7 U.S.C. § 499g : US Code - Section 499G: Reparation order

Search 7 U.S.C. § 499g : US Code - Section 499G: Reparation order

(a) Determination by Secretary of Agriculture of amount of damages;
order for payment
If after a hearing on a complaint made by any person under
section 499f of this title, or without hearing as provided in
subsections (c) and (d) of section 499f of this title, or upon
failure of the party complained against to answer a complaint duly
served within the time prescribed, or to appear at a hearing after
being duly notified, the Secretary determines that the commission
merchant, dealer, or broker has violated any provision of section
499b of this title, he shall, unless the offender has already made
reparation to the person complaining, determine the amount of
damage, if any, to which such person is entitled as a result of
such violation and shall make an order directing the offender to
pay to such person complaining such amount on or before the date
fixed in the order. The Secretary shall order any commission
merchant, dealer, or broker who is the losing party to pay the
prevailing party, as reparation or additional reparation,
reasonable fees and expenses incurred in connection with any such
hearing. If, after the respondent has filed his answer to the
complaint, it appears therein that the respondent has admitted
liability for a portion of the amount claimed in the complaint as
damages, the Secretary under such rules and regulations as he shall
prescribe, unless the respondent has already made reparation to the
person complaining, may issue an order directing the respondent to
pay to the complainant the undisputed amount on or before the date
fixed in the order, leaving the respondent's liability for the
disputed amount for subsequent determination. The remaining
disputed amount shall be determined in the same manner and under
the same procedure as it would have been determined if no order had
been issued by the Secretary with respect to the undisputed sum.
(b) Failure to comply with order of Secretary; suit to enforce
liability; order as evidence; costs and fees
If any commission merchant, dealer, or broker does not pay the
reparation award within the time specified in the Secretary's
order, the complainant, or any person for whose benefit such order
was made, may within three years of the date of the order file in
the district court of the United States for the district in which
he resides or in which is located the principal place of business
of the commission merchant, dealer, or broker, or in any State
court having general jurisdiction of the parties, a petition
setting forth briefly the causes for which he claims damages and
the order of the Secretary in the premises. The orders, writs, and
processes of the district courts may in these cases run, be served,
and be returnable anywhere in the United States. Such suit in the
district court shall proceed in all respects like other civil suits
for damages, except that the findings and orders of the Secretary
shall be prima-facie evidence of the facts therein stated, and the
petitioner shall not be liable for costs in the district court, nor
for costs at any subsequent state of the proceedings, unless they
accrue upon his appeal. If the petitioner finally prevails, he
shall be allowed a reasonable attorney's fee, to be taxed and
collected as a part of the costs of the suit.
(c) Appeal from reparation order; proceedings
Either party adversely affected by the entry of a reparation
order by the Secretary may, within thirty days from and after the
date of such order, appeal therefrom to the district court of the
United States for the district in which said hearing was held:
Provided, That in cases handled without a hearing in accordance
with subsections (c) and (d) of section 499f of this title or in
which a hearing has been waived by agreement of the parties, appeal
shall be to the district court of the United States for the
district in which the party complained against is located. Such
appeal shall be perfected by the filing with the clerk of said
court a notice of appeal, together with a petition in duplicate
which shall recite prior proceedings before the Secretary and shall
state the grounds upon which the petitioner relies to defeat the
right of the adverse party to recover the damages claimed, with
proof of service thereof upon the adverse party. Such appeal shall
not be effective unless within thirty days from and after the date
of the reparation order the appellant also files with the clerk a
bond in double the amount of the reparation awarded against the
appellant conditioned upon the payment of the judgment entered by
the court, plus interest and costs, including a reasonable
attorney's fee for the appellee, if the appellee shall prevail.
Such bond shall be in the form of cash, negotiable securities
having a market value at least equivalent to the amount of bond
prescribed, or the undertaking of a surety company on the approved
list of sureties issued by the Treasury Department of the United
States. The clerk of court shall immediately forward a copy thereof
to the Secretary of Agriculture, who shall forthwith prepare,
certify, and file in said court a true copy of the Secretary's
decision, findings of fact, conclusions, and order in said case,
together with copies of the pleadings upon which the case was heard
and submitted to the Secretary. Such suit in the district court
shall be a trial de novo and shall proceed in all respects like
other civil suits for damages, except that the findings of fact and
order or orders of the Secretary shall be prima-facie evidence of
the facts therein stated. Appellee shall not be liable for costs in
said court and if appellee prevails he shall be allowed a
reasonable attorney's fee to be taxed and collected as a part of
his costs. Such petition and pleadings certified by the Secretary
upon which decision was made by him shall upon filing in the
district court constitute the pleadings upon which said trial de
novo shall proceed subject to any amendment allowed in that court.
(d) Suspension of license for failure to obey reparation order or
appeal
Unless the licensee against whom a reparation order has been
issued shows to the satisfaction of the Secretary within five days
from the expiration of the period allowed for compliance with such
order that he has either taken an appeal as herein authorized or
has made payment in full as required by such order his license
shall be suspended automatically at the expiration of such five-day
period until he shows to the satisfaction of the Secretary that he
has paid the amount therein specified with interest thereon to date
of payment: Provided, That if on appeal the appellee prevails or if
the appeal is dismissed the automatic suspension of license shall
become effective at the expiration of thirty days from the date of
the judgment on the appeal, but if the judgment is stayed by a
court of competent jurisdiction the suspension shall become
effective ten days after the expiration of such stay, unless prior
thereto the judgment of the court has been satisfied.