1998 Minnesota Statutes

CHAPTER 231. Warehouses

     231.01 Definitions. 

    Subdivision 1.    Department.  The word "department," as 
 used in this chapter, means the Minnesota state department of 
 agriculture. 

    Subd. 2.    Commissioner.  The term "commissioner," as 
 used in this chapter, means the commissioner of agriculture. 

    Subd. 3.    Person.  The term "person," as used in this 
 chapter, includes any individual, firm, or copartnership.  

    Subd. 4.    Corporation.  The term "corporation," as 
 used in this chapter, includes any corporation, company, 
 association, joint stock company or association.  

    Subd. 5.    Warehouse operator.  The term "warehouse 
 operator," as used in this chapter, means and includes every 
 corporation, company, association, joint stock company or 
 association, firm, partnership, or individual, their trustees, 
 assignees, or receivers appointed by any court, controlling, 
 operating, or managing within this state directly or indirectly, 
 any building or structure, or any part thereof, or any buildings 
 or structures, or any other property, and using the same for the 
 storage or warehousing of goods, wares, or merchandise for 
 compensation, or who shall hold itself out as being in the 
 storage or warehouse business, or as offering storage or 
 warehouse facilities, or advertise for, solicit or accept goods, 
 wares, or merchandise for storage for compensation, but shall 
 not include persons, corporations, or other parties operating 
 storage facilities containing minerals, ores, or rock products 
 such as, but not limited to, aggregates, clays, railroad 
 ballast, iron ore, copper ore, nickel ore, limestone, coal, and 
 salt or operating grain or cold storage warehouses, or storing 
 on a seasonal basis boats, boating accessories, recreational 
 vehicles or recreational equipment or facilities in which the 
 party storing goods rents and occupies space as a tenant and the 
 entire risk of loss is with the tenant pursuant to written 
 contract between the landlord and tenant. 

    Subd. 6.    Service.  The term "service," as used in 
 this chapter, is used in its broadest sense and includes not 
 only the use and occupancy of space for storage purposes, but 
 also any labor expended, and the use of any equipment, 
 apparatus, and appliances or any drayage or other facilities, 
 employed, furnished, or used in connection with the storage of 
 goods, wares, and merchandise, subject to the provisions of this 
 chapter.  

    Subd. 7.    Rate.  The term "rate," as used in this 
 chapter, includes every individual or joint rate, charge, or 
 other compensation of every warehouse operator, either for 
 storage or for any other service furnished in connection 
 therewith, or any two or more such individual or joint rates, 
 charges, or other compensations of any warehouse operator, or 
 any schedule or tariff thereof, and any rule, regulation, 
 charge, practice, or contract relating thereto. 

    Subd. 8.    Compensation.  The term "compensation," as 
 used in this chapter, means any remuneration, recompense, 
 indemnification, requital, or satisfaction assessed, collected, 
 or received for the storage or warehousing of goods, wares, or 
 merchandise of another by a warehouse operator.  

    Subd. 9.    Household goods.  "Household goods" means: 

    (a) personal effects and property used or to be used in a 
 dwelling if it is part of the equipment or supply of the 
 dwelling; 

    (b) furniture, fixtures, equipment, and the property of 
 business places and institutions, public or private, when a part 
 of the stock, equipment, supplies, or property of such 
 establishments.  It does not mean the storage of property of a 
 business concern in the usual course of its business activities; 

    (c) articles which, because of their unusual nature or 
 value, require specialized handling and equipment customarily 
 employed in moving household goods. 

