that it shall be revocable, it cannot be revoked; Story, Ag. §§ 476, 477; 2 Kent, 643, 644; 8 Wheat. 174; 10 Paige, 205; 34 N. Y. 24; 53 Penn. 212; 3 Const. 62; 2 Mas C. C. 244, 342. When the authority has been partially executed by the agent, if it admit of severance, or of being revoked as to the part which is unexecuted, it may be revoked as to that part; but if it be not thus severable, and the agent by its execution in part will sustain damage, it cannot be revoked as to the unexecuted part unless the agent be fully indemnified; Story, Ag. § 466. This revocation may be by a formal declaration publicly made known, by an informal writing, or by parol; or it may be implied from circumstances, as, if another person be ap; pointed to do the same act; Story, Ag. ? 474; 5 Binn. 305; 6 Pick. 198. See 11 Allen, 208. It takes effect from the time it is made known, and not before, both as regards the agent and third persons; Story, Ag. § 470; 2 Kent, 644; 11 N. H. 397; 7 Ct. of Cl. 535; 44 Ill. 114; 35 Vt. 179; 95 U. S. 48; 38 Conn. 197.

The determination may be by the renunciation of the agent either before or after a part of the authority is executed; Story, Ag. § 478; it should be observed, however, that if the renunciation be made after the authority has been partly executed, the agent by renouncing it becomes liable for the damages which may thereby be sustained by his principal; Story, Ag. § 478; Jones, Bailm. 101; 4 Johns. 84; or, by operation of law, in various ways. And the agency may terminate by the expiration of the period during which it was to exist and to have effect; as, if an agency be created to endure a year, or until the happening of a contingency, it becomes extinct at the end of the year, or on the happening of the contingency; Story, Ag. § 480. The determination may result from the marriage of the principal, if a feme sole; the insanity of the principal; 10 N. H. 156; 8 Wheat. 174; bankruptcy; Story, Ag. § 482; 16 East, 382; Baldw. C. C. 38; or death; Story, Bailm. § 209; 2 Kent, 645 (in England and most of the United States this revocation is instantaneous, even as to-third parties without notice; L. R. 4 C. P. 744; 84 Ill. 286; 10 M. & W. 1; 5 Pet. 319; 12 N. H. 145; 25 Ind. 182; 2 Humph. 350; 31 Ala. 274; 29 Tex. 204; 28 Cal. 645; 77 Iowa, 73; 9 Wend. 452. But notice is necessary in Pennsylvania, Missouri, and, in some cases, in Ohio; 4 W. & S. 282; 26 Mo. 313; 8 Ohio St. 520; and under the civil law; Whart. Ag. § 101); but not when the authority is coupled with an interest; 53 Penn. 266; 4 Campb. 325; 10 Paige, 201; see 4 Pet. 332; or from the insanity; Story, Ag. § 487; bankruptcy; 5 B. & Ald. 27, 31; or death of the agent; 2 Kent, 643; though not necessarily by marriage or bankruptcy; Story, Ag. §§ 485, 486; 12 Mod. 383; 3 Burr. 1469, 1471; from the extinction of the subject-matter of the agency, or of the principal's power over it,

AGENT

or by the complete execution of the trust; Story, Ag. § 499.

As to revocation by lunacy of principal, see late English case in 19 Am. L. Reg. 106, with Judge Bennett's note. As to revocation by death of principal, see id. 401. AGENS (Lat. agere, to do; to conduct). A conductor or manager of affairs. Distinguished from factor, a workman. A plaintiff. Fleta, lib. 4, c. 15, § 8. AGENT (Lat. agens; from agere, to do). One who undertakes to transact some busiby the authority and on account of the latter, ness, or to manage some affair, for another, and to render an account of it; 1 Livermore, Ag. 67; 2 Bouvier, Inst. 3. See Co. Litt.

207; 1 B. & P. 316.

The term is one of a very wide application, and includes a great many classes of persons to which distinctive appellations are given; as, factors, brokers, attorneys, cashiers of banks, auctioneers, clerks, supercargoes, consignees, ships' husbands, masters of ships, and the like. The terms agent and attorney are often used synonymously. Thus, a letter or power of attorney is constantly spoken of as the formal instrument by which an agency is created; Paley, Ag., Dunl. ed. 1, n.

Who may be.

