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, upon written demand of the grain dealer, shall file a termination statement with the secretary of state, if after one hundred eighty days from the date that the lien is perfected the grain dealer’s license has not ceased by revocation, cancellation, or expiration. 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.

92 Acts, ch 1239, §62; 2000 Acts, ch 1149, §163, 187; 2009 Acts, ch 133, §211; 2012 Acts, ch 1095, §92

Referred to in §203.12B, 203D.5A