Wolff v. Wilson

Citations

• 28 Pa. Super. 511
• 1905 Pa. Super. LEXIS 235

Syllabus

<p>Contract — Breach of contract — Parties to action.</p> <p>No person can be sued for breach of contract who has not contracted, either in person or by an agent; or in other words who was not a party to the contract; and conversely, no person who has not contracted, either in person or by an agent, may be sued for a breach. For breach of a civil contract, the person to be sued is the person who has promised, or who has allowed credit to be given to him.</p> <p>Principal and agent — Liability of agent — Want of authority of agent.</p> <p>Whenever a party undertakes to act as agent for another, if he does not possess any authority from the principal therefor, or if he exceeds the authority delegated to him, he will be personally liable to the person with whom he is dealing, for or on account of his principal.</p> <p>In an action by an attorney at law against two defendants, the plaintiff in his statement averred that the first defendant as agent for the second defendant employed the plaintiff to prepare and conduct a suit at law. On a trial before arbitrators it was adjudged that the agent was never, in any way authorized to make such a contract, and a judgment was entered against the agent alone. The agent thereupon appealed. At the trial in common pleas the evidence was undisputed that the agent had no authority to bind his principal by the contract alleged in the statement. The court refused to charge that the agent was personally liable if he employed the plaintiff without authority so to do from his principal. Held, that the refusal so to charge was error.</p>