'Apparent Servants' and Making Appearances Matter: A Critique of Bagot v. Airport & Airline Taxi Cab Corporation

Abstract

Ordinarily simple questions of apparent authority and respondeat superior liability become complicated when the tortfeasor drives a taxi cab leased from a company whose distinctive trade dress and phone number give the impression cabs are driven by company employee. This article dissects applicable doctrine on the way to critiquing an unfortunate decision by the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

Keywords: agency law, apparent authority, Bagot, taxi cab, apparent servant, respondeat superior, employee, servant, master, employer, torts