Legal Definitions - Merrill doctrine

The Merrill Doctrine is a principle that states that the government cannot be held responsible for the unauthorized actions of its agents. This means that if a government agent does something that they were not authorized to do, the government cannot be held accountable for their actions.

For example, if a government employee makes a promise to a citizen that the government cannot fulfill, the citizen cannot sue the government for breach of contract. This is because the government cannot be held responsible for the unauthorized actions of its employees.

The Merrill Doctrine was established in the case of Federal Crop Ins. Corp. v. Merrill, where the Supreme Court ruled that the government could not be estopped from disavowing an agent's unauthorized act.