Case Name: The St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad Company v. Rose Daugherty
Court: Kansas Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Kansas
Decision Date: 1905-12-09
Citations: 72 Kan. 678
Docket Number: No. 14,344
Parties: The St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad Company v. Rose Daugherty.
Judges: 
Reporter: Kansas Reports
Volume: 72
Pages: 678–678

Head Matter:
The St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad Company v. Rose Daugherty.
No. 14,344.
(83 Pac. 821.)
Agency — Authority—Question of Fact — Condition Precedent. Judgment reversed because the fact of the agent’s authority to bind the principal was not shown.
Error from Wyandotte court of common pleas; William G. Holt, judge.
Opinion filed December 9, 1905.
Eeversed.
Pratt, Dana & Black, L. F. Parker, and A. L. Berger, for plaintiff in error.
W. E. Flynn, for defendant in error.

Opinion:
Per Curiam,:
In this case the testimony of the attorney for the plaintiff was doubtless sufficient, even though it was very slight, to show that W. B. Spaulding was the general claim agent, and J. L. Gaston the assistant claim agent, of the defendant. The scope of the authority of the claim agent and assistant claim agent of a railway corporation is not, however, defined by the law, and if put in issue must be proved as a matter of fact. Here the authority of the officials named to make the settlement relied upon as the plaintiff's cause of action was denied under oath, and there is no evidence of such authority in the record. It is true that the conduct of the officials named may appear to be inexplicable except upon the supposition that they had authority. Agency, however, cannot be proved by the acts or declaration of the agent except under special contingencies not here involved. The fact of authority must appear before the conduct of the agent can be shown to bind the principal. This being true, the judgment is reversed, and the cause remanded for a new trial.