- apparent authority
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apparent authority see authority
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.
- apparent authority
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n.The authority an agent gains when a principal allows a third party to believe that the agent has such authority, whether or not it is part of the agent’s actual authority.
The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008.
- apparent authority
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the situation where, objectively looked at, it seems that an agent does have the authority of his principal. Where an agent has apparent authority to enter into a transaction, the fact that he lacks real authority will not necessarily render the transaction void; the appearance of authority will operate to create an estoppel preventing the principal from denying the existence of such authority. See agency.
Collins dictionary of law. W. J. Stewart. 2001.
- apparent authority
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The condition that arises if a third party believes that an agent has the authority to act for another person or company (called the principal) when that authority has not in reality been granted. If an agent acts with apparent authority, the agent's acts legally bind the principal. For example, a customer may believe that an employee who presents a contract on company stationery is authorized to sign that contract on behalf of the company. Even if the employee does not have the authority to enter into contracts, the company will be legally bound by the signed agreement.Category: Business, LLCs & CorporationsCategory: Employment Law & HR → Human ResourcesCategory: Wills, Trusts & Estates → Financial Powers of Attorney
Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. Gerald N. Hill, Kathleen Thompson Hill. 2009.
- apparent authority
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n.the appearance of being the agent of another (employer or principal) with the power to act for the principal. Since under the law of agency the employer (the principal) is liable for the acts of his employee (agent), if a person who is not an agent appears to an outsider (a customer) to have been given authority by the principal, then the principal is stuck for the acts of anyone he allows to appear to have authority. This "apparent authority" can be given by providing Joe Slobovia (who has no authority to contract) with materials, stationery, forms, a truck with a company logo, or letting him work out of the company office, so that a reasonable person would think Joe had authority to act for the company. Then the contract or the price quote given by Joe and accepted by a third party is binding on the company. Apparent authority may also arise when Joe works for the company, has no authority to contract, but appears to have been given that authority. Beware of the salesman who exceeds his authority or the hanger-on who claims to work for the boss.
Law dictionary. EdwART. 2013.