Opinion ID: 2164036
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: LIABILITY OF DEFENDANTS McPHERSON AND TIMBERLANDS

Text: McPherson and Timberlands also challenge the sufficiency of the evidence against them. Plaintiffs conceded at oral argument that there is insufficient evidence of conduct on the part of McPherson that would result in his personal liability. He did not direct Robinson's operation, nor did he authorize the trespass. Robinson's contract was with Timberlands. Although Timberlands did not directly commit the trespass, Plaintiffs contend that Timberlands' liability can be premised on its status as a principal responsible for Robinson's trespass and timber cutting as its agent, [6] or, alternatively, for directing or authorizing the trespass of Robinson. See Eaton v. European & N. Am. Ry. Co., 59 Me. 520, 526 (1872). Plaintiffs contend that because under the terms of the cutting contract with Robinson, Timberlands designated the areas for timber harvesting and because Lamond suggested that a crossover road could be cut, Timberlands exercised sufficient control over Robinson to warrant its being held liable for Robinson's trespass. We disagree. The definitional sections of the Restatement (Second) of Agency (1958), provide as follows: § 1 Agency; Principal; Agent (1) Agency is the fiduciary relationship which results from the manifestation of consent by one person to another that the other shall act on his behalf and subject to his control, and consent by the other to so act. (2) The one for whom action is to be taken is the principal. (3) The one who is to act is the agent. § 2 .... (2) A servant is an agent employed by a master to perform service in his affairs whose physical conduct in the performance of the service is controlled or is subject to the right to control by the master. (3) An independent contractor is a person who contracts with another to do something for him but who is not controlled by the other nor subject to the other's right to control with respect to his physical conduct in the performance of the undertaking. He may or may not be an agent. Viewing the evidence most favorably to Plaintiffs, it is clear that Robinson was an independent contractor as opposed to an agent for whose actions Timberlands can be held liable. Robinson is a corporation separate and distinct from Timberlands. While an independent contractor can be considered an agent in some circumstances, if the contractor has contracted to accomplish physical results not under the supervision of the one who has employed [it] to produce the results, then the contractor is a nonagent contractor. Restatement (Second) of Agency § 1401, comment b (1958). As a general rule, there is no vicarious liability upon the employer of an independent contractor. Prosser & Keeton, The Law of Torts § 71 at 509 (5th ed. 1984) (citing Restatement (Second) of Torts §§ 409-429 (1965)). Since an agent who is not a servant is not subject to any rights of control by his employer over the details of his physical conduct, the responsibility ordinarily rests upon the agent alone, and the principal is not liable for the torts he may commit. Prosser & Keeton, supra § 70 at 508. In certain circumstances, a party can be held liable for the trespass of an otherwise independent contractor if the trespass was authorized as part of the contract, or was the natural result of the work contracted to be done, see Eaton, 59 Me. at 526, or the trespass was somehow directed or part of a common purpose, see Chase v. Cochran, 102 Me. 431, 437, 67 A. 320 (1907), or the trespass was ratified. In this case, Timberlands did not exercise control over Robinson in the construction of the road, nor did it authorize or ratify the trespass. Lamond pointed out where such a road could go and assumed that Robinson understood that the road would be cut on Timberlands' or the Trust's property. In cutting the road, Robinson was acting for its own benefit at its own expense. Timberlands neither directed nor authorized Robinson's trespass and, therefore, should not have been held liable. The entry is: Judgment vacated. Remanded to Superior Court for entry of judgment for defendants Henry McPherson and McPherson Timberlands, Inc., and for entry of judgment against defendant Earl S. Robinson, Inc., in the amount of $7000, plus interest and costs. All concurring.