    HIST: (5173) 1915 c 210 s 2; 1941 c 139 s 2; 1947 c 497 s 1,2; 
 1971 c 25 s 67; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7; 1975 c 313 s 20; 1979 c 
 178 s 1; 1979 c 332 art 1 s 70,71; 1980 c 442 s 4; 1986 c 444; 
 1993 c 212 s 1; 1996 c 377 s 8; 1997 c 131 s 4 

     231.02 Supervision over warehouse operators. 

    The department shall have general supervision of all 
 warehouse operators doing business and shall keep itself 
 informed as to the manner and method in which their business is 
 conducted.  It shall examine such business and keep itself 
 informed as to its general condition, capitalization, rates and 
 other charges, its rules and regulations, and the manner in 
 which the plants, equipment, and other property owned, leased, 
 controlled, or operated, are constructed, managed, conducted, 
 and operated, not only with reference to the adequacy, security, 
 and accommodation afforded to the public by their service, but 
 also in respect to the compliance with the provisions of this 
 chapter or with the orders of the department. 

    HIST: (5172) 1915 c 210 s 1; 1925 c 199 s 1; 1941 c 139 s 1; 
 1971 c 25 s 67; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7; 1975 c 313 s 21; 1986 c 
 444 

     231.03 Department; may inspect books, property, and 
  examine agents of warehouse operators.  

    The department, each commissioner, and each officer and 
 person employed by the department, has the right, at any and at 
 all times, to inspect the papers, books, accounts and documents, 
 plant, equipment, or other property of any warehouse operator; 
 and the department, each commissioner, and any officer of the 
 department authorized to administer oaths, shall have the power 
 to examine, under oath, any officer, agent, or employee of such 
 warehouse operator in relation to any matter within the 
 jurisdiction of the department; provided, that any person, other 
 than a commissioner, demanding such inspection shall produce, 
 under the seal of the department, the authority to make such 
 inspection; and, provided, that a written record of the 
 testimony or statement so given, under oath, shall be made and 
 filed with the department.  Information so obtained shall be not 
 admitted in evidence or used in any proceedings except in 
 proceedings provided for in this chapter.  

    HIST: (5175) 1915 c 210 s 4; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1986 c 444 

     231.04 Department to enforce warehouse law.  

    It is hereby made a duty of the department to see that the 
 provisions of the constitution and the statutes of this state 
 affecting warehouse operators, the enforcement of which is not 
 specifically vested in some other officer or tribunal, are 
 enforced and obeyed, that violations thereof are promptly 
 prosecuted, and that penalties due the state therefor are 
 recovered and collected; and, to this end, it may sue in the 
 name of the state.  

    HIST: (5176) 1915 c 210 s 5; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1986 c 444 

     231.05 Accounts.  

    The department shall have the power to compel every 
 warehouse operator to keep and maintain accurate, complete, and 
 comprehensive accounts, including records of service furnished 
 and commissions paid, as well as accounts of earnings and 
 expenses, and it may examine and audit such accounts from time 
 to time.  Such accounts shall provide for forms showing all 
 sources of income, the amounts due and received from each 
 source, and the amounts expended and for each purpose, 
 distinguishing clearly all payments for operating expenses from 
 those for new construction, extensions, additions, repairs, or 
 replacements, and for balance sheets showing assets and 
 liabilities.  

    The department may require every warehouse operator 
 engaged, directly or indirectly, in any business other than the 
 warehouse business to keep separately, in like manner and form, 
 the accounts of all such other business, and the department may 
 provide for the examination and inspection of the books, 
 accounts, papers, and records of such other business, insofar as 
 may be necessary to enforce any provisions of this chapter.  The 
 department shall have the power to inquire as to, and prescribe 
 the apportionment of capitalization, earnings, debts and 
 expenses, fairly and justly to be awarded or borne by the 
 ownership, operation, management or control of such warehouse as 
 distinguished from such other business.  

    HIST: (5177) 1915 c 210 s 6; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1986 c 444 

     231.06 Appreciation and depreciation accounts.  

    The department shall have the power, after a hearing, to 
 require all warehouse operators to keep such accounts as will 
 adequately reflect appreciation, depreciation, or obsolescence.  
 The department may, from time to time, ascertain and determine 
 and, by order, fix the proper and adequate rate of appreciation 
 or depreciation of the property of each warehouse operator, and 
 each warehouse operator shall conform the appreciation and 
 depreciation accounts to the rate so ascertained, determined, 
 and fixed.  

