Scope of Employment Rodrigo Martinez worked as a sales representative for eHarbour and received a commission for all sal

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Scope of Employment
Rodrigo Martinez worked as a sales representative for eHarbourand received a commission for all sales. Rodrigo often visited boatretailers and marinas in Florida to make sales. Rodrigo wastraveling between sales calls in his role as an eHarboursales representative while driving on I-75 in Florida whenRodrigo rear-ended another vehicle driven by Walter Black thatcaused significant damage to the other vehicle and personalinjuries to Walter. Rodrigo admitted that at the time of theaccident he was using the mapping and GPS functions on his cellphone to check the location of his next sales call and todetermine how late he was running, and that he was not looking atthe road.
Walter alleges that eHarbour is directly liable for Walter'sproperty damage and personal injuries for breaching a duty to trainRodrigo to not use his cell phone while driving, and is vicariouslyliable for damages because Rodrigo was eHarbour's agent at the timeof the accident, as he was en route to a customer's business whileacting as an eHarbour sales representative.
Discuss whether you think there is sufficient evidence tosupport a finding that an agency relationship existed betweenRodrigo and eHarbour, to hold eHarbour vicariously liable.
What are the different factors that should be considered whendetermining whether a person is an agent or an independentcontractor for tort liability?
Who bears the burden in showing the existence of an agencyrelationship and the scope of the agent's authority?
This scenario is based on the following Illinois state case:Blockmon v. McClellan, 2019 IL App (1st) 180420, 436 Ill.Dec. 784, 143 N.E.3d 279 (App. Ct. 1st Dist. 2019), appeal denied,434 Ill. Dec. 277, 135 N.E.3d 552 (Ill. 2019).