Huntley v. Mathias

• Citation: 90 N.C. 101,47 Am.Rep. 516
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of North Carolina
• Decision Date: 28 February 1884
• Parties: GEORGE W. HUNTLEY v. H. MATHIAS and others.

90 N.C. 101

47 Am.Rep. 516

GEORGE W. HUNTLEY

v.H. MATHIAS and others.

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

February Term, 1884.

CIVIL ACTION for damages for injury to a horse, tried at Spring Term, 1883, of ANSON Superior Court, before MacRae, J.

It is alleged in the complaint that the defendant Mathias was the agent, and in the employ of, and doing business for, the defendant corporation (The Taylor Manufacturing Company), and that while he was so employed, on or about the 1st day of October, 1881, he, as such agent, hired from the plaintiff a horse, and did “neglect, abuse, overdrive, overload, and greatly damage” said horse. It is further alleged that the defendant corporation so hired the horse, and injured him by such neglect and misuse, that the plaintiff is endamaged to the amount of $75.00.

The defendants admit that the defendant Mathias hired the horse from plaintiff, and that he was in the employ of the defendant corporation, and deny all the other allegations in the complaint.

On the trial, “the plaintiff testified that he hired a horse to defendant H. Mathias on the 1st of October, and that said Mathias was traveling about through the country selling steam engines for the defendant company. He further testified to the hard driving of and consequent injury to the said hired horse by said defendant Mathias, and as to the amount of the damage. There was also other testimony to the injury and damage.”

Upon this state of the facts, the defendants prayed the court to instruct the jury that there was no evidence that Mathias had authority from the defendant corporation to hire horses or a horse, and that there was no evidence that the corporation had hired the horse or authorized its hire. The court declined to give this instruction, and the defendants excepted.

The court charged the jury in substance that the liability of the defendant corporation depended upon the character of the agency, and whether the hiring of the horse was under its direction; that plaintiff must satisfy them that by the contract of agency the agent had authority from his principal to hire horses, and the horse, in the prosecution of the business of the agency, and that if the corporation did so authorize the hiring of the horse, and the agent negligently treated, overdrove, and abused the horse, and he was injured by such treatment, in the course of the business, the defendant corporation would be liable for damages so sustained by the plaintiff. The defendants excepted.

The jury rendered a verdict for the plaintiff and there was judgment accordingly, and the defendants appealed.

Messrs. Little & Parsons, and Haywood & Haywood, for plaintiff .

Messrs. J. A. Lockhart and S. T. Ashe, for defendants .

MERRIMON, J.

In the absence of any written instrument, agencies in many cases arise from verbal authorizations, from implications, from the nature of the business to be done, or from the general usages of trade and commerce.

It is a general principle, applicable in all such cases, whether the agency be general or special, unless the inference is expressly negatived by some fact or circumstance, that it includes the authority to employ all the usual modes and means of accomplishing the purposes and ends of the agency, and a slight deviation by the agent from the course of his duty will not vitiate his act, if this be immaterial or circumstantial only, and does not, in substance, exceed his power and duty. Such an agency carries with and includes in it, as an incident, all the powers which are necessary, proper, usual and reasonable, as means to effectuate the purposes for which it was created, and it makes no difference, whether the authority is general or special, expressed or implied, it embraces all the appropriate means to accomplish the end to be attained.

The nature and extent of the incidental authority, in such cases, turn often times, upon very nice considerations of actual usage, or implications of law, and it is sometimes difficult to apply the true rule. Incidental powers are generally derived from...