another, including, in addition to cases within the above general description, all cases where sale is either for shipment to another State, or for processing within the State and the shipment outside the State of the products resulting from such processing. Commodities normally in such current of commerce shall not be considered out of such commerce through resort being had to any means or device intended to remove transactions in respect thereto from the provisions of this chapter. (June 10, 1930, ch. 436, § 1, 46 Stat. 531; Apr. 13, 1934, ch. 120, § 1, 48 Stat. 584; Aug. 20, 1937, ch. 719, § 1, 50 Stat. 725; June 29, 1940, ch. 456, §§ 1, 2, 54 Stat. 696.)

§ 499b. Unfair conduct; what constitutes.-It shall be unlawful in or in connection with any transaction in interstate or foreign commerce

(1) For any commission merchant, dealer, or broker to engage in or use any unfair, unreasonable, discriminatory, or deceptive practice in connection with the weighing, counting, or in any way determining the quantity of any perishable agricultural commodity received, bought, sold, shipped, or handled in interstate or foreign commerce;

(2) For any dealer to reject or fail to deliver in accordance with the terms of the contract without reasonable cause any perishable agricultural commodity bought or sold or contracted to be bought, sold, or consigned in interstate or foreign commerce by such dealer;

(3) For any commission merchant to discard, dump, or destroy without reasonable cause, any perishable agricultural commodity received by such commission merchant in interstate or foreign commerce;

(4) For any commission merchant, dealer, or broker to make, for a fraudulent purpose, any false or misleading statement in connection with any transaction involving any perishable agricultural commodity which is received in interstate or foregn commerce by such commission merchant, or bought or sold, or contracted to be bought, sold, or consigned, in such commerce by such dealer, or the purchase or sale of which in such commerce is negotiated by such broker; or to fail or refuse truly and correctly to account and make full payment promptly in respect of any transaction in any such commodity to the person with whom such transaction is had; or to fail, without reasonable cause, to perform any specification or duty, express or implied, arising out of any undertaking in connection with any such transaction;

(5) For any commission merchant, dealer, or broker, for a fraudulent purpose, to misrepresent by word, act, mark, stencil, label, statement, or deed the character, kind, grade, quality, quantity, size, pack, weight, condition, degree of maturity, or State or country of origin of any perishable agricultural commodity received, shipped, sold, or offered to be sold in interstate or foreign commerce;

(6) For any commission merchant, dealer, or broker, for a fraudulent purpose, to remove, alter, or tamper with any card,

stencil, stamp, tag, or other notice placed upon any container or railroad car containing any perishable agricultural commodity, if such card, stencil, stamp, tag, or other notice contains a certificate or statement under authority of any Federal or State inspector or in compliance with any Federal or State law or regulation as to the grade or quality of the commodity contained in such container or railroad car or the State or country in which such commodity was produced;

(7) For any commission merchant, dealer, or broker, without the consent of an inspector, to make, cause, or permit to be made any change by way of substitution or otherwise in the contents of a load or lot of any perishable agricultural commodity after it has been officially inspected for grading and certification, but this shall not prohibit re-sorting and discarding inferor produce. (June 10, 1930, ch. 436, § 2, 46 Stat. 532; Apr. 13, 1934, ch. 120, §§ 2, 3, 48 Stat. 585; June 19, 1936, ch. 602, § 1, 49 Stat. 1533; Aug. 20, 1937, ch. 719, §§ 2-4, 50 Stat. 725, 726; June 29, 1940, ch. 456, §§ 3, 4, 54 Stat. 696; Apr. 6, 1942, ch. 211, 56 Stat. 200.)

CROSS REFERENCE

Destruction or dumping of farm products received in interstate commerce by commission merchants, see section 491 of this title.

§ 499c. Licenses-(a) By whom license required; penalty for failure to obtain.-After December 10, 1930, no person shall at any time carry on the business of a commission merchant, dealer, or broker without a license valid and effective at such time. Any person who violates any provision of this subdivision shall be liable to a penalty of not more than $500 for each such offense and not more than $25 for each day it continues, which shall accrue to the United States and may be recovered in a civil suit brought by the United States.

