Can an auctioneer be sued for breach of contract if he is acting for an undisclosed vendor?
Alberta, Canada
The following excerpt is from Modern Livestock Ltd. v. Elgersma, 1989 CanLII 3197 (AB QB):
Is the situation any different when, as here, the auctioneer is acting for an undisclosed vendor? This situation was considered by Mr. Justice Williams in Wood v. Baxter (1883), 49 L.T. 45 at 46: There can be no doubt that an auctioneer, like any other agent selling goods on behalf of a principal, may, and constantly does, become himself a contracting party with the purchaser, and if he sells by auction without disclosing the name of his principal, his contract is very nearly that of an ordinary vendor, and he can sue and be sued as such upon the contract of sale.
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