SALE AND WARRANTY BY AN AGENT. 



127 



owner is bound by a warranty given by his servant or agent 

 at the time of sale, without his consent, and even against 

 his express directions, if his servant is his general agent to 

 carry on his business. But the master will not be bound by 

 the warranty of the servant, unless the authority to give 

 that warranty can be proved either to have been expressly 

 or impliedly, i.e., by implication of law, granted by the 

 master. 



Although a warranty given by a person entrusted to sell 

 prima facie binds the principal, the warranty of a person 

 entrusted merely to deliver the thing sold is not jorimd facie 

 binding on the principal, ' but an express authority must be 

 shown : and therefore, where a horse had been sold by A. 

 to B., and A.'s servant, on delivering the horse to B., made 

 certain statements, and signed a receipt for the price of the 

 horse, containing a warranty, it was held, in an action on 

 the warranty that A. was not bound by the statement or 

 receipt of the servant, as no express authority to give the 

 warranty was shown (b). And where, on the purchase of 

 a horse, the vendor had given a warranty of soundness 

 generally, and the servant who was sent with the receipt to 

 the agent of the other party inserted at his request, but 

 without a special or general authority from his master, 

 "Warranted sound to the regiment," and the horse was 

 sound when delivered in London, but was in a violent 

 fever, of which he soon afterwards died, when he reached 

 Tewkesbury, where the regiment was quartered ; it was 

 held, that the master was not bound by this alteration of 

 the warranty, notwithstanding the money afterwards came 

 to his hands (c). 



If an agent is employed to receive a horse, pay for it, 

 and take a warranty, he has no authority to receive it 

 without a warranty {d). 



An action in substance for the price of a horse may be 

 brought by the seller against a pretended agent, as in the 

 following case. It was stated in the declaration, that in 

 consideration that the plaintiff would send a pony to the 

 defendant he would sell and deliver it to A. ; the defendant 

 undertook that he was authorized by A. to purchase it on 

 his behalf; that the plaintiff sent the pony to the defen- 

 dant, and was willing to sell it to A., but that the defen- 

 dant had no authority from A. to purchase it [e). 



\b) Woodin v. Burford, 2 Cr. & . [d) Jordan t. Norton, U M. & W. 

 M. 391 -.8.0.4: Tyrw. 264. 155. 



(o) Strode y. Dijson, 1 Smith, 400. (c) Price v. Morgan, 2 M. & W. 55. 



Warranty by 

 a person en- 

 trusted to 

 deliyer. 



Agent em- 

 ployed to take 

 a "warranty. 



Action against 

 a pretended 



