,” does not start well. If the person is deemed to have apparent authority then he did have the authority to bind...