Any person violating this provision may, upon a showing satisfactory to the Secretary of Agriculture, or his authorized representative, that such violation was not willful but was due to inadvertence, be permitted by the Secretary, or such representative, to settle his liability in the matter by the payment of the fees due for the period covered by such violation and an additional sum, not in excess of $25, to be fixed by the Secretary of Agriculture or his authorized representative. Such payment shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States in the same manner as regular license fees.

(b) Application; to whom made; contents; fee.-Any person desiring any such license shall make application to the Secretary. The Secretary may by regulation prescribe the information to be contained in such application. Upon the filing of the application, and annually thereafter, the applicant shall pay a fee of $10. (June 10, 1930, ch. 436, § 3, 46 Stat. 533; Aug. 20, 1937, ch. 719, § 5, 50 Stat. 726.)

CROSS REFERENCE

Delegation of regulatory functions of Secretary of Agriculture, see section 516a et seq. of Title 5, Executive Departments and Government Officers and Employees.

650673°-46-20

§ 499d. Same; issuance and refusal-(a) Issuance of license; authority exercised thereunder; termination.-Whenever an applicant has paid the prescribed fee the Secretary, except as provided in subdivision (b) of this section, shall issue to such applicant a license, which shall entitle the licensee to do business as a commission merchant and/or dealer and/or broker unless and until it is suspended or revoked by the Secretary in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, or is automatically suspended under section 499g (d) of this title, but said license shall automatically terminate on any anniversary date thereof unless the annual fee has been paid: Provided, That notice of the necessity of paying the annual fee shall be mailed at least thirty days before the anniversary date: Provided further, That if the annual fee is not paid by the anniversary date the licensee may obtain a renewal of that license at any time within thirty days by paying a fee of $15.

(b) Refusal of license; grounds; effect of giving bond. The Secretary shall refuse to issue a license to an applicant (1) if he finds that the applicant has previously been responsible in whole or in part for any violation of the provisions of the chapter for which a license of the applicant, or the license of any partnership, association, or corporation in which the applicant held any office or, in the case of a partnership, had any share or interest, was revoked under the provisions of section 499h of this title or (2) if at any time within two years he has found after notice and hearing that said applicant was responsible in whole or in part for any flagrant or repeated violation of the provisions of section 499b of this title; or (3) if he finds, in case the applicant is a partnership, association, or corporation, that any individual holding office or, in the case of a partnership, having any interest or share in the applicant, has previously been responsible in whole or in part for any violation of the provisions of the chapter for which the license of such individual, or of any partnership, association, or corporation in which such person held any office, or, in the case of a partnership, had any share or interest, was revoked under the provisions of section 499h of this title or (4) if at any time within two years he has found after notice and hearing, in case the applicant is a partnership, association, or corporation, that any individual holding any office or, in the case of a partnership, having any interest or share in the applicant was responsible in whole or in part for any flagrant or repeated violation of the provisions of section 499b of this title; or (5) if he finds that the applicant, subject to his right of appeal under section 499g (c) of this title, has failed, except in case of bankruptcy, to pay within the time limit provided therein any reparation order which has been issued, within two years, against him as an individual, or against a partnership of which he was a member, or an association or corporation in which he held any office, or, in case the applicant is a partnership, association, or corporation, that any individual holding any office, or, in the case of a partnership, having any interest or share in the applicant, subject to his right of appeal under section 499g (c) of this title, has failed,

except in the case of bankruptcy, to pay within the time limit provided therein any reparation order which has been issued, within two years, against him as an individual or against a partnership of which he was a member, or an association or corporation in which he held any office. Notwithstanding all of the foregoing provisions of this paragraph, the Secretary, in the case of such applicant, may issue a license if the applicant furnishes a bond or other satisfactory assurance that his business will be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the chapter and that he will pay all reparation orders which may previously have been issued against him for violations, or which may be issued against him within two years following the date of the license, subject to his right of appeal under section 499g (c) of this title, but such license shall not be issued before the expiration of one year from the date of revocation of license or from the date of the Secretary's finding that the applicant has been responsible, in whole or in part, for any flagrant or repeated violation of section 499b of this title. Such bond shall be in an amount sufficient in the judgment of the Secretary of Agriculture to insure payment of such reparation orders:

(c) Revocation of license because of employment of person whose license had been revoked.-The Secretary shall refuse to issue a license to an applicant if he finds after notice and hearing that at any time within two years said applicant has been found guilty in a Federal court of having violated the provisions of sections 491-497 of this title, or of having violated section 499n (b) of this title, or, in case the applicant is a partnership, any member of the partnership was found guilty within two years of having violated the provisions of sections 491-497 of this title, or section 449n (b) of this title, or, if the applicant is an association or corporation, that any officer or any person holding a responsible position therein has been found within two years to have been guilty of violating the provisions of sections 491-497 of this title, or section 499n (b) of this title;

(d) Withholding license pending investigation. The Secretary may withhold the issuance of a license to an applicant, for a period not to exceed thirty days pending an investigation, for the purpose of determining (a) whether the applicant is unfit to engage in the business of a commission merchant, dealer, or broker by reason of having prior to the date of the application engaged in any practice of the character prohibited by this chapter, or (b) whether the application contains any materially false or misleading statement or involves any misrepresentation, concealment, or withholding of facts respecting any violation of the chapter by any officer, agent, or employee of the applicant. If after investigation the Secretary believes that the applicant should be refused a license, the applicant shall be given an opportunity for hearing within sixty days from the date of the application to show cause why the license should not be refused. If after the hearing the Secretary finds that the applicant is unfit to engage in the business of a commission mer

chant, dealer, or broker by reason of having prior to the date of the application engaged in any practice of the character prohibited by this chapter, or because the application contains a materially false or misleading statement made by the applicant or by its representative on its behalf, or involves a misrepresentation, concealment, or withholding of facts respecting any violation of the chapter by any officer, agent, or employee, the Secretary shall refuse to issue a license to the applicant.

(e) Revocation of license obtained through misrepresentation. -If, after a license shall have been issued to an applicant, the Secretary believes that the license was obtained through a false or misleading statement in the application therefor or through a misrepresentation, concealment, or withholding of facts respecting any violation of the chapter by any officer, agent, or employee, he may, after thirty days' notice and an opportunity for a hearing, revoke said license, whereupon no license shall be issued to said applicant or any applicant in which the person responsible for such false or misleading statement or misrepresentation, concealment, or withholding of facts is financially interested, except under the conditions set forth in paragraph (b) of this section. (June 10, 1930, ch. 436, § 4, 46 Stat. 533; Apr. 13, 1934, ch. 120, §§ 4-7, 48 Stat. 585, 586; June 19, 1936, ch. 602, § 2, 49 Stat. 1533; Aug. 20, 1937, ch. 719, § 6, 50 Stat. 726.)

CROSS REFERENCE

Delegation of regulatory functions of Secretary of Agriculture, see section 516a et seq. of Title 5, Executive Departments and Government Officers and Employees.

§ 499e. Liability to persons injured-(a) Amount of damages. -If any commission merchant, dealer, or broker violates any provision of section 499b of this title he shall be liable to the person or persons injured thereby for the full amount of damages sustained in consequence of such violation.

(b) Remedies. Such liability may be enforced either (1) bycomplaint to the Secretary as hereinafter provided, or (2) by suit in any court of competent jurisdiction; but this section shall not in any way abridge or alter the remedies now existing at common law or by statute, and the provisions of this chapter are in addition to such remedies. (June 10, 1930, ch. 436, § 5, 46 Stat. 534; Aug. 20, 1937, ch. 719, § 7, 50 Stat. 728.)

§ 499f. Complaint and investigation-(a) Petition to Secretary of Agriculture; time of making; contents; service; answer. Any person complaining of any violation of any provision of section 499b of this title by any commission merchant, dealer, or broker may, at any time within nine months after the cause of action accrues, apply to the Secretary by petition, which shall briefly state the facts, whereupon, if, in the opinion of the Secretary, the facts therein contained warrant such action, a copy of the complaint thus made shall be forwarded by the Secretary to the commission merchant, dealer, or broker, who shall be called upon to satisfy the complaint, or to answer it in writing, within a reasonable time to be prescribed by the Secretary.