undisclosed principal
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 72 U.S. 689 - Nash v. Towne · 1866Most cited · 216 citing opinions
the plaintiff may prove by parol that the other contracting party named in the contract was but the agent of an undisclosed principal, and in that state of the case he may have his remedy against either, at his election. Evidence to that effect will be admitted to charge the principal or to enable him to sue in his own name, but the agent who binds himself is never allowed to contradict the writing by proving that he contracted only as agent, and not as principal
How often courts cite the cases defining “undisclosed principal”
Court decisions citing the 2 opinions that defined “undisclosed principal” — 321 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 2 definitions, chronological · 1858–1866
- ORIGINAL
when he deals with the agent, without any disclosure of the fact of his agency, he may elect to treat the after-discovered principal as the person with whom he contracted