Jennings v. Pittsburgh Mercantile Co.
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
202 A.2d 51 (1964)
Jennings and Cantor (plaintiffs), a real estate broker and investment counselor, agreed with Pittsburgh Mercantile Co. (defendant) to solicit purchase offers for company real estate. At a meeting, Egmore, Mercantile's vice president, told Jennings he was on Mercantile's controlling executive committee and that board approval of any offer would be automatic; Egmore also outlined acceptable terms and promised Jennings a commission. When Jennings brought an offer close to those terms, Mercantile's financial consultant told him the executive committee had approved it — but Egmore then reversed course within a week, rejecting the offer and refusing to pay the commission. Jennings and Cantor sued for the commission, and a jury ruled for them; Mercantile moved for judgment notwithstanding the verdict.
Whether apparent authority to bind a principal can be established when the agent's own actions or words are the only source of that apparent authority, or when the agent's prior similar acts were not sufficiently repetitive.