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AGENCY Definition & Legal Meaning

Definition & Citations:

A relation, created either by express or implied contract or by law, whereby one party (called the principal or constituent) delegates the transaction of some lawful business or the authority to do certain acts for him or in relation to his rights or property, with more or less discretionary power, to another person (called the agent, attorney, proxy, or delegate) who undertakes to manage the affair and render him an account thereof. State v. Ilubbard, 58 Kan. 797, 51 Pac. 290, 39 L. R. A. S60; Sternaman v. Insurance Co., 170 N. Y. 13, 62 N. E. 763, 57 L. R. A. 318, 88 Am. St. Rep. 625; Wynegar v. State, 157 Ind. 577, 62 N. E. 38. The contract of agency may be defined to be a contract by which one of the contracting parties confides the management of some affair, to be transacted on his account, to the other party, who undertakes to do the business and render an account of it. 1 Liverm. Prin. & Ag. 2. A contract by which one person, with greater or less discretionary power, undertakes to represent another in certain business relations. Whart. Ag. 1. A relation between two or more persons, by which one party, usually called the agent or attorney, is authorized to do certain acts for, or in relation to (lie rights or property of the other, who is denominated the principal, constituent, or employer. Bouvier.

TLD Example: A person acting on behalf of another under an agency relationship is an agent and must act in good faith and in the best interest of the principal.

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