vicarious liability

vicarious liability
vicarious liability see liability 2b

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. . 1996.

vicarious liability
An employer is vicariously liable for negligent acts or omissions by his employee in the course of employment whether or not such act or omission was specifically authorised by the employer. To avoid liability, an employer must demonstrate either that the employee was not negligent in that the employee was reasonably careful or that the employee was acting in his own right rather than on the employer's business.

Easyform Glossary of Law Terms. — UK law terms.


vicarious liability
n.
Liability imposed on one person for the actions of another based on a relationship between them, such as that between a principal and an agent or a parent and child.

The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. . 2008.


vicarious liability
liability where one person, himself blameless, is held liable for another person's conduct. The rule is often justified by reference to two Latin maxims: respondeat superior ('let the master answer') and qui facit per alium facit per se ('he who acts through another acts himself'). It is now accepted in modern times as a matter of policy, shifting the burden of the cost of accidents upon someone more likely to be able to pay. The most widely used example is the employer's liability for his employee. There is, however, generally no liability for an independent contractor like a taxi driver or removal firm: Salsbury v . Woodland [1970] 1 QB 324. For there to be vicarious liability in respect of an employee, the acts must be 'in the course of his employment', which does not rule out negligent or even deliberate wrongs by the employee but excludes cases where the employee has gone off 'on a frolic of his own. See Rose v. Plenty CA [1976] 1 WLR 141. For there to be liability in respect of an agent, the relationship will be examined to see whether the wrongdoer is acting on the other's business or for his instructed purposes: Ormrod v. Crosville Motor Services [1953] 1 WLR 1120. However, there is not in the UK any concept of a family car that would, without more, make one spouse liable for the other spouse's driving: Morgans v. Launch-berry [1973] AC 127.

Collins dictionary of law. . 2001.


vicarious liability
Responsibility for a civil wrong that a supervisor bears when a subordinate or associate has actually committed the acts that give rise to the liability. For example, the owner of a residential rental may be vicariously liable if the manager discriminates against tenants on the basis of their religion.
Category: Accidents & Injuries
Category: Small Claims Court & Lawsuits

Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. . 2009.

vicarious liability
In employment law, an employer's liability for the acts of its employees. In common law an employer is vicariously liable for the tortious acts of its employees if they are carried out "in the course of employment". Under discrimination legislation, discriminatory acts done by an employee in the course of employment are treated as having been done by the employer. The test is wider than the common-law test of vicarious liability. However, the employer will not be liable if it can show that it took such steps as were reasonably practicable to prevent the employee from doing the discriminatory act(s).

Practical Law Dictionary. Glossary of UK, US and international legal terms. . 2010.


vicarious liability
The tort (See tort law) doctrine that imposes responsibility upon one person for the failure of another, with whom the person has a special relationship (such as parent and child, employer and employee, or owner of vehicle and driver), to exercise such care as a reasonably prudent person would use under similar circumstances.

Dictionary from West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005.


vicarious liability
The tort doctrine that imposes responsibility upon one person for the failure of another, with whom the person has a special relationship (such as parent and child, employer and employee, or owner of vehicle and driver), to exercise such care as a reasonably prudent person would use under similar circumstances.

Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.

vicarious liability
n.
   sometimes called "imputed liability," attachment of responsibility to a person for harm or damages caused by another person in either a negligence lawsuit or criminal prosecution. Thus, an employer of an employee who injures someone through negligence while in the scope of employment (doing work for the employer) is vicariously liable for damages to the injured person. In most states a participant in a crime (like a hold-up) may be vicariously liable for murder if another member of the group shoots and kills a shopkeeper or policeman.
   See also: liability

Law dictionary. . 2013.

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