Can an agent be held personally liable for failing to execute a contract?
Alberta, Canada
The following excerpt is from Dryco Building Supplies Inc. v. Wasylishyn, 2002 ABQB 676 (CanLII):
The rule in Kelner v. Baxter has also been refined such that only an agent who is personally involved in, and therefore benefiting from the activities of the business principal on whose behalf the agent is purporting to execute the contract, will be held personally liable. Personal liability will also only accrue where the other party has partially or completely performed the contract, in reliance on the representations regarding the identity of the principal.
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