See 70

Many persons disqualified from acting for themselves, such as infants (117 Mass. 479), persons attainted or outlaws, aliens (19 La. Ann. 482; see 18 Wall. 106; 42 N. Y. 54; 62 Ill. 61), slaves, and others, may yet act as agents in the execution of a naked authority; Whart. Ag. § 14; 45 Ala. 656; 1 Hill (s. c.) 270; Coke, Litt. 252 a; Story, Ag. § 4. Α feme covert may be the agent of her husband, and as such, with his consent, bind him by her contract or other act; 47 Ala. 624; 16 Vt. 633; 3 Head. (Tenn.) 471. Penn. 181; and she may be the agent of another in a contract with her husband; Bacon, Abr. Authority, B; 6 N. H. 124; 3 Whart. 369; 16 Vt. 653. But although she is in general competent to act as the agent of a third person; 7 Bingh. 565; 1 Esp. 142; 2 id. 511; 4 Wend. 465; it is not clear that she can do so when her husband expressly dissents, particularly when he may be rendered liable for her acts; Story, Ag. § 7. Persons non compos mentis cannot be agents for others; Whart. Ag. § 15 (but see Ewell's Evans, Agency, *10; 4 Exch. 7; s. c. Ewell, Lead. Cas. on Disabilities, 614; as to cases when one deals with a lunatic, not knowing of his lunacy. See, also, 55 Ill. 62; 34 Ind. 181; 14 Barb. 488; 23 Iowa, 433; 48 N. H. 133; 6 Gray, 279; 23 Ark. 417; 24 Ind. 238); nor can a person act as agent in a transaction where he has an adverse interest or employment; 2 Ves. Ch. 317; 11 Clark & F. 714; 3 Beav. 783; 2 Campb. 203; 2 Chitty, Bail, 205; 30 Me. 431; 24 Ala. N. s. 358; 3 Denio, 575; 19 Barb. 595; 20 id. 470; 6

AGENT

La. 407; 7 Watts, 472; and whenever the agent holds a fiduciary relation, he cannot contract with the same general binding force with his principal as when such a relation does not exist; Story, Ag. § 9; 1 Story, Eq. Jur. §§ 308, 328; 4 M. & C. 134; 14 Ves. 290; 3 Sumn. 476; 2 Johns. Ch. 251; 11 Paige, 538; 5 Me. 420; 6 Pick. 198; 4 Conn. 717; 10 Pet. 269.

Extent of authority.

The authority of the agent, unless the contrary clearly appears, is presumed to include all the necessary and usual means of executing it with effect; Story, Ag. §§ 58, 85, 86; 5 Bingh. 442; 2 H. Bla. 618; 10 Wend. 218; 6 S. & R. 146; 11 Ill. 177; 9 Metc. 91; 22 Pick. 85; 15 Miss. 365; 9 Leigh, Va. 387; 11 N. H. 424; 6 Ired. 252; 10 Ala. N. s. 386; 21 id. 488; 1 Ga. 418; 1 Sneed, 497; 8 Humphr. 509; 15 Vt. 155; 2 McLean, 543; 8 How. 441. Where, however, the whole authority is conferred by a written instrument, its nature and extent must be ascertained from the instrument itself, and cannot be enlarged by parol evidence; Story, Ag. §§ 76, 79; 1 Taunt. 347; 5 B. & Ald. 204; 7 Rich. 45; 1 Pet. 264; 3 Cranch, 415.

Generally, in private agencies, when an authority is given by the principal; 7 N. H. 253; 1 Dougl. Mich. 119; 11 Ala. N. s. 755; 1 B. & P. 229; 3 Term, 592; to two or more persons to do an act, and no several authority is given, all the agents must concur in doing it, in order to bind the principal, though one die or refuse; Story, Ag. § 42; 3 Pick. 232; 6 id. 198; 12 Mass. 185; 23 Wend. 324; 6 Johns. 39; 9 Watts & S. 56; 10 Vt. 532; 12 N. H. 226; 1 Gratt. 226; 53 N. Y. 114; 57 Ill. 180. The words jointly and severally, and jointly or severally, have been construed as authorizing all to act jointly, or each one to act separately, but not as authorizing any portion of the number to do the act jointly; Paley, Ag., Lloyd ed. 177, note. But where the authority is so worded that it is apparent the principal intended to give power to either of them, an execution by a part will be valid; Coke, Litt. 49 b; Dyer, 62; 5 B. & Ald. 628. And generally, in commercial transactions, each one of several agents possesses the whole power. For example, on a consignment of goods for sale to two factors (whether they are partners or not), each of them is understood to possess the whole power over the goods for the purposes of the consignment; Story, Ag. § 44; 3 Wils. 94, 114; 20 Pick. 59; 24 id. 13; see 53 N. Y. 114. In public agencies an authority executed by a majority will be sufficient; 1 Coke, Litt. 181 b; Comyns, Dig. Attorney, c. 15; Bacon, Abr. Authority, C; 1 Term, 592; 10 Wis. 271; 11 Ala. 755. A mere agent cannot, generally, appoint a sub-agent, so as to render the latter directly responsible to the principal; 9 Coke, 75; 2 M. & S. 298, 301; 1 Younge & J. 387; 4 Mass. 597; 12 id. 241; 1 Hill, 501; 13 B. Monr. 400; 12 N. H. 226; 3 Story, 411; 72

