276.461. Dealer to pay for grain, when--failure to make payment on demand, director's duties, grounds for modification, suspension or revocation of license--demands, how made.

MISSOURI STATUTES AND CODES

276.461. Dealer to pay for grain, when--failure to make payment on demand, director's duties, grounds for modification, suspension or revocation of license--demands, how made.

Dealer to pay for grain, when--failure to make payment on demand,director's duties, grounds for modification, suspension or revocationof license--demands, how made.

276.461. 1. In general, a person licensed as a grain dealer shallmake payment of the agreed-upon purchase price to the seller of grain upondelivery or demand of said seller or his authorized agent, unless a writtengrain purchase contract or valid deferred payment contract shall provideotherwise. However, every person licensed as a grain dealer shallestablish and properly document the agreed-upon purchase price of all grainhe buys as prescribed by the director or as otherwise provided by law.When a dealer has failed to make payment upon demand of the seller and suchfailure has come to the attention of the director, the director may requestthe dealer to make payment. Such request may be made verbally or inwriting. The director may require the dealer to make payment with acertified or cashier's check, or in cash. The license may be modified,suspended or revoked if the dealer fails to make timely payment asrequested by the director.

2. A person licensed as a class I dealer shall properly document theagreed-upon, between buyer and seller, purchase price of grain, asprescribed by the director, and shall make payment upon demand. However,if no demand for payment is made, a class I dealer has the option ofentering the account, as prescribed by the director, onto a formalsettlement sheet or paying the seller the agreed upon price. Such entryonto a formal settlement sheet must occur within thirty days of delivery.When an account is so entered onto a formal settlement sheet, payment shallbe made the earlier of demand or one hundred eighty days from delivery. Ifpayment is not made at the conclusion of the one hundred eighty day period,a formal written contract as provided for in subsections 8 and 11 of thissection shall be executed.

3. A person licensed as a class II dealer shall properly document theagreed-upon, between buyer and seller, purchase price of grain, asprescribed by the director, and shall make payment upon demand. However,if no demand for payment is made, a class II dealer has the option ofentering the account, as prescribed by the director, onto a formalsettlement sheet or paying the seller the agreed-upon price. Such entryonto a formal settlement sheet must occur within thirty days of delivery.When an account is so entered onto a formal settlement sheet, payment shallbe made on demand or within one hundred eighty days from delivery,whichever occurs first. A class II dealer shall not enter into any type ofcredit sales contract.

4. A person licensed as a class III, IV, V or VI grain dealer shallmake payment to the seller within thirty days of delivery or upon demand ofthe seller or his authorized agent, whichever occurs first. A class III,IV, V, or VI dealer shall not enter into any type of credit sales contract.

5. Nothing contained in sections 276.401 to 276.582 shall beconstrued to limit or prohibit the right of a seller of grain to make anoral demand for payment from a dealer, provided that the right to recoverunder the surety bond shall be based only upon written demand to the suretyby the seller or by the department on behalf of the claimant.

6. Recovery by a claimant on the bond shall not be his sole orexclusive remedy and shall not bar a civil action based upon rights orobligations arising under the grain purchase contract.

7. Notwithstanding any provisions of this section, in the case ofvalid deferred price contracts the seller of grain shall have no right ofrecovery under the grain dealer's surety bond. Deferred price contractsshall be in writing, dated, and shall contain a statement informing theseller that the seller is relinquishing title and all rights of ownershipin the grain, that the grain dealer is not required to carry bond on thegrain for the benefit of the seller, and that the payment for the grainbecomes a common claim against the grain dealer. Only a class I graindealer may enter into deferred price contracts.

8. In the case of deferred payment contracts, a class I grain dealerand a seller of grain may agree that payment be deferred to a future date.The agreement shall be in writing, dated, and shall contain a statementinforming the seller that the seller is transferring title to the buyer andthat the seller is relinquishing all rights in the grain and that the classI dealer is required to carry bond on the grain for the benefit of theseller for twelve months from the date the contract was entered into, andthat after twelve months, payment for the grain becomes a common claimagainst the dealer. No other class of dealer may enter into deferredpayment contracts.

9. In the event the license of a grain dealer is revoked by thedirector for any reason, all deferred payment agreements executed withinthe twelve months prior to revocation shall be deemed priced unpaidobligations as of the effective date of the revocation and as suchagreements are covered by the grain dealer's bond.

10. In the case of minimum price contracts, a class I grain dealerand a seller of grain may agree upon a minimum price for the grain sold butallow the seller to retain the ability to participate in subsequent pricegains or futures market increases, if any. The agreement shall be inwriting, dated, and shall contain a statement informing the seller that theseller is transferring title and all rights of ownership in the grain tothe buyer, and shall contain entries stating the agreed upon minimum priceand explaining how subsequent price gains will be calculated. Thisagreement shall also contain statements informing the seller that only thepayment of the specified minimum price is covered under the dealer's bondfor the benefit of the seller, for, and only for, twelve months from thedate the contract was entered; and that payment for any subsequent pricegains, if any, is not covered by bond. No other class of dealer may enterminimum price contracts.

11. For the purposes of this section, deferred price, deferredpayment, and minimum price contracts are not deemed valid unless theycontain all the required statements and are signed by both the buyer andseller or their authorized representatives. The director may require anyadditional information from a grain dealer that he deems necessary toprotect the interests of the seller of grain in such transactions. ClassII, III, IV, V and VI grain dealers may not use or enter into suchcontracts with sellers of grain.