Implied authority

Implied authority

Implied Authority of Contract is a legal term. In contract law, it is the implied ability of an individual to make a legally binding contract on behalf of an organization, by way of uniform or interaction with the public on behalf of that organization. When a person is wearing a uniform or nametag bearing the logo or trademark of a business or organization; or if that person is functioning in an obviously authorized capacity on behalf of a business or organization, that person carries an Implied Authority of Contract.

For example, if you are at a restaurant and your waitress tells you that she can give you a free beverage if you pay for an entree, she has made a contract with you on behalf of the business by which she is employeed. It is "implied" that she is given the "authority" to do so by the fact that she is the sole employee of the business who has been designated to complete a transaction with you. (Whether or not other employees ultimately get involved in your transaction is irrelevant, because it is expected that ideally she is the only person required to complete your business.)

Continuing the scenario, suppose that a manager were to come to your table and inform you that your waitress has made a mistake; that the "free beverage w/ paid entree" offer has expired and that you will be expected to pay for your beverage. At this point the business is in direct violation of a legally enforceable contract made between you, the client, and their employee.

They may penalize the employee for the mistake, but Implied Authority of Contract places them under a legal obligation to honor the terms of the agreement.

The same principle applies to more complex or extreme legal circumstances.

A design professional’s implied authority gives the designer the means to act in ways that are incidental to the exercise of actual authority. It is authority that isn’t written down, but needs to be understood to make the construction process a success.

Besides Implied Authority, look into Apparent Authority and Express Authority as well. In relation to companies, apparent authority is usually referred to as "ostensible authority".
-These three are known as the Agency Relationship


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • implied authority — see authority Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. implied authority …   Law dictionary

  • Implied Authority — An agent with the jurisdiction to perform acts which are reasonably necessary to accomplish the purpose of an organization. Under contract law, implied authority figures have the ability to make a legally binding contract on behalf of another… …   Investment dictionary

  • implied authority — authority which is understood without being explicitly stated …   English contemporary dictionary

  • implied authority — The actual authority of an agent, circumstantially proved, which the principal is deemed to have actually intended the agent to possess; authority of an agent arising independently of any express grant of authority, as from some manifestation by… …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • implied authority — noun or implied agency : authority that is not proved expressly but by inferences and reasonable deductions and that arises out of the language and course of conduct of the principal toward his agent and the agency …   Useful english dictionary

  • actual implied authority — see authority Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • attorney's implied authority — The authority which an attorney has, by virtue of his employment as an attorney, to do all acts necessary and proper to the regular and orderly conduct of the case; being such acts as affect the remedy only and not the cause of action. Such acts… …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • authority — au·thor·i·ty n pl ties 1: an official decision of a court used esp. as a precedent 2 a: a power to act esp. over others that derives from status, position, or office the authority of the president; also: jurisdiction b: the power to act …   Law dictionary

  • implied — im·plied /im plīd/ adj: not directly or specifically made known (as in the terms of a contract); specif: recognized (as by a court) as existing by reason of an inference and esp. on legal or equitable grounds for breach of implied covenants in… …   Law dictionary

  • agent's implied authority — Actual authority, circumstantially proved, which the principal is deemed to have actually intended the agent to possess. 3 Am J2d Ag § 71 …   Ballentine's law dictionary

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