The respondent stevedore sued the appellant shipping agent for an unpaid stevedoring contract.
The appellant defended on the basis that it acted solely as an agent for an unnamed principal, having signed the contract 'as Managing Operators only'.
The Supreme Court of Canada held that Canadian maritime law, which incorporates common law principles of contract and agency, governed the dispute.
Under these principles, an agent who clearly indicates they are contracting solely as an agent is not personally liable, even if the principal is unnamed.
The appeal was allowed and the action against the agent was dismissed.
