Vicarious Liability

But first…

—

Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Co.

“Fireworks on the Train Platform”

—

Majority opinion (Cardozo)

and

Dissenting opinion (Andrews)

“What we do mean by the word ‘proximate’ is, that because of convenience, of public policy, of a rough sense of justice, the law arbitrarily declines to trace a series of events beyond a certain point. This is not logic. It is practical politics.”

- Andrews dissent in Palsgraf

—

Vicarious Liability

—

Miller v. Reiman-Wuerth Co.

“The Bank Errand”

—

Christensen v. Swenson

“The Lunch Break”

—

Three criteria

  1. Employee’s conduct must be of the general kind the employee is hired to perform.
  2. Employee’s conduct must occur substantially within the hours and ordinary spatial boundaries of the employment.
  3. Employee’s conduct must be motivated, at least in part, by the purpose of serving the employer’s interest.

—

Kuehn v. Inter-city Freight

“Road Rage”

—

Sage Club v. Hunt

“The Violent Bartender”