3. Where Agent pledges his personal Responsibility.

§ 201. Agent may bind himself. — The agent may

also make himself liable in many cases where, though

authorized to make the particular contract in question,

he makes it in such a manner as not to bind the princi-

pal. Thus, though he intended to bind the principal, he

may inadvertently or intentionally use such words as to

bind himself personally, and if he does so, he may be

held personally responsible. The very common cases,

already referred to, wherein an agent, though intend-

ing to bind his principal, has signed a contract in hiВ«

own name with the word "agent," "trustee," and the

like added, are excellent illustrations of this rule.

See ante В§ 161; Hobson v. Hassett, 76 Cal. 203, 9 Am. St. Rep.

193, Cas. Ag. 442; Tilden v. Barnard, 43 Mich. 376, 38 Am. Rep. 197;

§§ 201-203.] DUTIES OF AGENT TO THIRD PERSONS. 107

Knickerbocker v. Wilcox, 83 Mich. 200, 47 N. W. Rep. 123, 21 Am.

St. Rep. 595.

В§ 202. Effect of not disclosing existence or name

of principal. — So, for the obvious reason that he din-

closes no one else to be bound and must be presumed to

intend to bind some one, the agent who conceals the

fact of his agency or the name of his principal, and con-

tracts as the ostensible principal, will be personally

liable.

See Amans t. Campbell, 70 Minn. 493, 68 Am. St. Rep. 547; Bald-

win r. Leonard, 39 Vt. 260, 94 Am. Dec. 324; Cobb v. Knapp, 71 N. Y.

348, 27 Am. Rep. 51; Patrick v. Bowman, 149 U. S. 411, 37 L. ed. TV

xVn agent who would escape personal responsil

must disclose both the fact of his agency and the nan:,

of his principal at the time of making the contract, and

the subsequent disclosure of the principal J$J|j Hot be

sufficient to relieve the agent.

See Cobb r. Knapp, 71 N. Y. 34S, 27 Am. Rep. $$,

In many of these cases wherein the principal is un-

disclosed, the principal himself, as will be seen her

after, may be so held liable when discovered; but the

fact that he may be held responsible doesi not relieve

the agent; it simply gives the other party an option to

pursue the one or the other as he pleases.

i

See post В§ 243.

В§ 203. The converse of the rule laid down in the

preceding section is, of course, true. If the agent

makes a full disclosure of the fact of his agency and of

the name of his principal, and contracts only as agent

and for the principal so disclosed, he incurs no personal

responsibility.

See Huffman v. Newman, 55 Neb. 713, 76 N. W. Rep. 409.

108 Duties of agent to third persons. [в§в§204-206.

§ 204. Agent of foreign principal. — It was former-

ly the rule that an agent who acted for a foreign prin-

cipal was himself personally liable, because it must be

presumed that credit was given to the agent rather

than to the foreign and inaccessible principal ; but this

rule no longer prevails in this country, and the agent

of a foreign principal stands upon the same ground as

the agent of a domestic principal.

See Maury v. Ranger, 38 La. Ann. 485, 58 Am. Rep. 197; Oelrieks