    HIST: (5178) 1915 c 210 s 7; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1986 c 444 

     231.07 Accounts to be kept in state.  

    Each warehouse operator shall have and maintain an office 
 in the city in which it has its principal place of business and 
 keep in this office all such books, accounts, papers, records, 
 and memoranda as shall be ordered by the department to be kept 
 within the state.  The address of such office shall be filed 
 with the department.  No books, accounts, papers, records, or 
 memoranda ordered to be kept within the state shall at any time 
 be removed from the state except on such conditions as may be 
 prescribed by the department.  

    HIST: (5179) 1915 c 210 s 8; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1986 c 444 

     231.08 What is required of warehouse operators. 

    Subdivision 1.    To furnish information.  Every 
 warehouse operator shall furnish all information required by the 
 department to carry into effect the provisions of this chapter 
 and make specific answers to all questions submitted by the 
 department, under oath; and if such warehouse operator is a 
 corporation, it shall answer under the oath of one of its duly 
 authorized officers. 

    Every warehouse operator shall obey and comply with each 
 and every requirement of every order, decision, direction, or 
 rule made or prescribed by the department in the matters 
 specified in this chapter; and do everything necessary or proper 
 to secure the compliance with and the observance of the same, by 
 all its officers, agents, and employees. 

    Subd. 2.    Rights not limited.  Nothing in this 
 chapter shall be construed as limiting the rights of any 
 warehouse operator to lease or let for any storage purpose any 
 floor of a building or any portion thereof.  Any warehouse 
 operator who so leases any portion or portions of a warehouse 
 shall first file with the department a schedule showing the 
 rates for such spaces and the monthly rental per square foot or 
 per cubic foot. 

    HIST: (5174) 1915 c 210 s 3; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1985 c 248 s 70; 
 1986 c 444 

     231.09 Obligation to issue uniform receipts.  

    Every warehouse operator receiving goods in store shall 
 issue for all such a receipt embodying the terms of such 
 receipts as authorized by article 7 of the Uniform Commercial 
 Code.  

    HIST: (5182) 1915 c 210 s 11; 1965 c 812 s 6; 1986 c 444 

     231.10 General duties of warehouse operators.  

    All rates made, demanded, or received by any warehouse 
 operator for any service rendered or to be rendered shall be 
 just and reasonable. Every unjust or unreasonable rate demanded 
 or received for such service is hereby prohibited and declared 
 unlawful.  

    Every warehouse operator licensed under this chapter shall 
 receive, store and forward all property offered for storage by 
 any person or corporation impartially and at as low a rate of 
 charge and in a manner and on terms, and in quantities as 
 favorable to the party offering such property as the warehouse 
 operator at the same place receives, stores, and forwards, in 
 the ordinary course of business, property of like description 
 and in similar quantities offered by any other person or 
 corporation.  

    HIST: (5183) 1915 c 210 s 12; 1986 c 444 

     231.11 Schedule of rates; storing household goods. 

    In order to insure nondiscriminatory rates and charges for 
 all depositors of household goods, the commissioner shall 
 establish a collective rate-making procedure which will insure 
 the publication and maintenance of just and reasonable rates and 
 charges under uniform, reasonably related rate structures.  
 These procedures shall provide for the joint consideration, 
 initiation, and establishment of rates and charges, and shall 
 assure that the respective revenues and expenses of warehouse 
 operators engaged in warehouse services for household goods are 
 ascertained.  Any participating warehouse operator party to a 
 collectively mandated rate or charge has the right to petition 
 the commissioner for the establishment of a rate or charge which 
 deviates from the collectively set rate.  Upon receiving the 
 commissioner's approval, that warehouse operator may proceed to 
 establish the requested rate or charge.  All warehouse operators 
 subject to rate regulation under this chapter must comply with 
 the commissioner's rate-making procedures.  No warehouse 
 operator shall undertake to perform any service or store any 
 household goods until a schedule of rates has been filed and 
 published in accordance with this chapter.  In case of 
 emergency, however, a service or storage not specifically 
 covered by the schedules filed, may be performed or furnished at 
 a reasonable rate, which must then be promptly filed, and which 
 is subject to review in accordance with this chapter.  

