2002 Minnesota Statutes

CHAPTER 231. Warehouses

     231.01 Definitions. 

    Subdivision 1.    Scope.  The definitions in this 
 section apply to this chapter. 

    Subd. 2.    Commissioner.  "Commissioner" means the 
 commissioner of agriculture. 

    Subd. 3.    Compensation.  "Compensation" 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. 4.    Corporation.  "Corporation" includes any 
 corporation, company, association, joint stock company, or 
 association.  

    Subd. 5.    Department.  "Department" means the 
 department of agriculture. 

    Subd. 6.    Household goods.  "Household goods" means: 

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

    (2) 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; 

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

    Subd. 7.    Household goods warehouse operator.  
 "Household goods warehouse operator" means an individual, 
 corporation, partnership, or any other business association or 
 their trustees, assignees, or receivers appointed by a court who 
 control, operate, or manage, directly or indirectly, a building 
 or structure or any part of a building or structure in this 
 state used for the storage or warehousing of household goods for 
 compensation.  "Household goods warehouse operator" does not 
 include persons, corporations, or other parties operating 
 storage facilities for storage on a seasonal basis of 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. 8.    Rate.  "Rate" includes every individual or 
 joint rate, charge, or other compensation of a household goods 
 warehouse operator, either for storage or for any other service 
 furnished in connection with storage; any schedule or tariff of 
 rates, charges, or compensation of a household goods warehouse 
 operator; and any rule, regulation, charge, practice, or 
 contract relating to the rates, charges, or compensation. 

    Subd. 9.    Service.  "Service" 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 this chapter.

    Subd. 10.    Warehouse operator.  "Warehouse operator" 
 means a corporation, company, association, joint stock company 
 or association, firm, partnership, or individual and their 
 trustees, assignees, or receivers appointed by any court, that 
 directly or indirectly controls, operates, or manages within 
 this state one or more buildings or structures, any part thereof 
 of a building or structure, or any other property which is used 
 for the storage or warehousing of goods, wares, business or 
 other records, or merchandise for compensation, or who holds 
 itself out as being in the storage or warehouse business or as 
 offering storage or warehouse facilities, or who advertises for, 
 solicits, or accepts goods, wares, business or other records, or 
 merchandise for storage for compensation.  "Warehouse operator" 
 does not include household goods warehouse operators or 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, 
 steel, aluminum, copper ore, nickel ore, limestone, coal, and 
 salt or operating grain 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 or provided by a railroad or common 
 carrier. 

    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; 1999 c 110 s 1 

  231.02 Repealed, 1999 c 110 s 22 

  231.03 Repealed, 1999 c 110 s 22 

     231.035 Inspection authority. 

    The commissioner or the commissioner's designee may, upon 
 presentation of appropriate credentials and during regular 
 working hours or at other reasonable times, inspect premises 
 including equipment and stored goods subject to and for reasons 
 relating to the commissioner's enforcement and licensing 
 authority; request information from persons with information 
 relevant to an inspection; and inspect relevant papers and 
 records relating to the storage of goods. 

    HIST: 1999 c 110 s 2 

     231.04 Department to enforce warehouse law. 

    The department shall see that the provisions of the 
 constitution and the statutes of this state affecting warehouse 
 operators or household goods 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; 1999 
 c 110 s 3 

  231.05 Repealed, 1999 c 110 s 22 

  231.06 Repealed, 1999 c 110 s 22 

  231.07 Repealed, 1999 c 110 s 22 

     231.08 What is required of warehouse operators and 
  household goods warehouse operators. 

    Subdivision 1.    To furnish information.  Every 
 warehouse operator and household goods warehouse operator shall 
 furnish all information required by the department to administer 
 this chapter and make specific answers to all questions 
 submitted by the department, under oath.  A warehouse operator 
 or household goods warehouse operator which is a corporation 
 shall answer under the oath of one of its duly authorized 
 officers. 

    A warehouse operator or household goods warehouse operator 
 shall obey and comply with 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 or household goods warehouse operator to lease or let 
 for any storage purpose any portion of a building.  