AGENT

Penn. 491; 26 Wend. 485; 11 How. 209; 28 Tex. 163; 34 Miss. 63; but may when such is the usage of trade, or is understood by the parties to be the mode in which the particular business might be done; 9 Ves. 234; 1 M. & S. 484; 2 id. 301; 6 S. & R. 386; 1 Ala. N. s. 249; 3 Johns. Ch. 167; 51 N. Y. 117. Duties and liabilities.

The particular obligations of an agent vary according to the nature, terms, and end of his employment; Paley, Ag. 3; 2 Ld. Raym. 517. He is bound to execute the orders of his principal whenever, for a valuable consideration, he has undertaken to perform them; Story, Ag. 2 189; 5 Cowen, 128; 20 Wend. 321. When his authority is limited by instructions, it is his duty to adhere faithfully to those instructions; Paley, Ag. 3, 4; 3 B. & P. 75; 5 id. 269; Story, Ag. § 192; 3 Johns. Cas. 36; 1 Sandf. 111; 26 Penn. 394; 14 Pet. 494; 25 N. J. Eq. 202; 48 Ga. 128; 3 W. Va. 133; 31 Ill. 200; but cases of extreme necessity and unforeseen emergency constitute exceptions to this rule; 1 Story, 45; 4 Binn. 361; 5 Day, 556; 26 Penn. 394; 4 Campb. 83; and where the agent is required to do an illegal or an immoral act; 6 C. Rob. Adm. 207; 7 Term, 157; 11 Wheat. 258; he may violate his instructions with impunity; Story, Ag. §§ 193, 194, 195. If he have no specific instructions, he must follow the accustomed course of the business; Story, Ag. § 199; 1 Gall. C. C. 360; 11 Mart. La. 636. When the transaction may, with equal advantage to the principal, be done in two or more different ways, the agent may in general do it in either, provided a particular mode has not been prescribed to him; 1 Livermore, Ag. 103. He is to exercise the skill employed by persons of common capacity similarly engaged, and the same degree of diligence that persons of ordinary prudence are accustomed to use about their own affairs; 6 Taunt. 495; 10 Bingh. 57; 1 Johns. 364; 20 Pick. 167; 6 Metc. 13; 24 Vt. 149; 57 Mo. 93; 66 Ill. 136; 21 Wall. 178; 38 Miss. 242. It is his duty to keep his principal informed of his doings, and to give him reasonable notice of whatever may be important to his interests; 5 M. & W. 527; 4 Watts & S. 305; 1 Story, 43, 56; 4 Rawle, 229; 6 Whart. 9; 13 Mart. La. 214, 365. He is also bound to keep regular accounts, and to render his accounts to his principal at all reasonable times, without concealment or overcharge; Story, Ag. § 203; 22 Tex. 703; 22 La. An. 599; 9 Iowa, 589; 52 Ill. 512; 4 Mo. Cr. 41.

As to their principals, the liabilities of agents arise from a violation of duties and obligations to them by exceeding his authority, by misconduct, or by any negligence, omission, or act by the natural result or just consequence of which the principal sustains a loss; Paley, Ag. 7, 71, 74; 1 B. & Ad. 415; 6 Hare, 366; 12 Pick. 328; 20 id. 167; 11 Ohio, 363; 13 Wend. 518; 6 Whart. 9. And

