Chapter 17 | | respondeat superior | Latin for “let the master respond.” A doctrine under which a principal or an employer is held liable for the wrongful acts committed by agents or employees while acting within the course and scope of their agency or employment. | agency | A relationship between two parties in which one party (the agent) agrees to represent or act for the other (the principal). | apparent authority | Authority that is only apparent, not real. In agency law, a person may be deemed to have had the power to act as an agent for another party if the other party’s manifestations to a third party led the third party to believe that an agency existed when, in fact, it did not. | disclosed principal | A principal whose identity is known to a third party at the time the agent makes a contract with the third party. | e–agent | A computer program that by electronic or other automated means can independently initiate an action or respond to electronic messages or data without review by an individual. | equal dignity rule | In most states, a rule stating that express authority given to an agent must be in writing if the contract to be made on behalf of the principal is required to be in writing. | fiduciary | As a noun, a person having a duty created by his or her undertaking to act primarily for another’s benefit in matters connected with the undertaking. As an adjective, a relationship founded on trust and confidence. | independent contractor | One who works for, and receives payment from, an employer but whose working conditions and methods are not controlled by the employer. An independent contractor is not an employee but may be an agent. | notary public | A public official authorized to attest to the authenticity of signatures. | partially disclosed principal | A principal whose identity is unknown by a third party,