    HIST: (5174) 1915 c 210 s 3; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1985 c 248 s 70; 
 1986 c 444; 1999 c 110 s 4 

     231.09 Obligation to issue uniform receipts. 

    A warehouse operator receiving goods in store shall issue 
 for the goods a receipt embodying the terms of such receipts as 
 authorized by article 7 of the Uniform Commercial Code.  
 Receipts or records of storage in electronic form are acceptable.

    HIST: (5182) 1915 c 210 s 11; 1965 c 812 s 6; 1986 c 444; 1999 
 c 110 s 5 

  231.10 Repealed, 1999 c 110 s 22 

     231.11 Schedule of rates; storing household goods. 

    In order to ensure nondiscriminatory rates and charges for 
 all depositors of household goods, the commissioner shall 
 establish a collective rate-making procedure which will ensure 
 the publication and maintenance of just and reasonable rates and 
 charges under uniform, reasonably related rate structures.  
 These procedures must provide for the joint consideration, 
 initiation, and establishment of rates and charges and ensure 
 that the respective revenues and expenses of household goods 
 warehouse operators are ascertained.  Any participating 
 household goods 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 household goods warehouse operator 
 may proceed to establish the requested rate or charge.  All 
 household goods warehouse operators subject to rate regulation 
 under this chapter must comply with the commissioner's 
 rate-making procedures.  No household goods 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; 1999 c 110 s 6 

     231.12 Change of rates; storing household goods. 

    Unless the department otherwise orders, no household goods 
 warehouse operator may change any rate except after ten days' 
 notice to the department and to the public pursuant to this 
 section.  Notice must 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; 1999 c 110 s 7 

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

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

    If a household goods warehouse operator has had household 
 goods in store so long that the storage charges accumulated on 
 them are more than the household goods would bring at a forced 
 sale, the department, upon written application and proof 
 thereof, may authorize the household goods warehouse operator to 
 compromise the charges for a sum not less than the amount which 
 the household goods would bring at a forced sale. 

    HIST: (5186) 1915 c 210 s 15; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1986 c 444; 1993 
 c 212 s 4; 1999 c 110 s 8 

     231.14 Discrimination in rates; storing household goods. 

    Except as herein otherwise specified, no household goods 
 warehouse operator, or any officer, agent, or employee thereof, 
 shall, directly or indirectly, by remittance, rebate, or any 
 device, inducement, or other means, 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 household goods warehouse operator, 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 
 household goods warehouse operator, 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 violates 
 this section, is guilty of a gross misdemeanor and is, 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; 1999 c 110 s 9 

     231.15 Department to fix rates and rules; storage of 
  household goods.  

    If the department after a hearing upon its own motion, or 
 upon complaint finds that the rates demanded, observed, charged, 
 or collected by a household goods warehouse operator for or in 
 connection with any service or storage of goods, wares, or 
 merchandise are unjust, unreasonable, discriminatory, 
 preferential, or otherwise illegal, the department shall 
 determine the just and reasonable rates to be thereafter 
 effective and in force for that household goods warehouse 
 operator and fix the rates by an order, which shall determine 
 when the rates go into effect.  Before an order is issued under 
 this section, the household goods 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; 1999 c 110 s 10,22; 2000 c 260 s 84,85 

     231.16 Warehouse operator or household goods warehouse 
  operator to obtain license. 

    A warehouse operator or household goods warehouse operator 
 must be licensed annually by the department.  The department 
 shall prescribe the form of the written application.  If the 
 department approves the license application and the applicant 
 files with the department the necessary bond, in the case of 
 household goods warehouse operators, or proof of warehouse 
 operators legal liability insurance coverage in an amount of 
 $50,000 or more, as provided for in this chapter, the department 
 shall issue the license upon payment of the license fee required 
 in this section.  A warehouse operator or household goods 
 warehouse operator to whom a license is issued shall pay a fee 
 as follows:  

