- 24 -
JAMES GIBBS: I would say yes.
The truth of the matter is that James and John simply had no
interest in what they were signing when it came to tax-related
matters. For all intents and purposes, they had even delegated
their signature authority to Jaffe.
B. Ratification
If, on the other hand, Jaffe acted without authority in
signing and filing the petition, petitioner contends that the
Court lacked jurisdiction to enter the stipulated decision
because petitioner never ratified such unauthorized act. Again,
we disagree.
A finding of ratification under Illinois agency law is a
complex, fact-intensive inquiry. A wholly unauthorized act may
nevertheless be made valid by a subsequent ratification, in that
such subsequent assent would confirm what was originally an
unauthorized and illegal act. See Hefner v. Vandolah, 62 Ill.
483, 485 (1872); see also Middle W. Tel. Co. v. U.S. Fire Ins.
Co., 296 Ill. App. 260, 265 (1938). As applicable herein,
ratification means retroactive adoption of an unauthorized
signature by the person whose name is signed.
Ratification may be found from express statements or it may
be inferred from the surrounding circumstances, for example,
where the principal takes a position inconsistent with
nonaffirmation of the transaction, see Hofner v. Glenn Ingram &
Page: Previous 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 NextLast modified: May 25, 2011