Okla. Stat. tit. 2, § 2-9-24

bond - Indemnity Fund lien - Venue - Notice - Renewal of charter -

Seizure of commodities - Identification and date of loss - Claim of

loss.

A. 1. Upon the suspension, revocation, or voluntary surrender

of the state charter, federal license, or bond of a warehouseman or

public warehouse, a statutory lien shall be and hereby is imposed on

all assets of the warehouseman or public warehouse in favor of the

Oklahoma Commodity Storage Indemnity Fund on behalf of all

depositors who are eligible to file a claim pursuant to subsection I

of this section.

2. The lien and payment rights of all depositors are hereby

assigned to the Indemnity for purposes of implementing this section.

3. To perfect the lien, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture,

Food, and Forestry, on behalf of the Indemnity, shall file a lien

statement with the Oklahoma County Clerk.

4. The lien shall become effective and deemed fully perfected

immediately upon filing of the lien statement.

a. The initial lien amount shall be based on a reasonable

estimate of the amounts paid by the Department and the

Indemnity and other costs and expenses described in

this section.

b. The lien statement shall be filed only on or after the

date of the suspension, revocation, or voluntary

surrender of the state charter, federal license, or

bond of the subject warehouseman or public warehouse

but not later than sixty (60) days after the

incurrence of the triggering event.

c. The lien statement shall disclose the name of the

warehouseman or public warehouse, the address of the

party’s principal place of business, a description of

any known and identifiable warehouseman or warehouse

assets or a statement that none are known at such

time, and the amount of the lien.

5. The amount of the lien shall be the aggregate of:

a. the amount of the incurred by the Department and the

Indemnity for the conduct of salvage operations of the

warehouseman or public warehouse,

b. all amounts paid by the Department and the Indemnity

to depositors of the warehouseman or public warehouse

from the Oklahoma Commodity Storage Indemnity Fund,

including but not limited to the final cost of

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 2. Agriculture Page 433

reimbursing the depositors and the Indemnity for the

payment of claims made against the fund,

c. associated costs and expenses, if any, and

d. accrued interest at the rate of ten percent (10%) per

annum.

6. The Department, on behalf of the Indemnity, shall file a

corrected lien statement to revise the estimated amount of the lien

not later than one hundred eighty (180) days following the

incurrence date; however, the failure to file a corrected lien

statement shall not affect the validity or the amount of the subject

lien.

7. The District Court of Oklahoma County, upon petition by one

or more producers, may undertake an action to correct the lien

amount. The Department, on behalf of the Indemnity, shall have the

burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that any

estimated lien amount is an accurate estimate.

8. A lien statement filed under this section shall be a

security interest perfected under the uniform commercial code in

effect in Oklahoma and subject to the same priority as provided in

Section 1-9-322 of Title 12A of the Oklahoma Statutes except that

the subject lien statement shall have priority over any levies or

liens for taxes regardless of the time when the subject lien

statement or any such tax levies or lien arises.

9. The lien statement may be collected in any manner allowed by

law including levy upon all property of the warehouseman or public

warehouse in the same manner as the levy of an execution.

10. The Department, on behalf of the Indemnity, shall upon

written demand of the warehouseman or public warehouse file a

termination statement with the Oklahoma County Clerk, if the license

of the warehouseman is not revoked, suspended, surrendered,
y manner allowed by

law including levy upon all property of the warehouseman or public

warehouse in the same manner as the levy of an execution.

10. The Department, on behalf of the Indemnity, shall upon

written demand of the warehouseman or public warehouse file a

termination statement with the Oklahoma County Clerk, if the license

of the warehouseman is not revoked, suspended, surrendered,

terminated, or canceled after one hundred eighty (180) days from the

date the lien statement is perfected.

a. upon filing of the termination statement, the lien

becomes unperfected.

b. the Department, on behalf of the Indemnity, shall

deliver a copy of the termination statement to the

warehouseman or public warehouse.

B. The District Court of Oklahoma County shall be the sole

venue for questions of jurisdiction or venue in all civil actions

challenging the acts of the Department in the administration of the

Public Warehouse and Commodity Indemnity Act.