         Building square footage used for public storage 

             (1) 5,000 or less                $100
             (2) 5,001 to 10,000              $200 
             (3) 10,001 to 20,000             $300 
             (4) 20,001 to 100,000            $400
             (5) 100,001 to 200,000           $500
             (6) over 200,000                 $600

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

    The license must be renewed annually on or before July 1, 
 and always upon payment of the full license fee required in this 
 section.  No license shall be issued for any portion of a year 
 for less than the full amount of the license fee required in 
 this section.  Each license obtained under this chapter must be 
 publicly displayed in the main office of the place of business 
 of the warehouse operator or household goods warehouse operator 
 to whom it is issued.  The license authorizes the warehouse 
 operator or household goods 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. 

    A license may be refused for good cause shown and revoked 
 by the department for violation of law or of any rule adopted by 
 the department, 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; 1999 c 110 s 
 11; 1999 c 231 s 170; 1Sp2001 c 2 s 143 

     231.17 Bonds of warehouse operators; legal liability 
  insurance. 

    Every warehouse operator applying for and receiving a 
 license from the department under this chapter shall file with 
 the department, acceptable to the department, a surety bond to 
 the state of Minnesota.  Bonds must be in the amount of $10,000. 

    The bond must be conditioned for the faithful discharge of 
 all duties as a household goods warehouse operator operating 
 under this chapter and full compliance with the laws of the 
 state and rules and orders of the department.  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. 

    In lieu of the bond required by this section, a warehouse 
 operator that does not provide for the storage of household 
 goods may provide proof of legal liability insurance coverage in 
 the amount of $50,000 or more.  A warehouse operator must notify 
 the department with written notice of the cancellation of the 
 policy.  If the policy is terminated without notification to the 
 department, the warehouse operator is subject to penalties under 
 section 231.39. 

    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; 1999 
 c 110 s 12 

     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 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 household goods 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; 1999 c 110 s 13,14 

  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 of a household goods warehouse operator 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; 1999 c 110 s 15 

  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. 

    If a warehouse operator or household goods warehouse 
 operator fails 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 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; 1999 
 c 110 s 16 

  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. 

    If a licensed household goods warehouse operator fails to 
 perform a duty or violates 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 the household goods 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; 1999 
 c 110 s 17 

  231.35 Repealed, 1999 c 110 s 22 

     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 household goods 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 household goods warehouse 
 operator, or shall keep any accounts or records with the intent 
 to evade the provisions of this chapter, is guilty of a gross 
 misdemeanor and, upon conviction, is 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; 1999 c 110 s 18 

     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 or household goods warehouse 
 operator, except insofar as may be authorized by the department, 
 or by a court of competent jurisdiction, or a judge thereof, is 
 guilty of a gross misdemeanor and, upon conviction, is 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; 1999 c 110 s 19 

     231.38 Penalty for transacting business without a 
  license. 

    Any person who shall transact the business of a warehouse 
 operator or household goods 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 
 or providing proof of insurance as provided for in this chapter 
 and any licensed warehouse operator or household goods 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 the required 
 insurance has lapsed 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 is guilty of a gross 
 misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined in a sum not 
 less than $100 nor more than $3,000 for each and every day the 
 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 the 
 insurance has lapsed or bond has become void or has been found 
 insufficient security; and the operation of such warehouse 
 operator or household goods warehouse operator may be enjoined 
 upon complaint of the department before a court of competent 
 jurisdiction.  

    A warehouse operator or household goods warehouse operator 
 has 30 days after a license or permit has expired or insurance 
 has lapsed or bond become void or been found insufficient before 
 the penalty in this section applies. 

    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; 1999 c 110 s 20 

     231.39 Persons violating act or order; penalty. 

    Any warehouse operator or household goods warehouse 
 operator and each person who, either individually or acting as 
 an officer, agent, or employee of a warehouse operator or 
 household goods 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 or household goods 
 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 both.  

    Each violation 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 or household goods 
 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 or 
 household goods 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 or household goods 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; 1999 c 110 s 
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