Agent for

Agent for

What does Agent for mean in American Law?

The definition of Agent for in the law of the United States, as defined by the lexicographer Arthur Leff in his legal dictionary is:

When one enters into a contract with an agent acting on behalf of a principal, it is the ordinary understanding that if the principal defaults on the contract, one’s remedy is against the principal only. But that is not a necessary result; in some cases the agent may also be a party to, or otherwise personally liable on, the contract. Hence, it is better practice to make the status of the agent clear. Terms like “agent for,” “as agent,” or “agent of,” which are frequently appended to the agent’s signature are not especially well-suited to the task, leaving too much ambiguity in close contextual or factual cases. Better would be “as agent only” or “without personal liability” or some such explicit tag. In the corporate sphere, appended terms like “as agent,” “agent,” or “President” will ordinarily be deemed to exclude the signer’s personal liability, but even there greater explicitness wouldn’t hurt.


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