Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Fair Trading Act 1986

Enforcement and remedies - Civil proceedings

45: Conduct by servants or agents

You could also call this:

“Companies and people are responsible for what their workers do”

When a company does something that this law applies to, you only need to show that a director, worker, or agent of the company had the right mindset when they did it. This is enough to say the whole company had that mindset.

If a director, worker, or agent of a company does something within their power, or if someone else does something because a director, worker, or agent told them to or agreed to it, the law sees it as if the company itself did that thing.

For people who aren’t companies, if their worker or agent had a certain mindset when doing something this law applies to, it’s treated as if the person themselves had that mindset.

If a worker or agent of a person (who isn’t a company) does something within their power, or if someone else does something because the worker or agent told them to or agreed to it, the law sees it as if the person themselves did that thing.

When this section talks about someone’s “state of mind”, it means what they knew, what they meant to do, what they thought, what they believed, what they wanted to achieve, and why they wanted to do it.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM97316.

Topics:
Business > Fair trading
Money and consumer rights > Consumer protection
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44: Defences, or

“Ways you can defend yourself if someone says you broke the Fair Trading Act”

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46: Finding in proceedings to be evidence, or

“Court findings from earlier cases can be used as evidence in new cases”

Part 5 Enforcement and remedies
Civil proceedings

45Conduct by servants or agents

  1. Where, in proceedings under this Part in respect of any conduct engaged in by a body corporate, being conduct in relation to which any of the provisions of this Act applies, it is necessary to establish the state of mind of the body corporate, it is sufficient to show that a director, servant or agent of the body corporate, acting within the scope of that person's actual or apparent authority, had that state of mind.

  2. Any conduct engaged in on behalf of a body corporate—

  3. by a director, servant, or agent of the body corporate, acting within the scope of that person's actual or apparent authority; or
    1. by any other person at the direction or with the consent or agreement (whether express or implied) of a director, servant, or agent of the body corporate, given within the scope of the actual or apparent authority of the director, servant or agent—
        1. shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to have been engaged in also by the body corporate.

      1. Where, in a proceeding under this Part in respect of any conduct engaged in by a person other than a body corporate, being conduct in relation to which a provision of this Act applies, it is necessary to establish the state of mind of the person, it is sufficient to show that a servant or agent of the person, acting within the scope of that person's actual or apparent authority, had that state of mind.

      2. Any conduct engaged in on behalf of a person other than a body corporate—

      3. by a servant or agent of the person acting within the scope of that person's actual or apparent authority; or
        1. by any other person at the direction or with the consent or agreement (whether express or implied) of a servant or agent of the first-mentioned person, given within the scope of the actual or apparent authority of the servant or agent—
            1. shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to have been engaged in also by the first-mentioned person.

          1. A reference in this section to the state of mind of a person includes a reference to the knowledge, intention, opinion, belief or purpose of the person and the person's reasons for that intention, opinion, belief or purpose.