Paca Trust Attorney

List of Commodities

admin — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 10:31:33 +0000

PACA covers fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. The legal authority for determining what is covered under PACA can be found in the statute of 7 USC 449a(4) and in the PACA regulations at 7 CFR 46.2(u).

The following list of commodities are covered by the PACA when they are fresh or frozen (not canned or cooked). Get the list

Dispute Resolution

admin — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:08:49 +0000

The United States Department of Agriculture which oversee and enforces PACA provides a form where disputes outside of the court system can be address:

Informal Complaint – A company with a PACA dispute can file at an informal reparation complaint with any PACA Branch regional office. The complaint must be in writing, accompanied with a check for $100 (filing fee).

Mediation – No attorney is required for this process.

Formal Complaint – If informal methods fail, a formal complaint can be filed resulting in a order issued by the USDA for payment. The USDA requires that the documents accompanying the formal complaint be notarized, submitted in triplicates along with a $500 handling fee.

Those are your methods of resolving PACA disputes outside the court system.

Preserving your PACA trust rights

admin — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 14:40:23 +0000

You must notify the buyer (debtor) within 30 days of the date that payment was due or notification was received that a customer’s check bounced. You can preserve your trust rights as follows:

A PACA licensee can fulfill this notification requirement by adding the following exact wording to its usual invoice or billing statement:

“The perishable agricultural commodities listed on this invoice are sold subject to statutory trust authorized by section 5(c) of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, 1930 (7 U.S.C. 499e(c)). The seller of these commodities retains a trust claim over these commodities, all inventories of food or other products derived from these commodities, and any receivables or proceeds from the sale of these commodities until full payment is received.”

Other produce sellers (Non PACA licensee), like unlicensed growers, must provide the debtor with a written notice of their intent to preserve trust benefits under the PACA within 30 days from the date that payment was past due or notification was received that a payment instrument was dishonored.

PACA Bond Requirement

admin — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 20:26:53 +0000

The PACA requires bonds to be posted by a licensee where the firm or one of its principals has been involved in bankruptcy or when a PACA licensee employs an individual who is under PACA employment restrictions.

The purpose of the bond is to provide assurance that the licensee’s business will be conducted in accordance with the PACA and that it will pay any reparation order issued against the firm. If a reparation order involving transactions that occurred during the bonding period are not paid by the licensee, the USDA, on behalf of the unpaid reparation holder will make claim on the bond and have the funds distributed to the unpaid complainant in the reparation complaint.

How to determine someone is licensed

admin — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 14:37:34 +0000

Before you do business with anyone, its best to make sure that they are licensed under PACA, that way you know that the protection afforded under the statute will be available if you needed them.

You can visit this website and do a simple online search. Its that simple.

Who needs a PACA license

admin — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 16:18:38 +0000

The following category of people need a PACA license:

Any person who buys or sells more than 2,000 pounds of fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables in any given day is required to be licensed under the PACA. Wholesalers, processors, truckers, grocery wholesalers, and food service firms fit into this category.

A person who negotiates the sale of fruits and vegetables on behalf of another person is required to be licensed on the first transaction. A person operating in this capacity may be considered to be a commission merchant, broker, or a growers’ agent. A broker handling only frozen fruits and vegetables, however, is not subject to the PACA licensing requirements until the invoice value of the total negotiated sales exceeds $230,000 in a calendar year.

A person selling at retail is subject to a PACA license once the invoice costs of fresh and frozen fruits and vegetable purchases exceed $230,000 in a calendar year.

PACA License

admin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:27:38 +0000

The law requires that you have a PACA license to operate a produce business. A PACA license is proof to your customers and suppliers that you are a serious business person who can be trusted to honor the terms of your contracts.

The PACA license is the key to ensuring that traders meet their contractual obligations under the law. Fruit and vegetable buyers and sellers must abide by the fair trading practices established by the PACA or face possible suspension or revocation of their license. This includes meeting contract specifications, paying all contracts promptly, and maintaining trust assets.

A person who knowingly operating a produce business without a license may face a monetary penalty of up to $1,200 for each violation and up to $350 for each day the violation(s) continue.

Beyond its value in enforcing the PACA, the license can also provide information about a firm’s type of ownership, business history, and principals.

Welcome

admin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 04:19:08 +0000

Welcome to PACA Trust Attorney, we are a law firm specializing in the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) trust litigation. Our website is design to provide those in the produce field with information and resources to protect their rights.

In the weeks to come, we will be adding information covering a variety of topics that affect those in the fruit and vegetable industry. We hope that you will enjoy our website and will come back often to read our blog entries.

If you are looking for a PACA attorney please, consider calling the Law Office of Sakaida & Bui, we have collectively been representing the perishable produce industry for over 25 years. Our telephone number is (818) 660-2085.