C. The Department shall publish notice for two (2) consecutive

weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the area of the

public warehouse when the warehouse charter is suspended or revoked.

D. When the charter of a warehouseman is renewed after

suspension or revocation, the Department shall publish notice for

two (2) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 2. Agriculture Page 434

the area of the public warehouse that the warehouse is in compliance

with the Public Warehouse and Commodity Indemnity Act.

E. Upon the suspension, revocation, or voluntary surrender of

the charter, the Department may seize all commodities under the

control of the warehouseman or public warehouse, including

commodities stored or forwarded to other locations. The Department,

upon suspension, revocation, or surrender of the charter, shall

seize all commodity stocks of the warehouseman or public warehouse

including any commodities stored or forwarded to other locations and

sell the commodities. Funds generated by the sale of seized

commodities shall be distributed in the following manner:

1. The Department shall receive an amount equal to the cost of

salvage operations;

2. All remaining funds shall be proportioned among all

depositors storing commodities with the warehouseman. No person

shall receive payment of funds greater than the fair market value of

the commodity lost by the depositors on the date of seizure;

3. Funds generated in excess of the payments required by the

Public Warehouse and Commodity Indemnity Act shall be deposited in

the Indemnity; and

4. The persons responsible for violations of the Public

Warehouse and Commodity Indemnity Act resulting in a charter

suspension, revocation, or surrender, or commodity seizure shall not

be eligible to claim or recover proceeds from the sale or interest

accrued on the proceeds from the sale of seized commodities unless

approved by the State Board of Agriculture.

F. A person storing commodities with a warehouseman not holding

a valid charter or federal license is not eligible to file a claim

or recover damages under the Public Warehouse and Commodity

Indemnity Act.

G. 1. Upon suspension, revocation, or surrender of the

warehouse charter, the Department shall identify any loss to the

depositors and obtain proof. The Department shall immediately

notify any bonding company providing a bond for a loss. As soon as

practicable, the Department shall communicate the amount of the

loss, proof, and the date of loss and seizure to the bonding

company. The bonding company shall within thirty (30) calendar days

remit to the Department the amount of the loss or the face amount of

the bond, whichever is less.

2. Failure by the bonding company to surrender the funds shall

result in a nonrefundable penalty assessment payable to the

Department of one percent (1%) per month plus interest of one

percent (1%) per month of the face amount of the bond commencing
company shall within thirty (30) calendar days

remit to the Department the amount of the loss or the face amount of

the bond, whichever is less.

2. Failure by the bonding company to surrender the funds shall

result in a nonrefundable penalty assessment payable to the

Department of one percent (1%) per month plus interest of one

percent (1%) per month of the face amount of the bond commencing

with the date of loss and continuing until the surety funds are

surrendered. The Department shall account for all the surety

received until all depositor claims against the charter holder are

paid as provided in the Public Warehouse and Commodity Indemnity

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 2. Agriculture Page 435

Act. When all claims have been paid, all unexpended bond surety

funds including accrued interest, except penalties, shall be

returned to the bonding company.

3. The provisions of this section shall not prohibit the

Department from pursuing any other remedy provided by law.

H. The Department shall establish a date of loss which shall be

the same as the date of seizure for all claims of loss against a

warehouseman. The Department shall publish the date of loss as set

forth in subsection C of this section and shall notify by registered

mail all depositors who may have a claim against a warehouseman of

the date of loss and deadline for filing claims.

I. To be eligible to file a claim of loss and receive payment

as provided in the Public Warehouse and Commodity Indemnity Act, a

person shall establish ownership or title to commodities stored or

warehoused with the warehouseman or public warehouse against whom

the loss is alleged. Evidence of ownership or title shall include

uncanceled warehouse receipts or scale tickets. The Department

shall determine the sufficiency of evidence of ownership or title.

J. Depositors shall, within sixty (60) days of the order of the

Department establishing the date of loss, file a written claim of

loss with the Department. Depositors may submit a written request

to the Board for a sixty-day extension of the filing period, if the

depositors can show they were not provided notification and

reasonable time to file the claim. If the claim of loss is not

filed within the allotted time, the depositor shall forfeit all

rights to remuneration or payment.