    HIST: (5184) 1915 c 210 s 13; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1983 c 300 s 24; 
 1986 c 444; 1993 c 212 s 2 

     231.12 Change of rates; storing household goods. 

    Unless the department otherwise orders, no warehouse 
 operator storing household goods may change any rate except 
 after ten days' notice to the department and to the public 
 pursuant to this section.  Notice shall be given by filing with 
 the department and keeping open for public inspection new 
 schedules or supplements stating plainly the changes to be made 
 in the schedules then in force and the time when the changes 
 will go into effect.  The department for good cause shown, may, 
 after hearing, allow changes without requiring the ten days' 
 notice by an order specifying the changes to be made, the time 
 when they shall take effect, and the manner in which they shall 
 be filed and published.  

    HIST: (5185) 1915 c 210 s 14; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1983 c 300 s 25; 
 1986 c 444; 1993 c 212 s 3 

     231.13 Charging more or less than the published rate; 
  storing household goods. 

    Except as specified in sections 231.11 and 231.12, no 
 warehouse operator storing household goods shall have, demand, 
 collect, or receive, a greater or less or different compensation 
 for any service rendered or for storing any household goods than 
 the rates applicable to such service or storage, as specified in 
 the schedules of rates on file with the commissioner and in 
 effect at the time.  

    When a warehouse operator shall have had household goods in 
 store for such a period that the storage charges thereon 
 accumulated are more than such household goods would bring at a 
 forced sale, the department, upon written application and proof 
 thereof, may authorize such warehouse operator to compromise 
 such charges for a sum not less than the amount which such 
 household goods would bring at such forced sale.  

    HIST: (5186) 1915 c 210 s 15; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1986 c 444; 1993 
 c 212 s 4 

     231.14 Discrimination in rates; storing household goods. 

    Except as herein otherwise specified, no warehouse operator 
 storing household goods, or any officer, agent, or employee 
 thereof, shall, directly or indirectly, by remittance, rebate, 
 or any device, inducement, or other means, suffer or permit any 
 corporation or person to obtain any service, or the storage of 
 any household goods at less than the rates then established and 
 in force as shown by the schedule of rates filed and in effect 
 at the time.  No person or corporation shall, directly or 
 indirectly, by any device, inducement, or means, either with or 
 without the consent or connivance of a warehouse operator 
 storing household goods, or any of the officers, agents, or 
 employees thereof, obtain, or seek to obtain, any service, or 
 the storage of any household goods at less than the rates then 
 established and in force therefor.  Any warehouse operator 
 storing household goods, or the officers, agents, or employees 
 thereof, or any person acting for or employed by it, or 
 transacting business with it, or any other person, who shall 
 violate any provision of this section, shall be guilty of a 
 gross misdemeanor; and, upon conviction, subject to imprisonment 
 not exceeding one year or to a fine not exceeding $3,000, or 
 both.  

    HIST: (5187) 1915 c 210 s 16; 1965 c 412 s 1; 1984 c 628 art 3 
 s 11; 1986 c 444; 1993 c 212 s 5 

     231.15 Department to fix rates and rules. 

    When the department after a hearing upon its own motion, or 
 upon complaint finds that the rates demanded, observed, charged, 
 or collected by any warehouse operator for any service or 
 storage of goods, wares, or merchandise, or in connection with 
 such service or storage, are unjust, unreasonable, 
 discriminatory, preferential, or in any wise in violation of any 
 provision of law the department shall determine the just and 
 reasonable rates to be thereafter effective and in force in such 
 warehouse and fix the same by an order, which shall determine 
 when such rates shall go into effect.  Before making any order 
 under the provisions of this section, the warehouse operator 
 shall have an opportunity to be heard upon reasonable notice to 
 be determined by the department.  

