RESPONDEAT SUPERIOR
respondeat superior (ri-spon-dee-at soo-peer-ee-<<schwa>>r or s<<schwa>>-peer-ee-or).
[Law Latin “let the superior make answer”] Torts. The doctrine holding an employer or principal
liable for the employee’s or agent’s wrongful acts committed within the scope of the employment
or agency. — Also termed master–servant rule. See SCOPE OF EMPLOYMENT. [Cases: Master
and Servant 300, 315; Principal and Agent 159(2). C.J.S. Agency §§ 379–384;
Employer–Employee Relationship§§ 181–184, 188–193, 203, 231–235, 242, 244–246, 248,
251–252, 254–255.]
“Most courts have made little or no effort to explain the result, and have taken refuge in
rather empty phrases, such as ‘he who does a thing through another does it himself,’ or the
endlessly repeated formula of ‘respondeat superior,’ which in itself means nothing more than ‘look
to the man higher up.’ ” W. Page Keeton et al., Prosser and Keeton on the Law of Torts § 69, at
500 (5th ed. 1984). [Blacks Law 8th]