Joel v Morison [1834] EWHC KB J39 is a case in English tort law

English tort law

English tort law concerns civil wrongs, as distinguished from criminal wrongs, in the law of England and Wales. Some wrongs are the concern of the state, and so the police can enforce the law on the wrongdoers in court – in a criminal case...

 concerning the scope of vicarious liability

Vicarious liability

Vicarious liability is a form of strict, secondary liability that arises under the common law doctrine of agency – respondeat superior – the responsibility of the superior for the acts of their subordinate, or, in a broader sense, the responsibility of any third party that had the "right, ability...

 of an employer for the acts of his employee.

Facts

Joel was struck down by a horse and cart, whose driver was Morison's agent

Agency (law)

The law of agency is an area of commercial law dealing with a contractual or quasi-contractual, or non-contractual set of relationships when a person, called the agent, is authorized to act on behalf of another to create a legal relationship with a third party...

. Joel was crossing a street in the City

City of London

The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...

, but the driver's job was simply to travel between Burton Crescent Mews and Finchley

Finchley

Finchley is a district in Barnet in north London, England. Finchley is on high ground, about north of Charing Cross. It formed an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, becoming a municipal borough in 1933, and has formed part of Greater London since 1965...

. The driver had detoured to visit a friend, when the accident occurred. Morison argued that he was not liable for Joel's injuries because the agent had strayed off his path.

Judgment

Parke B held:

"If the servants, being on their master's business, took a detour to call upon a friend, the master will be responsible . . . but if he was going on a frolic of his own, . . . the master will not be liable."

The doctrine of respondeat superior

Respondeat superior

Respondeat superior is a legal doctrine which states that, in many circumstances, an employer is responsible for the actions of employees performed within the course of their employment...

 meant the principal is liable for his agent's negligence only when the agent is acting at the time of the accident in the "course of his employment". Although the agent was doing Morison's business, he went, albeit momentarily, out of his way against his master's implied command. Morison was found liable.

See also

• Tort law
• Labour law
  Labour law
  Labour law is the body of laws, administrative rulings, and precedents which address the legal rights of, and restrictions on, working people and their organizations. As such, it mediates many aspects of the relationship between trade unions, employers and employees...
  
  
• A Frolic of His Own
  A Frolic of His Own
  A Frolic of His Own is a novel by William Gaddis. Published in 1994 by Poseidon Press, A Frolic of His Own was Gaddis's fourth novel. It received the American Book Award and the National Book Award in 1994....
  
  , a novel by William Gaddis
  William Gaddis
  William Thomas Gaddis, Jr. was an American novelist. He wrote five novels, two of which won National Book Awards and one of which, The Recognitions , was chosen as one of TIME magazine's 100 best novels from 1923 to 2005...
  
  

External links

• Joel v. Morison [1834] EWHC KB J39 on Bailii