Bethany Pharmacal Co. v. QVC, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
241 F.3d 854 (2001)
QVC (defendant) hired Roberta Janis, a state employee, to help select vendors for its broadcasts, giving her materials that expressly disclaimed any binding contract except through a QVC-issued purchase order. Bethany Pharmacal (plaintiff) attended QVC's vendor trade show and received that same disclaimer. Janis's office was supposed to flag "alternate" vendor letters with a post-it note distinguishing them from full participant letters, but Bethany's letter (an alternate) was missing that note. Relying on the unmarked letter, Bethany bought $100,000 in skin-care products to sell on QVC's broadcast; when QVC caught the mistake, it notified Bethany but did not upgrade Bethany's status. Bethany sued for breach of contract, and the trial court granted QVC summary judgment, finding Janis was never QVC's agent for this purpose.
Whether apparent authority arises when a principal consents to an agent's conduct, a third party reasonably believes the agent has authority to act for the principal, and the third party detrimentally relies on that apparent authority.