Legal Question in Business Law in Indiana
Company has contract - emplyee beyond their authority
A sales representative evnters into a contract from a supplier purchasing 1 million dollars of product and is terminated because they did not have the authority to act in this capacity. Is the company still obligated to the contract?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Company has contract - emplyee beyond their authority
Whether the company is actually obligated to perform on the contract depends upon the factual particulars of the situation. Assuming that all of the required elements of contract are present, the issue becomes whether the sales representative had what is known as "apparent authority". I cannot give any advice without more information.
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Re: Company has contract - emplyee beyond their authority
If Indiana law applies to the situation, you should give relatively little weight to answers from California attorneys not licensed in Indiana, as Indiana law may differ.
Your question is a little confusing because it seems to mention three parties -- a sales representative, a supplier, and a company -- then says "they" did not have authority.
Who is the buyer, who is is seller, who is "they?"
What was terminated, the contract or the employment of the sales representative?
There are at least three possibilities with respect to the company's obligation on the contract: (1) the contract may be completely unenforceable and no one is entitled to damages; (2) the contract may be unenforceable, but damages may be recoverable from someone due to misconduct by a party involved in its negotiation; or (3) the contract may be valid and enforecable (despite alleged lack of authority by someone).
This question involves a large deal, and it could be worth you while to resubmit it giving a clearer picture of the parties and their relationships and enough facts to allow us LawGuru attorneys to figure out what state's laws govern interpretation of the validity of the contract.
Re: Company has contract - emplyee beyond their authority
It's a complicated situation, but yes, it may be the case that the purchaser is still on the hook for paying for the product. It depends on the level of authority given to the employee, among other factors. Please feel free to contact me if you'd like to discuss this further.
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