120 warranty; sale and warranty by agent, etc. 



Undisclosed jf ^ person sells goods, supposing at the time of the con- 



pnncipa . ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^ dealing with a principal, but afterwards 



discovers that the person with whom he has been dealing 

 is not the principal, but agent for a third person, though he 

 may in the meantime have debited the agent with it, he 

 may afterwards recover the amount from the real principal ; 

 subject, however, to this qualification, that the state of 

 the account between the principal and the agent is not 

 altered to the prejudice of the principal (.s). So that a 

 's'endor, who has givea credit to an agent, believing him to 

 be the principal, cannot recover against the undisclosed 

 j)rincipal, if the principal has bond fide paid the agent at 

 a time when the vendor still gave credit to the agent and 

 knew of no one else as a principal {t). On the other hand, 

 if at the time of the sale the seller knows that the person 

 who is nominally dealing with him is not principal but 

 agent, and also knows who the principal really is, and 

 notwithstanding all that knowledge chooses to make the 

 agent his debtor, then, according to the cases of Addison v. 

 Gandaseqtd (u) and Paterson v. Gandasequi (x) the seller 

 cannot afterwards, on the failure of the agent, turn round 

 and charge the principal, having once made his election at 

 the time when he had the power of choosing between the 

 one and the other" (y). But the mere knowledge at the 

 time of the contract that there is a principal, if his name 

 be not disclosed, will not prevent the seller from resorting 

 to the principal though he had debited the agent {//). The 

 seller, however, must make his election within a reasonable 

 time. Accordingly, when nine months had elapsed after 

 the discovery of the principal, and no election had been 

 made by the seller, it was held that he could not recover (z). 

 The insertion of the agent's name alone in the contract, 

 though the principal is disclosed at the time, and the sub- 

 sequent demand of payment from the agent, does not 

 necessarily amount to an election to give credit to the 

 agent, and to him alone, but the principal may be sued (a). 

 The question whether credit was given to the agent or to 

 the principal being for the jury, for whose guidance in 



Is) Thompson y. Davenport, 9 B. East, 69; 13 E. E. 3(i8. 



& C. 86, per Lord Tenterden, C. J. [y) Thompson \. iJan-nport, 9 E. 



[t] Armstrong y. Stoles, L. E., 7 & C. 86. 



a. B. 598 ; 41 L. J., Q. B. 253 ; 26 (=) Smethiirst v. llitchell 28 L J 



L. T., N. S. 872. Q. B. 241. " '' 



(m) Addison v. Gandasequi, 4 (a) Colder y. Dohell L E 6 



Taunt. 674; 13 E. E. 689. C. P. 486; 40 L. J., C. 'p. "'224 



[x) Faterson Y. Gandasequi, 15 Ex. Ch. 



