GENERAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES; AGENCY – Actual Authority

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Actual agency exists when the agent is really employed by the principal. Actual authority is that authority which a principal intentionally confers upon the agent, or intentionally, or by want of ordinary care, allows the agent to believe himself to possess. An agent’s authority includes the degree of discretion necessary for the agent to carry out the purposes of the agency in accordance with the interests of the principal. Because an actual agent is employed by the principal, the primary inquiry in assessing actual authority is whether the agent was acting within the scope of his or her authority. (p. 45.)