203.12A - LIEN ON GRAIN DEALER ASSETS.
203.12A LIEN ON GRAIN DEALER ASSETS.
1. a. As used in this section:
(1) "Grain dealer assets" includes proceeds received or due a
grain dealer upon the sale, including exchange, collection, or other
disposition, of grain sold by the grain dealer. "Grain dealer
assets" also includes any other funds or property of the grain
dealer which can be directly traced as being from the sale of grain
by the grain dealer, or which were utilized in the business operation
of the grain dealer.
(2) "Proceeds" means noncash and cash proceeds as defined in
section 554.9102.
b. A court, upon petition by an affected party, may order
that claimed grain dealer assets are not grain dealer assets as
defined in this section. The burden of proof shall be upon the
petitioner to establish that the assets are not grain dealer assets
as defined in this section.
2. A statutory lien is imposed on all grain dealer assets in
favor of sellers who have surrendered warehouse receipts or other
written evidence of ownership as part of a grain sale transaction or
who possess written evidence of the sale of grain to a grain dealer,
without receiving full payment for the grain.
3. The lien shall arise at the time of surrender of warehouse
receipts or other written evidence of ownership as part of a grain
sale transaction or the time of delivery of the grain for sale, and
shall terminate when the liability of the grain dealer to the seller
has been discharged. The lien of all sellers is hereby assigned to
the Iowa grain indemnity fund board, on behalf of the grain
depositors and sellers indemnity fund.
4. To perfect the lien, the Iowa grain indemnity fund board must
file a lien statement with the office of the secretary of state. The
lien statement is valid only if filed on or after the date of
suspension but not later than sixty days after the incurrence date as
provided in section 203D.6. The lien statement shall disclose the
name of the grain dealer, the address of the dealer's principal place
of business, a description of identifiable grain dealer assets, and
the amount of the lien. The lien amount shall be the board's
estimate of the final cost of reimbursing the grain depositors and
sellers indemnity fund for the payment of claims against the fund
resulting from the breach of the grain dealer's obligations. The
board shall correct the amount not later than one hundred eighty days
following the incurrence date. A court, upon petition by an affected
person, may correct the amount. The board shall have the burden of
proving that the amount is an accurate estimate.
5. The Iowa grain indemnity fund board shall upon written demand
of the grain dealer file a termination statement with the secretary
of state, if the license of the grain dealer is not revoked,
terminated, or canceled after one hundred eighty days from the date
that the lien is perfected. Upon filing the termination statement,
the lien becomes unperfected. The board shall also deliver a copy of
the termination statement to the grain dealer.
6. The secretary of state shall note the filing of a lien
statement under this section in a manner provided by chapter 554, the
uniform commercial code. The secretary shall note the filing of a
termination statement with the lien statement.
7. A lien statement filed under this section shall be a security
interest perfected under chapter 554 and subject to the same priority
as provided under section 554.9322.
8. If the grain dealer is also licensed under chapter 203C, and
in the event the department is appointed as a receiver under section
203C.3, assets under the authority of the receiver are free from this
statutory lien. However, if there are receivership assets in excess
of those necessary to fully reimburse depositors, the perfected lien
will attach to those excess assets.
9. a. The board may enforce the lien in the manner provided
in chapter 554, article 9, part 6, for the enforcement of security
interests. If, upon enforcement of the lien, the lien amount is
satisfied in full without exhaustion of the grain dealer assets, the
remaining assets shall be returned to the grain dealer or, if there
are competing claims to those remaining assets by other creditors,
shall place those assets in the custody of the district court and
implead the known creditors.
b. For purposes of enforcement of the lien, the board is
deemed to be the secured party and the grain dealer is deemed to be
the debtor, and each has the respective rights and duties of a
secured party and a debtor as provided in chapter 554, article 9,
part 6. If a right or duty under chapter 554, article 9, part 6, is
contingent upon the existence of express language in a security
agreement, or may be waived by express language in a security
agreement, the requisite language is deemed not to exist for purposes
of enforcement of the lien created by this section.
10. Actions relating to this section shall be brought in the
district court in the county in which the grain dealer's primary
place of business is located or in Polk county. Section History: Recent Form
92 Acts, ch 1239, § 62; 2000 Acts, ch 1149, §163, 187; 2009 Acts,
ch 133, §211
Referred to in § 203.12B, 203D.5A