    HIST: (5188) 1915 c 210 s 17; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1985 c 248 s 70; 
 1986 c 444 

     231.16 Warehouse operator to obtain license. 

    Every person desiring to engage in the business of 
 warehouse operator, before engaging therein, shall be licensed 
 annually by, and shall be under the supervision and subject to 
 the inspection of, the department.  Written application in the 
 form prescribed by the department shall be made to the 
 department for license, specifying the city in which it is 
 proposed to carry on the business of warehousing, the location, 
 size, character, and equipment of the buildings or premises to 
 be used by the warehouse operator, the kind of goods, wares, and 
 merchandise intended to be stored therein, the name of the 
 person or corporation operating the same, and of each member of 
 the firm or officer of the corporation, and any other facts 
 necessary to satisfy the department that the property proposed 
 to be used is suitable for warehouse purposes and that the 
 warehouse operator making the application is qualified to carry 
 on the business of warehousing.  Should the department decide 
 that the building or other property proposed to be used as a 
 warehouse is suitable for the proposed purpose and that the 
 applicants are entitled to a license, notice of the decision 
 shall be given the interested parties and, upon the applicants 
 filing with the department the necessary bond, as provided for 
 in this chapter, the department shall issue the license provided 
 for, upon payment of the license fee, as in this section 
 provided.  A warehouse operator to whom a license is issued 
 shall pay for the license a fee based on the storage capacity of 
 the warehouse as follows:  

                 Storage capacity in square feet 

             (1) 5,000 or less               $ 80 
             (2) 5,001 to 10,000             $155 
             (3) 10,001 to 20,000            $250 
             (4) 20,001 to 100,000           $315 
             (5) 100,001 to 200,000          $410 
             (6) over 200,000                $470 

    Fees collected under this chapter shall be paid into the 
 grain buyers and storage fund established in section 232.22.  

    The license shall be renewed annually on or before July 1, 
 and always upon payment of the full license fee, as provided for 
 in this section for such renewal; and no license shall be issued 
 for any portion of a year for less than the full amount of the 
 license fee, as provided for in this section.  Each license 
 obtained under this chapter shall be publicly displayed in the 
 main office of the place of business of the warehouse operator 
 to whom it is issued.  The license shall authorize the warehouse 
 operator to carry on the business of warehousing only in the one 
 city or town named in the application and in the buildings 
 therein described.  The department, without requiring an 
 additional bond and license, may issue permits from time to time 
 to any warehouse operator already duly licensed under the 
 provisions of this chapter to operate an additional warehouse in 
 the same city or town for which the original license was issued 
 during the term thereof, upon the filing an application for a 
 permit in the form prescribed by the department. 

    License may be refused for good cause shown and revoked by 
 the department for violation of law or of any rule by it 
 prescribed, upon notice and after hearing. 

    HIST: (5189) 1915 c 210 s 18; 1939 c 159; 1943 c 495 s 1; 1947 
 c 497 s 3; 1969 c 1148 s 37; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 
 7; 1975 c 313 s 22; 1977 c 364 s 7; 1981 c 356 s 331; 1982 c 508 
 s 7; 1983 c 300 s 26; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1986 c 444 

     231.17 Bonds of warehouse operators. 

    Every warehouse operator applying for and receiving a 
 license from the department, as provided for in this chapter, 
 shall file with the department, acceptable to the department, a 
 surety bond to the state of Minnesota.  Such bonds shall be in 
 an amount to be determined by the department as reasonable for 
 the applicant but shall not be less than $10,000.  

    The commissioner shall, after a study of the existing 
 bonding structure and after consultation with the warehousing 
 industry, adopt rules for bonding.  The rules must be adopted by 
 April 1, 1994. 

