Question

Joshua, an employee of Cosmic, Inc., was drinking during his lunch break on Tuesday. When he returned to work, his boss, Rebecca, noticed that Joshua had been drinking and sent him home for the remainder of the day, without pay. Rebecca instructed Joshua to leave his car at work and take an Uber or a Cab home. Rebecca also instructed Joshua that she would pick him up in the morning on her way into work.

Unfortunately, Joshua ignored Rebecca's instructions and drove himself home and on the way home, he caused an accident injuring a third party. Is Cosmic, Inc. liable for the damages that resulted from its employee's behavior.
Why or why not?

Answer 1

Cosmic, Inc. is not in anyway liable for the damages.

Step-by-step explanation:

Since Rebecca who is the the boss of Joshua, the employee, had given Joshua an instruction to leave his car at work and take an Uber or a Cab home, there was no agency relationship between Joshua and Cosmic, Inc. as at the time when the accident occurred.

Agency relationship can be described as a fiduciary relationship between two persons or business entities in which one person, referred to as the principal, legally allows another person, referred to as the agent, to act on his or it behalf in all business transactions. In the course of acting on behalf of the principal, the agent is still under the control of the principal and must follow all his or it instructions. The agreement of the relationship between them and the instructions from the principal to the agent can either be written or oral.

The decision of Joshua to ignore Rebecca's instructions and drove himself home made no agency relationship to exist between Cosmic, Inc. and Joshua when the accident occurred. Therefore, Cosmic, Inc. is liable for the damages that resulted from its employee's behavior.