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‘A’ is the owner of a furniture shop and ‘B’ is employed in that shop as a delivery-man. In which of…

Under the tortious doctrine of vicarious liability, an employer is liable for torts committed by an employee within the course of employment, but not when the employee…

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‘A’ is the owner of a furniture shop and ‘B’ is employed in that shop as a delivery-man. In which of the following cases would ‘A’ be liable in a suit filed by the injured plaintiff ‘C’ for the action of ‘B’?

Case 1: One day, ‘B’ was on his delivery route when he met his friend ‘D’. ‘D’ requested ‘B’ to drop him at the railway station as he was getting late for the train. ‘B’ drove very fast and while returning from the railway station, ‘B’ negligently ran over ‘C’.

Case 2: One day, ‘B’ was on his delivery route when he met ‘D’. As both had met after a long time, ‘B’ decided to have lunch with his friend ‘D’. ‘B’ drove out of his way to a nearby restaurant and had lunch there. While driving back from there, ‘B’ negligently ran over ‘C’.

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Answer and explanation

Correct answer D

Under the tortious doctrine of vicarious liability, an employer is liable for torts committed by an employee within the course of employment, but not when the employee embarks on an independent venture or a "frolic of his own" unconnected with the employer's business. In Case 1, when ‘B’ deviated to transport a third party (‘D’) to the railway station on a purely private errand, he embarked on an independent journey outside the scope of his employment (as illustrated in Storey v. Ashton). In Case 2, stopping at a nearby restaurant for a meal during working hours while on a delivery route is reasonably incidental to the course of employment (as recognised in Harvey v. R.G. O'Dell Ltd.), so when ‘B’ negligently injured ‘C’ while returning to his route, ‘A’ is vicariously liable in Case 2 only.

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