§ 250-B — Producer claims against security and agricultural producers security fund

§ 250-b. Producer claims against security and agricultural producers\nsecurity fund. 1. (a) A producer who has not received full payment of\namounts due for farm products in accordance with the prompt payment\nprovisions of sections two hundred forty-five and two hundred forty-six\nof this article shall immediately notify the commissioner in writing of\nsuch default in payment. The notification shall set forth the dates of\nthe transactions, the dealer to whom the farm products were sold and/or\ndelivered, the type of product delivered, the amount and the price\nagreed upon for such product.\n (b) If the commissioner has reason to believe that a licensed dealer\nhas defaulted in making payments for farm products to producers, the\ncommissioner shall give notice to producers to file verified claims\nwithin thirty days of such notice. The commissioner shall examine the\nclaims so filed, determine the amount due upon such claims, and certify\nthe amounts due each claimant. No claims against the security or the\nagricultural producers security fund shall be allowed for sales of farm\nproducts: (i) to any unlicensed person; (ii) that occurred more than one\nhundred twenty days after the earliest transaction between the producer\nand the dealer that remains unpaid as of the date the claim is filed,\nwhether or not that earliest unpaid transaction is included in the\nclaim; or (iii) where a claim is submitted more than three hundred\nsixty-five days after sale and delivery, but in no event beyond the\nexpiration of the thirty day period provided in the notice published by\nthe commissioner pursuant to this section.\n (c) Claims shall be chargeable first against any initial or additional\nbond or letter of credit provided by the defaulting dealer, and in the\nevent such security is not sufficient to pay the amount owed to all\nproducers, the amounts recovered shall be divided pro rata among all\nclaimants. Any remaining amount of the certified claim shall be payable\nas set forth in paragraph (d) of this subdivision. The commissioner may\nbring an action upon the bonds or letter of credit and for purposes of\nsuch action his or her determination certifying the amounts due shall be\npresumptive evidence of the facts stated therein. In the event that the\nissuer of the bond or letter of credit fails or refuses to honor its\nobligation to pay under the bond or letter of credit within thirty days\nfrom the date of the commissioner's demand for payment, the commissioner\nmay pay from the agricultural producers security fund the amount of the\ndemand and bring an action to recover the amount of the demand from the\nissuer of the bond or letter of credit. Any recovery in such action\nshall be deposited in the agricultural producers security fund.\n (d) The remainder of such claims against a licensee who elects not to\nbe subject to the additional bonding requirements which are not\nsatisfied by the bond or letter of credit or alternative security shall\nbe processed first against any credit insurance purchased pursuant to\nthis article and any balance thereafter against the agricultural\nproducers security fund. Payment of individual claims against the fund\nshall not exceed eighty percent of the difference between the total\namount recovered on that claim against the bond or other security and\nthe amount determined to be owed pursuant to paragraph (b) of this\nsubdivision. In the event that the fund is not sufficient to pay such\namounts owed to the claimants, recovery from the fund shall be divided\npro rata.\n 2. If any claim is paid from the agricultural producers security fund,\nthe defaulting licensee shall be liable to the commissioner for the\nbenefit of the fund for the amount of claims so paid. If the defaulting\nlicensee has not paid the commissioner within fifteen days after\npersonal service upon him or her of the commissioner's certification of\npayment of a claim from the fund for which the licensee has been found\nliable to the claimant, the commissioner may issue a warrant under seal\nof the department directed to the sheriff of any county of the state\ncommanding him or her to levy upon and sell the real and personal\nproperty of the defaulting licensee, found within his or her county, for\nthe payment of the amount of such claim with interest and the cost of\nexecuting the warrant, and to return such warrant to the commissioner\nand pay to him or her the money collected by virtue thereof within sixty\ndays after the receipt of such warrant. The commissioner may file with\nthe clerk of any county a copy of such warrant, and thereupon the clerk\nshall enter in the judgment docket, in the column for judgment debtors,\nthe name of the defaulting licensee designated in the warrant, and in\nappropriate columns the amount of the licensee's liability to the\ncommissioner for claims, interest and costs, and the date when such copy\nis filed. Thereupon, the amount of such warrant so docketed shall become\na lien, relating back to and deemed perfected as of the date of the\ndealer's earliest default in payment to producers as determined by the\ncommissioner, upon and shall bind the real and personal property and\nchattels real of the person against whom it is issued in the same manner\nas a judgment duly docketed in the office of such clerk. The sheriff\nshall thereupon proceed upon the same in all respects, with like effect,\nand in the same manner prescribed by law in respect to executions issued\nagainst property upon judgments of a court of record, and shall be\nentitled to the same fees for his or her services in executing the\nwarrant, to be collected in the same manner. Upon such filing of a copy\nof a warrant, the commissioner shall have the same remedies to enforce\nthe licensee's liability as if he or she had recovered judgment against\nthe licensee for the amount of the warrant.\n