    The bond shall be conditioned for the faithful discharge of 
 all duties as a warehouse operator operating under this chapter, 
 and full compliance with the laws of the state and rules and 
 orders of the department relative thereto.  Failure to maintain 
 the bond as required shall void the license.  

    The bond must be continuous until canceled.  To cancel a 
 bond, the surety must provide 90 days' written notice of the 
 bond's termination date to the licensee and the department. 

    In lieu of the bond required by this section, the applicant 
 may deposit with the state treasurer cash; a certified check; a 
 cashier's check; a postal, bank, or express money order; 
 assignable bonds or notes of the United States; or an assignment 
 of bank savings account or investment certificate or an 
 irrevocable bank letter of credit as defined in section 
 336.5-103, in the same amount as would be required for a bond. 

    HIST: (5190) 1915 c 210 s 19; 1927 c 360 s 1; 1971 c 25 s 67; 
 1971 c 75 s 1; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1986 c 444; 1993 c 212 s 6 

     231.18 Claims against a bond. 

    Subdivision 1.    Filing a claim.  A depositor claiming 
 to be damaged by the breach of an agreement to store general 
 merchandise and household goods must file a claim with the 
 department within 180 days of the date of breach. 

    Subd. 2.    Form of claim.  All claims must be in 
 writing, must state the facts upon which the claim is based, 
 must include any supporting evidence, and must be signed by the 
 claimant.  The supporting evidence may consist of, but is not 
 limited to, a bill of lading, a warehouse receipt, a contract 
 form, correspondence, or photographs. 

    Subd. 3.    Where to file.  All claims must be filed at 
 the following address:  Minnesota Department of Agriculture, 
 Grain Licensing and Auditing Division, 316 Grain Exchange 
 Building, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415. 

    Subd. 4.    Bond limitations.  The bonds are not 
 cumulative from one year to the next.  A claim against the bond 
 may only be made against the bond in effect at the time the 
 agreement is breached.  A bond is not liable for claims filed 
 after 180 days from the date of the breach of the bond. 

    Subd. 5.    Public notice of a claim.  Upon determining 
 that a depositor has filed a valid claim, the department shall 
 publish notice of the claim in the official county newspaper of 
 the county in which the licensee's place of business is located. 

    The notice must state that a claim against the bond of a 
 licensee has been filed with the department, the name and 
 address of the licensee, that any additional claims should be 
 filed with the department, the bond disbursement date, and where 
 the claims should be filed. 

    The public notice of the claim must appear for three 
 consecutive days in newspapers with a daily circulation and for 
 two consecutive publications in newspapers published less than 
 daily. 

    Subd. 6.    Bond disbursement.  (a) Upon expiration of 
 the claim filing period, the department shall promptly determine 
 the validity of all claims filed and notify the claimants of the 
 determination.  An aggrieved party may appeal the department's 
 determination by requesting, within 15 days, that the department 
 initiate a contested case proceeding.  In the absence of such a 
 request, or following the issuance of a final order in a 
 contested case, the surety company shall issue payment promptly 
 to those claimants entitled to payment. 

    (b) If a warehouse operator has become liable to more than 
 one depositor by reason of breaches of the conditions of the 
 bond and the amount of the bond is insufficient to pay the 
 entire liability to all depositors entitled to the protection of 
 the bond, the proceeds of the bond shall be apportioned among 
 the bona fide claimants. 

