(1) Any consignor who believes he or she has a valid claim against the bond of a commission merchant or dealer shall file a claim with the director.

     (2) In the case of a claim against the bond of a commission merchant or dealer in hay or straw, default occurs when the licensee fails to make payment within thirty days of the date the licensee took possession of the hay or straw or at a date agreed to by both the consignor and commission merchant or dealer in written contract. In the case of a claim against a limited dealer in hay or straw, default occurs when the licensee fails to make payment upon taking possession of the hay or straw.

     (3) Upon the filing of a claim under this subsection against any commission merchant or dealer handling any agricultural product, the director may, after investigation, proceed to ascertain the names and addresses of all consignor creditors of such commission merchant and dealer, together with the amounts due and owing to them by such commission merchant and dealer, and shall request all such consignor creditors to file a verified statement of their respective claims with the director. Such request shall be addressed to each known consignor creditor at his last known address.

     (4) For claims against a bond that have been filed by consignors prior to the sixty-day deadline established in RCW 20.01.250, the director shall investigate the claims and, within thirty days of verifying the claims, demand payment for the valid claims by the licensee's surety. The director shall distribute the proceeds of the valid bond claims to the claimants on a pro rata basis within the limits of the claims and the availability of the bond proceeds. If a claim is filed after the sixty-day deadline established in RCW 20.01.250, the director may investigate the claim and may demand payment for a valid claim. The director shall distribute the proceeds of any such payment made by the surety to the claimant on a first-to-file, first-to-be-paid basis within the limits of the claim and the availability of any bond proceeds remaining after the pro rata distribution. All distributions made by the director under this subsection are subject to RCW 20.01.260.

[2003 c 395 § 5; 1986 c 178 § 12; 1959 c 139 § 24.]