Thrall v. Wilson

Citations

• 17 Pa. Super. 376
• 1901 Pa. Super. LEXIS 323

Syllabus

<p>Principal and agent — Limitation on authority of agent — Notice.</p> <p>A principal may put one in charge of his business with the apparent authority, so far as the general public is concerned, of a general agent to buy, yet if he limits his authority as to the persons from whom he shall buy, or as to the amount of debt that he may incur, third persons who, with the knowledge of these limitations, permit the agent to exceed his authority in his dealings with them, do so at their peril.</p> <p>If at the beginning of dealings between dealers and an agent the principal notifies the dealers not to sell the agent goods and give him credit beyond a certain amount, something more is required to make the principal liable for the excess than proof merely that the goods were ordered by and delivered to the agent.</p> <p>Principal and agent — Ratification—Retention of goods.</p> <p>Where a principal has notified dealers not to sell goods beyond a certain amount to his agent, and the dealers disregard this notice, and subsequently bring an action against the principal for the whole amount of the goods sold to the agent at the price at which they were sold, on the ground that the principal had ratified the act of the agent by retaining the goods, the plaintiffs must show not only that, the principal knew that the agent had bought goods beyond the limit, but they must also show, that the goods had not been so commingled with the stock of similar goods that they could not be identified and returned. In such a case, the burden of proving what specific goods and their value, were converted to his own use by the defendant, after notice that his agent had exceeded his authority rests on the plaintiffs.</p> <p>Practice, O. P. — Trial—Charge of court.</p> <p>The fact that a judge in charging a jury gives reasons for his conclusions and in doing so elaborates more than is necessary is not error provided, these explanatory instructions are not irrelevant, nor erroneous, nor so confusin