Implied Warranty of Authority - The Decision in Collen v Wright
Collen Vs Wright: Contracts entered into through an agent, and obligations arising from acts done by the agent may be enforced in the same manner and will have the same legal consequences as if the contracts had been entered into and the acts done by the principal in person. This effect must follow that the agent must have done the act within the scope of his authority. The authority of an agent and more particularly its scope are subjected to some controversy Collen Vs Wright (1857), the defendant Wright acted as land agent for principal and leased the principal’s farm to a third party, the plaintiff Collen. Wrights assertion of authority was unqualified but Wright, in fact, acted beyond actual authority because of the length of the lease, and the lease was thereby unenforceable. Wright, the agent was held liable to Collen for damages suffered even though it was an honest mistake by Wright. The 1857 decision of Collen v Wright is said to have created the doctrine of implied warr...