Subdivision 1. Scope. The definitions in this section apply to this chapter.

Subd. 2. Commissioner. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of agriculture.

Subd. 3. Compensation. "Compensation" means any remuneration, recompense, indemnification, requital, or satisfaction assessed, collected, or received for the storage or warehousing of goods, wares, or merchandise of another by a warehouse operator.

Subd. 4. Corporation. "Corporation" includes any corporation, company, association, joint stock company, or association.

Subd. 5. Department. "Department" means the Department of Agriculture.

Subd. 6. Household goods. "Household goods" means:

(1) personal effects and property used or to be used in a dwelling if it is part of the equipment or supply of the dwelling;

(2) furniture, fixtures, equipment, and the property of business places and institutions, public or private, when a part of the stock, equipment, supplies, or property of such establishments. It does not mean the storage of property of a business concern in the usual course of its business activities;

(3) articles which, because of their unusual nature or value, require specialized handling and equipment customarily employed in moving household goods.

Subd. 7. Household goods warehouse operator. "Household goods warehouse operator" means an individual, corporation, partnership, or any other business association or their trustees, assignees, or receivers appointed by a court who control, operate, or manage, directly or indirectly, a building or structure or any part of a building or structure in this state used for the storage or warehousing of household goods for compensation. "Household goods warehouse operator" does not include persons, corporations, or other parties operating storage facilities for storage on a seasonal basis of boats, boating accessories, recreational vehicles, or recreational equipment, or facilities in which the party storing goods rents and occupies space as a tenant and the entire risk of loss is with the tenant pursuant to written contract between the landlord and tenant.

Subd. 8. Rate. "Rate" includes every individual or joint rate, charge, or other compensation of a household goods warehouse operator, either for storage or for any other service furnished in connection with storage; any schedule or tariff of rates, charges, or compensation of a household goods warehouse operator; and any rule, regulation, charge, practice, or contract relating to the rates, charges, or compensation.

Subd. 9. Service. "Service" is used in its broadest sense and includes not only the use and occupancy of space for storage purposes, but also any labor expended, and the use of any equipment, apparatus, and appliances or any drayage or other facilities employed, furnished, or used in connection with the storage of goods, wares, and merchandise subject to this chapter.

Subd. 10. Warehouse operator. "Warehouse operator" means a corporation, company, association, joint stock company or association, firm, partnership, or individual and their trustees, assignees, or receivers appointed by any court, that directly or indirectly controls, operates, or manages within this state one or more buildings or structures, any part thereof of a building or structure, or any other property which is used for the storage or warehousing of goods, wares, business or other records, or merchandise for compensation, or who holds itself out as being in the storage or warehouse business or as offering storage or warehouse facilities, or who advertises for, solicits, or accepts goods, wares, business or other records, or merchandise for storage for compensation. "Warehouse operator" does not include household goods warehouse operators or persons, corporations, or other parties operating storage facilities containing minerals, ores, or rock products such as, but not limited to, aggregates, clays, railroad ballast, iron ore, steel, aluminum, copper ore, nickel ore, limestone, coal, and salt or operating grain warehouses, or storing on a seasonal basis boats, boating accessories, recreational vehicles, or recreational equipment or facilities in which the party storing goods rents and occupies space as a tenant and the entire risk of loss is with the tenant pursuant to written contract between the landlord and tenant or provided by a railroad or common carrier.

History: (5173) 1915 c 210 s 2; 1941 c 139 s 2; 1947 c 497 s 1,2; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7; 1975 c 313 s 20; 1979 c 178 s 1; 1979 c 332 art 1 s 70,71; 1980 c 442 s 4; 1986 c 444; 1993 c 212 s 1; 1996 c 377 s 8; 1997 c 131 s 4; 1999 c 110 s 1