VICARIOUS LIABILITY - Lecture - Law - Dr. Sridhar, Lecture notes of Labour Law

Download VICARIOUS LIABILITY - Lecture - Law - Dr. Sridhar and more Lecture notes Labour Law in PDF only on Docsity! Vicarious Liability Vicarious Liability • Liability incurred for, or instead of, another • Liability is joint as well as several. • Wrongdoer and the principal is liable, however blameless he may be. • Liability by ratification, • Liability arising out of relationship, • Liability by abetment Special Relationship • A person who does the wrong is liable for it, six exceptions based on relationship are: • Master and Servant, Owner & Independent Contractor, Principal and agent, Company and its directors, Firm and its partners, Guardian and ward. Master and Servant • Servant: voluntarily agrees, for wages or not, to subject himself, and at all times during the period of service, to the lawful orders and directions of another, in respect of certain work to be done • Master legally entitled to give such orders and to have them obeyed + Control • A son is not servant of his father. Hewit v Bonvin 1940 • Son driving father’s car, obtained authority from mother, to drive it. For his own purposes drove two girl friends to their home. Parents did not know girls. Negligently drove and caused death of one friend. Is father liable? • Proprietor of workshop is independent contractor caused accident, owner not liable (Devinder Singh v. Mangal Singh, AIR 1981 Pun Har 53) Four Kinds of Liabities • 1. Liability of master to third persons • 2. Of servant to third persons • 3. Of master to servant • 4. Of servant to master • Master is liable for the wrongful act of servant if act was committed in the course of employment or master’s business. In the course of employment • If the act is authorised by master, or • Is a wrongful and unauthorised mode of doing some act authorised. • Birmingham Electric Co v Hawkins. Def’s bus driver angered by several blocs on road, stopped pl. by horning loud, assaulted with revolver. Is it entirely personal to himself? Petrol fire case • Century Insurance Co ltd, North Ireland Road Transport Board, 1942. Driver of patrol lorry, whilst transferring petrol, lighted a cigarette- exploded. Is owner liable? Is it personal act or negligent mode of conducting his work? • Whether he exposed to that risk by reason of his employment? Master’s liability- 6 contexts • Wrong may be due to natural consequences of something done with ordinary care in execution of master’s specific order. • Eg Gregory v Piper, 1829 Rubbish case. Neighbours dispute over a way. D ordered to place rubbish in path way without affecting pl’s wall. Heaped up rubbish slides down. Is master liable? Servant’s want of care • 2nd context: wrong due to want of care in carrying out the work of employment. Porter’s case (Bayley v Manchester S & L Rly 1873) Porter has to prevent passengers from entering a wrong train. Erroneously pulled out from a right train. Is he liable? • 3rd context: Servant’s wrong may consist of excess or mistaken execution. Excessive acts- Willful wrongs • Servant intended to do for his master, an act authorised: if properly done it would be lawful, that makes master liable. Eg Porter. • 4th Context: willful wrongs with intention of serving his purpose. If within scope of emp makes master liable. Limpus v London Gen Omnibus 1861, Driver racing with others. Is it inconsistent with the employment? For Criminal acts • 6th Context: Master is liable though not in criminal proceedings, yet in civil action, even in respect of criminal acts of servant, provided they are committed in the course of employment. • Uxbridge Building Society v Pickard, Managing clerk forged title deeds to create a false security. Sued for fraud. Acting under ostensible authority, so liable, even though P was not his client & there was a crime of forgery. Liability to s’ delegate • Where servant has authority to delegate, or delegated in emergency, impossible to communicate, the delegatee becomes M’s servant, makes M liable • Ricketes v Thos Tilling, 1915, driver allowed conductor to drive bus, who caused injury. Def not liable for conductors’ negli, but liable for wrongful delegating. When Master not liable? • 1. When master lends his servant temporarily to another, if work under latter’s control • 2. Where M is obliged by law to employ a particular person, he is not liable for wrongs If law enjoins a duty to be done by a specific person, employer not liable • 3. Where relationship is head of a Govt dept and subordinates, Head is not liable for wrongs of subordinates. W C Act • Obligation of M is independent of negligence, Emp cannot plead defence of consent, inevitable accident, contributory negligence etc. • Personal Injuries (Compensation Insurance) Act, 1963 liability to pay + scheme of insurance Common Employment • Formerly master was not liable for negligent harm done to one by another. • Law Reform (Personal Injuries) Act 1948 removed this ground. • IV: Servant’s liability to master for the consequences of nonfeasance or wrongful omissions, master can recover damages. Owner and Independent Contractor • Generally the master is not liable for acts of independent contractor. Except in 8 cases: • 1. Where the thing contracted itself is harmful. Laying pipelines in streets. • 2. Employer retaining control • 3. Legal duty of employer. • 4. Damage to another- Contractor left heap of stones on highway unlighted unfenced Company and Its Directors • Company was liable if the wrongful acts are intra vires but not when they are ultra vires, initially, now the company is liable for all acts which cause damage without any justification to others, if those acts are done for the benefit of company. Each director is agent or principal of another director. • Firm and its partners: Similar liability. Guardian and Ward • Guardians are not personally liable for torts committed by minors. They can sue for personal injuries to minors. • Liability by Abetment: Those who abet tortious acts are as much liable as tortfeasors. Inducement to cause breach of contract, induce to commit wrong makes abettor liable.