Opinion ID: 1673493
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Advantages of Agency Law

Text: After due consideration, we conclude that issues of employer liability for the acts of off-duty police officers are best resolved under traditional principles of Tennessee agency law. Use of agency principles in Tennessee to resolve this complex issue has several advantages. First, because traditional agency principles have been used in this state for two centuries, they possess the advantages of experience and straightforward application. In addition, these principles do not depend upon the splitting of legal hairs into meaningless distinctions, which is a hallmark of many of the other approaches. [10] Second, and most importantly, use of traditional agency law to resolve these types of issues corresponds most closely with prior case law from this Court. Although the issue of private employer liability for the acts of a municipal police officer employed in a private capacity is an issue of first impression in this state, this Court has previously addressed this same question in terms of private employer liability for the torts committed by a special police officer commissioned by a municipality for a particular assignment. In Terry v. Burford, 131 Tenn. 451, 175 S.W. 538 (1915), this Court applied traditional agency principles to hold the private employer vicariously liable for the torts committed by the officer, notwithstanding the officer's special commission from the municipality. See also Union Ry. Co. v. Carter, 129 Tenn. 459, 166 S.W. 592 (1914). Although these cases do not directly control the decision in this case because of the important distinction between special officers and regular police officersspecial officers usually only have the complete authority and powers of regular officers to the extent allowed by the special commission, cf. Tenn.Code Ann. § 8-8-212(b) (1997)these cases are certainly persuasive authority for applying traditional agency principles to the issues involving regular officers as well. [11] For these reasons, we conclude that issues concerning employer liability for torts committed by off-duty police officers employed as security guards are to be resolved according to traditional Tennessee agency principles.