and ostensible principal, and consequently, in contemplation of law, the real contracting party; Russ. Fact. & B. 241, 244; Paley, Ag. 361, note; Story, Ag. § 393; Dicey, Parties, 136-138; 5 Penn. 41; as, if an agent sell goods of his principal in his own name, as though he were the owner, he is entitled to sue the buyer in his own name; 12 Wend. 413; 5 M. & S. 833; and, on the other hand, if he so buy, he may enforce the contract by action. The renunciation of the agent's contract by the principal does not necessarily preclude the agent from maintaining an action, but he will still be entitled to sue the party with whom he has contracted for any damages which he may have sustained by reason of a breach of contract by the latter; Russ. Fact. & B. 243, 244; 2 B. & Ald. 962. Third, the right of the agent to sue in his own name exists when, by the usage of trade or the general course of business, he is authorized to act as owner, or as a principal contracting party, although his character as agent is known; Story, Ag. § 393. Fourth, where the agent has made a contract in the subjectmatter of which he has a special interest or property, he may enforce his contract by action, whether he held himself out at the time to be acting in his own behalf or not; 1 Livermore, Ag. 215-219; Story, Ag. § 393; 27 Ala. N. 8. 215; Dicey, Parties, 189; 22 Penn. 522: for example, an auctioneer who sells the goods of another may maintain an action for the price, though the sale be on the premises of the owner of the goods, because the auctioneer has a possession coupled with an interest; 2 Esp. 493; 1 H. Bla. 81, 84, 85. But this right of the agent to bring an action in his own name is subordinate to the rights of the principal, who may, unless in particular cases where the agent has a lien or some other vested right, bring a suit himself, and suspend or extinguish the right of the agent; 1 Livermore, Ag. 221; Story, Ag. § 403; 3 Hill, 72, 73; 6 S. & R. 27; 4 Campb. 194. An agent may maintain an action of trespass or trover against third persons for injuries affecting the possession of his principal's property; and when he has been induced by the fraud of a third person to sell or buy goods for his principal, and he has sustained a personal loss, he may maintain an action against such third person for such wrongful act, deceit, or fraud; Story, Ag. §§ 414, 415; 9 B. & C. 208; 3 Campb. 320; 1 H. Bla. 81; 1 B. & Ald. 59. But his remedy for mere torts is confined to cases like the foregoing, where his "right of possession is injuriously invaded, or where he incurs a personal responsibility, or loss, or damage in consequence of the tort" Story, Ag. § 416.

AGGRAVATION

ness of the agency, the sub-agent can maintain his claim for compensation both against the principal and the immediate employer, unless the agency be avowed and exclusive credit be given to the principal, in which case his remedy will be limited to the principal; Story, Ag. §§ 386, 387; 6 Taunt. 147; 4 Wend. 285; 16 La. An. 127; 6 S. & R. 386; 3 Johns. 167.

A sub-agent will be clothed with a lien against the principal for services performed and disbursements made by him on account of the sub-agency, whenever a privity exists between them; Story, Ag. § 388; 2 Campb. 218, 597; 2 East, 523; 6 Wend. 475. He will acquire a lien against the principal if the latter ratifies his acts, or seeks to avail himself of the proceeds of the sub-agency, though employed by the agent without the knowledge or consent of the principal; Story, Ag. § 389; 2 Campb. 218, 597, 598; 4 id. 348, 353. He may avail himself of his general lien against the principal by way of substitution to the rights of his immediate employer, to the extent of the lien of the latter; Story, Ag. § 389; 1 East, 335; 2 id. 523, 529; 7 id. 7; 6 Taunt. 147. And there are cases in which a sub-agent who has no knowledge or reason to believe that his immediate employer is acting as an agent for another, will have a lien on the property for his general balance; 2 Livermore, Ag. 87-92; Paley, Ag. 148, 149; Story, Ag. § 390; 4 Campb. 60, 349, 353. See INSURANCE AGENT.

Consult Livermore, Paley, Ross, Story, Wharton, Agency; Addison, Chitty, Parsons, Story, Contracts; Cross, Lien; Kent, Commentaries; Bouvier, Institutes.

AGENT AND PATIENT.

A phrase indicating the state of a person who is required to do a thing, and is at the same time the person to whom it is done; as, when a man is indebted to another, and he appoints him his executor, the latter is required to pay the debt in his capacity of executor, and entitled to receive it in his own right; he is then agent and patient; Termes de la Ley.

AGER (Lat.). In Civil Law. land generally.

A field;

A portion of land enclosed by definite boundaries.

Used like the word acre in the old English law,

denoting a measure of undetermined and variable value; Spelman, Gloss.; Du Cange; 3 Kent, 441.

AGGRAVATION (Lat. ad, to, and gravis, heavy; aggravare, to make heavy). That which increases the enormity of a crime or the injury of a wrong.