Opinion ID: 1376037
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Mrs. Arbabi as Agent for Dr. Arbabi

Text: Petitioner also argues the Court of Appeals erred in reversing the Master's ruling that Mrs. Arbabi acted as Dr. Arbabi's implied agent in receiving the redemption notice. We agree. Whether an agency relationship exists is a question of fact to be determined by the relation, the situation, the conduct, and the declarations of the party sought to be charged as principal. American Fed. Bank, FSB v. Number One Main Joint Venture, 321 S.C. 169, 467 S.E.2d 439 (1996); Hinson v. Roof, 128 S.C. 470, 122 S.E. 488 (1924). In Barber v. Carolina Auto Sales, 236 S.C. 594, 115 S.E.2d 291 (1960), this Court stated the following: It is well settled that the wife is not the agent of her husband by virtue of the marital relationship between them.... He may, however, make her his agent and be bound by her acts as such. `The agency relationship in such case ordinarily rests upon the same considerations as any other agency; she is his agent, and he is bound by her acts as his agent, only when her agency is express, implied, or ostensible.' 236 S.C. at 597, 115 S.E.2d at 293 (emphasis added, citations omitted); see also Hinson, supra (the marriage relation of the parties is not necessarily enough to establish the fact that the one is the agent of the other; there must be other proof of agency); 41 C.J.S. Husband & Wife § 56 (1991) (A spouse may constitute the other spouse as an agent either expressly or impliedly; but, if agency is implied, it must be by conduct, and not merely from a party's position as a spouse.) (emphasis added, footnotes omitted). The Court of Appeals [4] found an implied agency cannot satisfy the requirements relating to the receipt of a redemption notice. Furthermore, looking at the postal regulations, the Court of Appeals held Mrs. Arbabi was not Dr. Arbabi's agent when she received the notice because Dr. Arbabi had not expressly authorized her as his agent. Johnson v. Arbabi, 347 S.C. at 139-40, 553 S.E.2d at 457. [5] We find the Court of Appeals erred in ruling there cannot be implied agency in this situation. The rule regarding agency between spouses is that while a spouse is not automatically an agent for the other spouse, an implied agency can arise by conduct of the parties. See Barber, supra ; Hinson, supra . [6] Accordingly, the issue is whether Mrs. Arbabi was Dr. Arbabi's implied agent. We agree with the Master's view of the evidence in this case that the factual circumstances establish the agency relationship. By Dr. Arbabi's own testimony, and his actions, Mrs. Arbabi was his implied agent. Dr. Arbabi left the marital home in April 1991. Yet, on April 22, 1991, his attorney wrote the County a letter requesting the Assessor's office to send all future tax bills directly to Dr. Arbabi at the White Trillium address. Moreover, Dr. Arbabi stated he never returned to the marital home and Mrs. Arbabi delivered the mail either to him or his attorney. This arrangement apparently went on from April 1991 through, at least, November 1992over a year and a half. Certainly, Dr. Arbabi knew he was going to receive mail related to the Hilton Head property during that time period. Yet, there is no evidence in the record that Dr. Arbabi at any time filed a change of address form with the post office or wrote the County with another, more appropriate, address for him. Under this evidence, we find that Dr. Arbabi, by his actions, appointed Mrs. Arbabi his agent for receiving any and all mail that was directed to the White Trillium address. While it is unfortunate that Mrs. Arbabi's failure to act on the redemption notice and failure to disclose it to Dr. Arbabi in a timely fashion resulted in their loss of the property, equity nonetheless favors petitioner in this action since any fault is on the part of the Arbabis. See Ingram v. Kasey's Assocs., 340 S.C. 98, 107, 531 S.E.2d 287, 291 (2000) (He who seeks equity must do equity.) (quoting Norton v. Matthews, 249 S.C. 71, 152 S.E.2d 680 (1967)). Accordingly, we reverse the Court of Appeals' holding that implied agency cannot satisfy the requirements for the receipt of a redemption notice, and instead find that by his conduct, Dr. Arbabi made Mrs. Arbabi his implied agent.