Ultra Vires Legal Opinion

Q. How does the ultra vires principle apply to municipal contracts? David Connell is legal counsel in the Department of Legal Services and Government Affairs at the New Hampshire Local Government Center. For more information on this and other topics of interest to local officials, LGC lawyers can be reached Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 800.852.3358, ext. 384. In many jurisdictions, such as Australia, legislation provides that a company has all the powers of a natural person[8] and other persons; The validity of acts rendered ultra vires is also preserved. [9] The issue can be raised in power struggles between officials of the same municipality. In Grimes v.

Keenan, 88 N.H. 230 (1936), the City Council`s efforts to outsource the construction of contracted roads were considered ultra vires because they violated the authority of the City Commissioner under the city`s constitution. In administrative law, an act in the narrow or broad sense may be subject to ultra vires judicial review. Ultra vires étroit applies if an insolvency practitioner lacked substantive decision-making authority or was vitiated by procedural irregularities. Broad ultra vires applies where there is an abuse of authority (e.g., Wednesbury unreasonableness or bad faith) or failure to exercise administrative discretion (e.g., acting at the request of others or illegally applying government policy), or irrational and abuse of discretion. [11] Both doctrines may be entitled to various privileges, equitable remedies, or legal orders if satisfied. City officials involved in litigation or threatened litigation are sometimes confronted with allegations that the municipality or its officials have committed “ultra vires” conduct. “Ultra vires” has nothing to do with sunburn or the flu, but it`s an important legal concept that officials need to understand.

In certain circumstances, the municipal action may be rescinded because it is ultra vires. In other cases, the fact that an act is ultra vires may be a defence to municipal liability. Companies have a variety of legal documents and policies that outline the parameters of actions allowed by each organization, its employees, and its directors. These documents may contain “statutes”. The memorandum is mainly used in Europe, but not in the United States. The ultra vires doctrine offers certain advantages: in company law, ultra vires describes acts performed by a company that go beyond the scope of the powers conferred by the corporate purpose clause, its articles of association, articles of association, similar instruments of incorporation or laws authorizing the incorporation of a company. Acts attempted by a company that do not fall within its articles of association are null and void. Ultra vires shares can also be defined as any excessive use of corporate power that has been granted. These acts cannot be legally defended in court. They will make the company vulnerable to lawsuits from employees or other parties.

A. Ultra vires is a fairly common defence against tort in other states. 18 E. McQuillin, Municipal Corporations, § 53.60 (3. Auflage, 2003). In New Hampshire, only one Supreme Court case uses this term in the context of municipal tort liability. In Wakefield v. Newport, 60 N.H.

374 (1880), the breeders took the initiative to work on a private mast. They negligently let him down and injured the plaintiff who was passing by in a car. The city itself was not responsible because the actions of the selectors were ultra vires. (Presumably, the breeders could have been held accountable as individuals.) Under constitutional law, particularly in Canada and the United States, constitutions confer various powers on federal, provincial or state governments. To go beyond these powers would be ultra vires; For example, although the Court did not use this term to amend a federal statute in United States v. Lopez, arguing that it exceeded the constitutional authority of Congress, the Supreme Court still declared the law ultra vires. [10] After President Trump declared a national emergency and embezzled funds to build a wall on the southern border, several litigants challenged his actions as ultra vires or beyond his constitutional and legal powers. The litigants have asserted abstract rights to fairness implied by the equitable powers of the federal courts. However, the Supreme Court did not clarify whether or not such a just implied lawsuit exists for violations of the law by federal officials. Many judges and academics recognize that it is part of the Court`s long fair tradition and the common law legacy of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Others argue that the APP is exclusive and excludes an implied act that does not comply with its legal restrictions.

This note examines the tension between the Court`s modern implied case-law and the long tradition of recognition of “non-legal” control in the actions of agents. Despite the Court`s withdrawal of implied rights, there is no review provision by the APA that is not consistent with the APA. On the contrary, the legal limitations on the APA`s rights of action should only apply to implied claims in equity if they reflect requirements that previously existed at common law. Such an understanding confirms the origins of the APA`s common law and upholds important values of the rule of law. One. Like many ancient legal terms, it is derived from Latin. “Ultra” means “beyond; except; afterlife. “Vires” means “forces; Forces; Skills. Black`s Law Dictionary (5th edition) In municipal law, the term refers to actions that are not under the authority of the municipality, agency or official.