SECTIONS 56651-56652 - California Statutes

FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE

SECTION 56651-56652

56651. The director may bring an action to enjoin the violation or
the threatened violation of any provision of this chapter or of any
order which is made pursuant to this chapter in the superior court in
the county in which such violation occurs or is about to occur.
There may be enjoined in one proceeding any number of defendants
that are alleged to be violating the same provisions or orders,
although their properties, interests, residences, or places of
business may be in several counties and the violations separate and
distinct. Any proceeding which is brought pursuant to this section
shall be governed in all other respects by the provisions of Chapter
3 (commencing with Section 525), Title 7, Part 2 of the Code of Civil
Procedure.

56652. (a) Any person that violates any provision of this chapter
is liable civilly in the sum of not less than five hundred dollars
($500) or more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each and every
violation. This sum shall be recovered in an action by the secretary
in any court of competent jurisdiction. All sums which are recovered
pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the State Treasury to
the credit of the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund.
(b) For a violation of the offense described in subdivision (a),
the department may recover investigative costs, excluding attorneys'
fees and administrative overhead, for those charges where there has
been a conviction in a court of law, or a court-supervised settlement
has been reached. Nothing in this section allows the department to
recover investigative costs for an administrative licensing action or
any action that has not been filed in a court of law.
(c) Any person or entity responsible for investigative costs under
this section shall be allowed to audit the department's
investigative costs. The audit must be performed by a third-party
certified public accountant and paid for by the person or entity
requesting the audit. The department shall promulgate regulations to
implement this subdivision by June 1, 2002.