Also known as: right to supervise · ability to supervise · right to control · supervisory authority
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The authority and practical capacity to direct or oversee the conduct of another person or activity.
Roger Ramirez, a partner at a firm, assigned a complex filing to an associate and reviewed every draft before submission. When the associate omitted required disclosures, Roger directed immediate corrections. The associate's compliance with the rules turned on Roger's ongoing oversight of the work.
Riverside Healthcare retained Rajesh Rao to manage patient intake and required him to follow specific protocols for every admission. When Rajesh deviated from the intake checklist, Riverside required him to redo the work. The degree of control exercised over Rajesh's daily tasks established the right to supervise his performance.
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Raven Logistics loaned a delivery van to a contractor with explicit instructions limiting its use to local routes only. When the contractor drove the van across state lines for personal errands, Raven immediately recalled the vehicle. The recall demonstrated Raven's retained right to control the van's permitted uses.
Rita Russell organized a private parade and selected only floats that aligned with her chosen theme. When a group demanded inclusion of a conflicting message, Rita refused and maintained the original lineup. Her authority to shape the event's content rested on her retained editorial oversight.
Renee Rogers, a supervising attorney, assigned document review to a paralegal and required daily progress reports. When the paralegal missed a confidentiality protocol, Renee immediately retrained the staff member. The daily reports and retraining showed Renee's direct supervisory authority over the nonlawyer's work.
Rocky Mountain Mining hired an independent geologist to survey a site but allowed the geologist to choose all methods and timing. When the geologist altered the survey schedule without notice, Rocky Mountain could not compel a change. The absence of any retained authority over physical performance confirmed the geologist's independent status.
A plaintiff must show that the defendant possessed the right and ability to supervise the infringing activity and derived a direct financial interest from that activity.
No. Vicarious liability can arise even without an employer-employee relationship when the defendant holds the right and ability to supervise the infringing activity together with a direct financial interest.
An agent is subject to the principal's right to control the physical conduct of the work. An independent contractor is not subject to that right to control with respect to the physical performance of the undertaking.
A lawyer with direct supervisory authority must make reasonable efforts to ensure the other lawyer conforms to the rules. Responsibility also arises if the supervising lawyer orders or ratifies the conduct or knows of it and fails to take reasonable remedial action.
Retained prior written consent over venues, dates, and branding demonstrates the principal's ongoing right to control the agent's conduct in matters entrusted to the agent.
…boards so that all may read, or by issuing it to newspapers and distributing it indiscriminately, complainant no longer has the right to control the use to be made of it; that when it thus reaches the light of day it becomes the common possession of all to whom it is accessible; and that any purchaser of a newspaper has the right to…