Question

The law firm of Dewey, Cheatum & Howe, a general partnership, represents 20 plaintiffs in a class-action product liability lawsuit, with trial scheduled to begin Monday of next week. It will be the biggest trial in the history of the firm, and the partners understand that success will depend, for the most part, on a collaborative effort on the part of all professionals at the firm, including partners, associate attorneys, paralegals, and secretarial staff. It is the Friday before the trial, and there will be no weekend for those working at Dewey, Cheatum & Howe.

The partners and the associate attorneys are reviewing depositions in the conference room. The clock on the wall shows 11:00 p.m. Partner Dewey turns to a first-year associate, J. Benjamin Fotheringham, and says “Ben, how about going to Donovan’s Delicatessen and picking up a few subs for all of us? Here’s $100.” Donovan’s Delicatessen is a favorite of the firm for “late-night” trial preparation sustenance, and is located approximately two miles away, down Chestnut Avenue.

Eager to make a positive impression on senior partner Dewey, and ready to escape the “tunnel-vision” brought on by twelve hours of deposition review, Ben heads for his car. In a rush to complete the “deli run” quickly, Ben accelerates his car to 50 miles per hour. The posted speed limit on Chestnut Avenue is 35 miles per hour.

Fidgeting with his compact disc player in order to listen to an audio-recorded deposition, Ben inadvertently crosses the center line and collides with an oncoming automobile operated by Brandi Kernigan. Ms. Kernigan is severely injured, and experiences $22,000 in medical expenses; her $25,000 Volkswagen is a total loss. She sues Fotheringham individually, and the law firm partnership of Dewey, Cheatum & Howe. Kernigan also lists Dewey, Cheatum, and Howe as individual defendants.

Is the law firm of Dewey, Cheatum & Howe liable for Brandi Kernigan’s injuries? Are Dewey, Cheatum, and Howe individually liable for Kernigan’s injuries? Please fully explain your answers.

Answer 1

Agency law has the contract liability associated to it. As per the contract liability, the principal (the owner) is liable for any tort committed by the agent (the employee in this case) while the agent is acting within the scope of his authority. Also the principal is indirectly responsible for the agent’s actions as long as the agent is acting within express, implied or apparent terms of contract.

In my views, the law firm is liable for Brandi Kernigan’s injuries as he was acting as an agent of the firm and was working on the orders of the firm to get food for the employees while they were working overtime in the company.

However individually the partners cannot be blamed for the accident caused as Brandi Kernigan is an agent for the overall firm and not to the individual partners.