Legal Definitions - impute

Definition: Impute means to attribute or assign responsibility to someone for something. It can also mean to place blame on someone for the actions of another person due to their relationship.

For example, if a company's CEO makes a decision, that decision is imputed to the entire company, as the CEO is seen as representing the company. Similarly, if a parent is responsible for their child's actions, the parent can be imputed with the child's actions.

It's important to note that imputing does not necessarily mean that the person being assigned responsibility sought or accepted that responsibility. It can be assigned regardless of their knowledge or acceptance of it.

One way imputing can occur is through the law of agency. For instance, if an agent has knowledge of something, that knowledge is imputed to their principal.

It's important to differentiate impute from infer. Infer is a more general term that doesn't necessarily imply that a person has absolute knowledge of something, while impute implies that a person has the corresponding knowledge or duty.