Law of Business Organisations – Masters
The courts task in all such situations is to identify the appropriate rules of attribution, using for example general rules like those governing estoppel and ostensible authority in contract and vicarious liability in tort. It is well recognised that a company may as a result of such rules have imputed to it the conduct of an ordinary employee, and this is so also in the context of illegality But it is not always appropriate to apply general rules of agency to answer questions of attribution, and this is particularly true in a statutory context. Particular statutory provisions may indicate that a particular act or state of mind should only be attributed when undertaken or held by a companys directing mind and will see eg Lennards Carrying Co Ltd v Asiatic Petroleum Co Ltd [1915] AC 705 and Tesco Supermarkets Ltd v Nattrass [1972] AC 153, cited in Meridian Global at pp 507-509 (Lord Mance in Jetivia SA and another (Appellants) v Bilta (UK) Limited (in liquidation) and others (Respondents) [2015] UKSC 23 at page 12) With reference to appropriate legal resources, discuss the quote paying particular attention to the view that the question must depend not only on factual and statutory background, but also the nature of the proceedings in which the question of attribution arises.
