Entrusting an intermediary with a signed contractual document does not necessarily create ostensible authority to release that document with contractual effect, particularly where only a facsimile copy (not the original) is released and the third party's reliance is on the agent's word rather than on conduct attributable to the principal. The distinction between originals and copies is material to the assessment of ostensible authority. A person who deals with an agent whose authority they know to be limited does so at their peril if the agent exceeds that authority.
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