    HIST: (5192) 1915 c 210 s 21; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1986 c 444; 1993 
 c 212 s 7 

  231.19 Repealed, 1993 c 212 s 8 

  231.20 Repealed, 1993 c 212 s 8 

  231.21 Repealed, 1993 c 212 s 8 

  231.22 Repealed, 1993 c 212 s 8 

  231.23 Repealed, 1993 c 212 s 8 

     231.24 Complaint that rate is unreasonable; duty of 
  department.  

    Upon verified complaint of any person or of any corporation 
 that any rates are unjust, unreasonable, discriminatory, 
 preferential, or in any way in violation of law, the department 
 shall proceed to investigate the matters alleged in such 
 complaint; and, for the purposes of such investigation, they may 
 require the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, 
 papers, and documents.  If, upon the hearing, such rates are 
 found to be unjust, unreasonable, discriminatory, preferential, 
 or in any way in violation of law, the department shall make an 
 order, stating wherein the same are so unjust, unreasonable, 
 discriminatory, preferential, or in any way in violation of law, 
 and make rates which shall be substituted for those as to which 
 complaint is made.  Rates so made by the department shall be 
 deemed prima facie reasonable in all courts, and shall be in 
 full force during the pendency of any appeal or other 
 proceedings to review the action of the department in 
 establishing the same.  

    HIST: (5198) 1915 c 210 s 27; 1971 c 25 s 67 

  231.25 Repealed, 1993 c 212 s 8 

  231.26 Repealed, 1993 c 212 s 8 

  231.27 Repealed, 1993 c 212 s 8 

     231.28 Failure to obey order or law.  

    When any warehouse operator shall fail to obey any law of 
 this state, or any order of the department, the department may, 
 upon verified petition alleging such failure, apply to the 
 district court of the county in which the warehouse operator's 
 principal place of business is located, for the enforcement of 
 such law or order, or other appropriate relief.  The court, upon 
 such notice as it may direct, shall hear such matter as in case 
 of an appeal from an order.  On the hearing, the findings of 
 fact upon which the order is based shall be prima facie evidence 
 of the merits therein stated, and the court may grant any 
 provisional or other relief, ordinary or extraordinary, legal or 
 equitable, which the nature of the case may require, and may 
 impose a fine of not more than $50 for each day's failure to 
 obey any writ, process, or order of the court, in addition to 
 all other penalties or forfeitures provided by law.  A temporary 
 mandatory or restraining order may be made in such proceedings, 
 notwithstanding any undetermined issue of fact, upon such terms 
 as to security as the court may direct.  

    HIST: (5202) 1915 c 210 s 31; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1986 c 444 

  231.29 Repealed, 1993 c 212 s 8 

  231.30 Repealed, 1993 c 212 s 8 

  231.31 Repealed, 1993 c 212 s 8 

     231.32 Proceedings in the name of the state.  

    All acts or proceedings instituted by the department under 
 this chapter shall be brought in the name of the state and be 
 prosecuted by the attorney general.  

    HIST: (5205) 1915 c 210 s 34; 1971 c 25 s 67 

  231.33 Repealed, 1993 c 212 s 8 

     231.34 Action on bond in the name of the state.  

    When any one licensed to do business as a public warehouse 
 operator fails to perform a duty, or violates any of the 
 provisions of this chapter, any person or corporation injured by 
 such failure or violation may, with the consent of the 
 department and the attorney general, bring an action in the name 
 of the state, but to the person's or corporation's own use, in 
 any court of competent jurisdiction on the bond of such 
 warehouse operator. In such action the person or corporation in 
 whose behalf the action is brought shall file with the court a 
 satisfactory bond for costs, and the state shall not be liable 
 for any costs.  

    HIST: (5206) 1915 c 210 s 35; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1986 c 444 

     231.35 Technical omissions not to invalidate acts of 
  department.  

    A substantial compliance with the requirements of this 
 chapter shall be sufficient to give effect to all the acts, 
 orders, decisions, and rules of the department and they shall 
 not be declared inoperative, illegal, or void for any omission 
 of a technical nature in respect thereto.  

    HIST: (5209) 1915 c 210 s 38; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1985 c 248 s 70 

     231.36 Falsification or destruction of accounts.  

    Any person who shall willfully make any false entry in the 
 account or in any record or memorandum kept by a warehouse 
 operator, or who shall willfully destroy, mutilate, alter, or by 
 any other means or device, falsify a record of any such account, 
 record, or memorandum, or who shall willfully neglect or fail to 
 make full, true, and correct entries in such accounts, records, 
 or memoranda, of all facts and transactions appertaining to the 
 business of the warehouse operator, or shall keep any accounts 
 or records with the intent to evade the provisions of this 
 chapter, shall be guilty of a gross misdemeanor; and, upon 
 conviction, subject to imprisonment not exceeding one year or to 
 a fine not exceeding $3,000, or both.  

