Opinion ID: 1688786
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Did plaintiff prove agency?

Text: We believe that the jury was authorized to find that defendant Cordes was Dewey Hutson's agent. The facts regarding agency were in dispute. Cordes worked as a farmhand for both Dewey and Melvin Hutson. Hutson and Cordes argue that the evidence established that on the day in question Cordes was Melvin Hutson's agent. Wooten, on the other hand, contends that the evidence established that Cordes was moving the tractor and hay rake to Butler Field in order to rake hay for Dewey Hutson. Because the facts were in dispute, we must conclude that the question of agency was properly submitted to the jury. The law states that a principal is liable for the acts of an agent done in the interest of and in the prosecution of the principal's business, if the agent is acting within the scope of his employment. Regional Agricultural Credit Corporation of Washington, D.C. v. Hendley, 251 Ala. 261, 37 So.2d 97 (1948); Craft v. Koonce, 237 Ala. 552, 187 So. 730 (1939); Southern Railway Co. v. Wildman, 119 Ala. 565, 24 So. 764 (1898). To constitute agency, there must be a meeting of the minds of both the principal and the agent as to the scope of employment. Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Northcutt, 158 Ala. 539, 48 So. 553 (1908). The rule governing whether the question of agency shall be submitted to the jury is best set forth in Craft, supra, 237 Ala. at 554, 187 So. at 731, as follows: When plaintiff proves such ownership of the [vehicle] by defendant, and thereby brings into being the presumption [that the driver was his agent], he need not offer further proof that the operator of the [vehicle] was the agent of defendant, and in the line and scope of his authority, until and unless defendant has offered proof that he was not acting for defendant in the line and scope of his authority. And if defendant makes that proof and it is not contradicted, either expressly or inferentially, defendant is entitled to [a directed verdict]. But if there is any evidence which reflects upon the credibility of that evidence by defendant on that question, or from which an inference may be drawn to a different result, whether such evidence was produced by defendant or plaintiff, the question of whether the operator of the [vehicle] was defendant's agent acting in the line and scope of his authority should be submitted to the jury. It is elementary that the test of agency is the right of control, whether exercised or not, and that is a question for the trier of fact if the evidence is in dispute. Hatton v. Chem-Haulers, Inc., 393 So.2d 950 (Ala.1980).