Also known as:subagent · sub-agents · subagents · sub-agency · subagency · sub agent
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A person appointed by an agent empowered to do so to perform functions undertaken by the agent for the principal but for whose conduct the agent agrees with the principal to be primarily responsible.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
2
Recruitment Subagency Arrangement
Orchid University retained GlobalEd Recruitment to recruit foreign students and authorized GlobalEd to appoint local counselors while requiring GlobalEd to remain primarily responsible to Orchid for their conduct. GlobalEd then hired Ms. Rao to meet families and issue admission recommendations using Orchid's forms. When Ms. Rao's recommendations led to a dispute, Orchid looked to GlobalEd for accountability because Ms. Rao performed GlobalEd's delegated functions under the primary-responsibility clause.
Real Estate Broker Subagency
Sellers listed property with Metro 100 Realtors under an agreement that permitted the broker to offer subagency to other brokers and to pay a commission split for procuring a purchaser. Waldin, an agent of The Vaughn Company, was offered and accepted subagency status through the multiple-listing service. When the buyers later challenged commission sharing, the court treated Waldin as the sellers' subagent because the listing broker had appointed him to perform the broker's functions while remaining primarily responsible to the sellers.
Put it into practice
Test Yourself
10
Practice Questions5
· 1 primary source
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Uniform Acts
Restatements
Hornbooks
Study Supplements
Jones v. Lee971 P.2d 858 (Ct. App. New Mex. 1998)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
4
What distinguishes a subagent from a coagent?+
A subagent is appointed by an authorized agent to perform the agent's functions for the principal, with the appointing agent agreeing to remain primarily responsible to the principal. A coagent is appointed directly by the principal and holds authority in its own right at the same level as the first agent. The primary-responsibility agreement and the chain of appointment through the original agent are the decisive features.
Supporting sources
Does an agent's agreement to remain primarily responsible create subagency even if the subagent is labeled an independent contractor?+
Yes. The label the parties use does not control. When an authorized agent appoints another to perform the agent's functions for the principal and agrees with the principal to bear primary responsibility for that person's conduct, the appointee is a subagent regardless of any independent-contractor designation in a separate contract.
Supporting sources
When is authority to appoint a subagent inferred?+
Authority to appoint a subagent is inferred when the agent is authorized to conduct a transaction for the principal and the appointment of subagents is usual or the principal has reason to know that the agent employs subagents, unless the parties otherwise agree.
Supporting sources
Does a subagent's conduct bind the principal?+
Yes. The rules governing a principal's liability for an agent's acts apply to the principal's liability for the acts of subagents when those acts relate to the principal's affairs.
Supporting sources
Business Associations RelationshipsAgency and authority · CreationNEXTGENFoundational