    HIST: (5180) 1915 c 210 s 9; 1965 c 412 s 2; 1984 c 628 art 3 
 s 11; 1986 c 444 

     231.37 Penalty for divulgence of information.  

    Any officer or employee of the department who divulges to 
 any person, other than a member of the department, any fact or 
 information coming to the knowledge of the officer or employee 
 during the course of an inspection, examination, or 
 investigation of any accounts, records, memoranda, books, or 
 papers of a warehouse operator, except insofar as may be 
 authorized by the department, or by a court of competent 
 jurisdiction, or a judge thereof, shall be guilty of a gross 
 misdemeanor; and, upon conviction, subject to imprisonment not 
 exceeding one year or to a fine not exceeding $3,000, or to both.

    HIST: (5181) 1915 c 210 s 10; 1965 c 412 s 3; 1971 c 25 s 67; 
 1984 c 628 art 3 s 11; 1986 c 444 

     231.38 Penalty for transacting business without a 
  license.  

    Any person who shall transact the business of a warehouse 
 operator, except for the purpose of winding up the same under 
 the supervision of the department, without first procuring a 
 license and giving a bond as provided for in this chapter and 
 any licensed warehouse operator who shall operate any warehouse 
 without obtaining the permit herein provided for or who shall 
 continue to transact such business after such license has 
 expired or such bond may have become void or found insufficient 
 security for the penal sum in which it is executed by the 
 department approving the same shall be guilty of a gross 
 misdemeanor; and upon conviction fined in a sum not less than 
 $100 nor more than $3,000 for each and every day such business 
 is carried on before the license or permit, as the case may be, 
 is issued or after the expiration of such license or permit or 
 after receiving notice from the department that such bond has 
 become void or has been found insufficient security; and the 
 operation of such warehouse operator may be enjoined upon 
 complaint of the department before a court of competent 
 jurisdiction.  

    HIST: (5191) 1915 c 210 s 20; 1965 c 412 s 4; 1971 c 25 s 67; 
 1984 c 628 art 3 s 11; 1986 c 444 

     231.39 Persons violating act or order; penalty.  

    Any warehouse operator and each person who, either 
 individually or acting as an officer, agent, or employee of a 
 warehouse operator, violates or fails to comply with any 
 provisions of this chapter, or fails to observe, obey, or comply 
 with any order, decision, rule, direction, or requirement or any 
 part or portion thereof of the department made or issued under 
 authority of this chapter or who procures, aids, or abets any 
 warehouse operator in the violation of this chapter or in the 
 failure to observe, obey, or comply with this chapter or any 
 such order, decision, rule, direction, or requirement or any 
 part or portion thereof in a case in which a penalty is not 
 otherwise provided for in this chapter is guilty of a gross 
 misdemeanor; and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine not 
 exceeding $3,000 or by imprisonment not exceeding one year or by 
 both such fine and imprisonment.  

    Each violation of the provisions of this chapter, or of any 
 order, decision, rule, direction, or requirement of the 
 department, or any part or portion thereof, by any warehouse 
 operator is a separate and distinct offense.  

    In construing and enforcing the provisions of this chapter 
 relating to penalties, the act, omission, or failure of any 
 officer, agent, or employee of any warehouse operator, acting 
 within the scope of official duties or employment, shall in each 
 case be and be deemed to be the act, omission, or failure of 
 such warehouse operator.  

    HIST: (5207) 1915 c 210 s 36; 1965 c 412 s 5; 1971 c 25 s 67; 
 1984 c 628 art 3 s 11; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1986 c 444