Michigan Laws 290.716 – Arbitration; agreements as to agricultural commodities; disputed quantities; offer; claim for relief; determination of reasonableness; joint settlement committee
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Terms Used In Michigan Laws 290.716
- Accredited association: means an association accredited in accordance with this act. See Michigan Laws 290.702
- Agricultural commodity: means all perishable fruits and vegetables as defined by the department. See Michigan Laws 290.702
- Association: means a cooperative association of producers or a division thereof, or a federation of cooperative associations of producers, engaged in the marketing, bargaining, shipping, or processing of an agricultural commodity on behalf of its members who are producers of the agricultural commodity. See Michigan Laws 290.702
- bargaining: means the mutual obligation of a handler and an accredited association or their designated representatives to meet at reasonable times and confer and negotiate in good faith. See Michigan Laws 290.713
- Department: means the department of agriculture and rural development. See Michigan Laws 290.702
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Handler: means a person other than an association engaged in the business or practice of any of the following:
(i) Acquiring agricultural commodities from producers or associations for processing or sale. See Michigan Laws 290.702in writing: shall be construed to include printing, engraving, and lithographing; except that if the written signature of a person is required by law, the signature shall be the proper handwriting of the person or, if the person is unable to write, the person's proper mark, which may be, unless otherwise expressly prohibited by law, a clear and classifiable fingerprint of the person made with ink or another substance. See Michigan Laws 8.3q Member: means a producer who has entered into a contract with an association appointing the association as his or her exclusive agent in negotiations with handlers with respect to the marketing of an agricultural commodity. See Michigan Laws 290.702 Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, or association. See Michigan Laws 290.702 Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
(1) If the election provided for in section 15 is not exercised by the association or the handler involved in negotiations, and if the issues in dispute are not agreed upon through good-faith bargaining by the first day of the marketing period for the agricultural commodity, the parties shall be considered to have consented to the settlement of all issues in dispute by arbitration and the association shall agree that producers shall deliver the agricultural commodity to the handler or initiate the production of the agricultural commodity for future delivery to the handler and the handler shall accept delivery of the agricultural commodity or shall commit for the future delivery of the agricultural commodity.
(2) If the quantity of the agricultural commodity to be marketed is in dispute, the handler shall offer to accept for delivery a reasonable quantity of the agricultural commodity. This offer shall be made in writing to the accredited association at least 7 days prior to the start of the marketing period. A copy of this offer shall be sent by registered mail to the department. The accredited association may file a claim for relief with the department if it feels that the offer is unreasonable. The department shall determine the issue of reasonableness at a hearing in accordance with the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328. This determination shall have priority over all other department matters. The department shall base its determination on all of the following:
(a) Projections as to the quantity of the agricultural commodity to be produced.
(b) The relationship between the quantity of the commodity available and the amount of the quantity accepted by the handler.
(c) The kind, grade, and quality of the commodity available.
(d) The past practices of the handler in relation to the items in subdivisions (a), (b), and (c).
(3) If, upon the preponderance of the evidence, the department is of the opinion that the quantity is unreasonable, it shall order the handler to accept the quantity which the department finds to be reasonable. The finding of the department shall be final, subject to later modification by the joint settlement committee. This finding shall be enforced as provided in section 5. Within 15 days following the start of the marketing period for the agricultural commodity, the department shall establish a joint settlement committee to arbitrate the issues in dispute.
(4) The joint settlement committee consists of 1 committee member selected by the association, 1 committee member selected by the handler, and 1 committee member selected by the committee members representing the association and the handler. This third committee member shall be chairperson of the committee. If the third committee member cannot be agreed upon by the association and the handler committee members, the department shall submit a list composed of the names of 5 persons knowledgable in the marketing of the agricultural commodity from which the third committee member shall be chosen. The selection shall be made by the association representative and the handler representative each striking 2 different names from the list. The remaining name shall be the person who serves as the third committee member and as its chairperson. The order of striking shall be determined by chance.