Case 1.
In case Allison vs. Patton, assuming Allison is an independent contractor, hired as a sales
agent gets fired because of the way she dresses. In this case we will be looking at the agency
contract and whether it was breached or can be revoked.
Agency is a two-party relationship in which one party (agent) is authorized to act on
behalf of the other party (principal). The agent can be classified as an employees or as a
nonemployee, i.e. independent contractor. Employees are subject to the principal’s right to
control the manner and the means of the agent’s performance or work. Nonemployee agents
contract with principal to produce a result and are allowed to decide themselves how that result
will be accomplished.
Assuming Allison is an independent contractor the contract cannot be revoked, simply
because the principal does not have a right to control the manner and means of a nonemployee.
Stating “Allison’s manner of dress is odd”, does sound like a way of controlling Allison’s
manner. Allison’s argument: “agency couple with interest” is not valid in this case, because this
is not an agency coupled with an interest. When there is an agency coupled with an interest, an
agent has an interest in the subject matter of an agency that is distinct from the principal’s
interest and that is not exercised for the principal’s benefit. In this case, Patton does receive a
benefit from Allison’s sales. Ninety-five percent of the revenue goes to Patton, clearly this is
beneficial to Patton to this is not an agency coupled with an interest.
However, I believe in this case Allison in not an independent contractor. Looking at
“Reid factors”, two of the factors apply to Allison, which makes Allison an employee. Factor 2,
the skill required, applies to Allison, being a sales agent requires certain skills. Allison requires
people skills to be able to sell and knowledge about the selling product. And factor 8, the method
of payment, makes Allison an employee. It is stated: “Allison is to receive a salary”, an
independent contractor is paid primarily on the basis of projects completed.
To summarize and conclude, all claims in the case are incorrect. This is not an agency
coupled with interest. Since Allison is an employee, there is no agency to revoke.
Case 3.
In the matter of Fungo vs. Consumer Watchdog, Fungo filed a suit against CW based on
violation of section 43(a) of Lanham Act. The major issue here is unfair competition, false
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