PUBLIC WAREHOUSES

M.G.L. pt. Part I, tit. Title XV, ch. c. 105

in effect

M.G.L. c. 105, § 1 Licenses; application; notice; bond

c. 105, § 1. Licenses; application; notice; bond Section 1. The commissioner of division of occupational licensure or his designee, in this chapter hereinafter called the commissioner, may license suitable persons, or corporations established under the laws of and having their places of business within the commonwealth, to be public warehousemen, upon the payment of a license fee as determined annually by the commissioner of administration under the provision of section three B of chapter seven. Such license shall not be issued unless and until the applicant, at his own expense, shall have given notice of said application by publishing the same in two consecutive publications of a newspaper published in the town in which the warehouse is to be located. Such notice shall set forth the name of the applicant in full, a description of the premises on which the license is sought to be exercised, designating the building or part of the building to be used and the street and number, if any. Such warehousemen may keep and maintain public warehouses for the storage of goods, wares and merchandise. They shall give bond to the state treasurer for the faithful performance of their duties in an amount and with sureties approved by the commissioner, and may appoint one or more deputies, for whose acts they shall be responsible. A railroad corporation licensed as a public warehouseman shall not be required as such to receive any property except such as has been or is forthwith to be transported over its road or to give sureties on its bond. The following words as used in this chapter shall have the following meaning:—''Public warehouse'', any building, or part thereof, kept and maintained for the storage of goods, wares and merchandise as a business. ''Warehouseman'' or ''public warehouseman'', a person, corporation, partnership, association or trustees engaged in the business of storing goods for hire.

M.G.L. c. 105, § 2 Failure to file bond

c. 105, § 2. Failure to file bond Section 2. Whoever keeps and maintains a public warehouse for the storage of goods, wares and merchandise without procuring a license and giving a bond, as provided in the preceding section, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, and may be enjoined by the supreme judicial court from maintaining such a public warehouse, upon an information in equity brought by the attorney general at the relation of any person.

M.G.L. c. 105, § 2A Discharge from liability under bond; notice; revocation of license

c. 105, § 2A. Discharge from liability under bond; notice; revocation of license Section 2A. A surety upon a bond given by a public warehouseman as a condition of holding a license issued pursuant to section one, who desires to be discharged from liability thereunder shall give written notice to that effect to the commissioner and to the state treasurer, in such form as the commissioner may prescribe, specifying a date, not earlier than sixty days after the giving of such notice, upon which his liability is to terminate in respect to further deposits for storage with such warehouseman. The commissioner shall, upon receipt of such notice, forthwith notify such warehouseman that his license will be revoked on the date specified unless prior thereto a new bond, approved as provided in section one, is given by him to the state treasurer. Failure to give a new bond as aforesaid shall operate as a revocation of the license of such warehouseman, effective on said date, and the state treasurer shall forthwith notify the commissioner thereof in writing. The notification required to be sent by the commissioner shall be deemed sufficient if sent by registered mail, postage prepaid, to the last business or residence address of the licensee appearing in the records of the office of the commissioner; and the affidavit of the commissioner or of any person authorized by him to give notice that such notice has been sent in accordance with the section shall be prima facie evidence that such notice was duly given. Such revocation of the license of a public warehouseman shall terminate the liability of the surety or sureties on his bond except for claims for or on account of goods, wares or merchandise deposited with him for storage prior to such revocation.

M.G.L. c. 105, § 2B Duties and rights of warehousemen after revocation of license

c. 105, § 2B. Duties and rights of warehousemen after revocation of license Section 2B. After the revocation of his license, the warehouseman shall accept for storage no more goods, wares or merchandise. Forthwith upon such revocation, he shall offer to return to the person or persons entitled thereto all goods, wares and merchandise then deposited for storage with him, upon payment in full of all lawful charges due him and the surrender of the warehouse or other proper receipts. Said warehouseman may, at any time after such revocation, store any goods, wares or merchandise in his possession with another public warehouseman, licensed as provided in section one, in the name and for the account of the person or persons entitled thereto; and, if within sixty days after such revocation, the warehouseman whose license is revoked so stores any goods, wares or merchandise, and transmits therewith a bill setting forth the accrued charges for storage thereon, he shall continue to have a lien therefor which shall be enforceable for his account by the licensed warehouseman with whom he places them in storage, otherwise he shall lose his lien for such charges.

M.G.L. c. 105, § 2C Public warehouses; license exemption

c. 105, § 2C. Public warehouses; license exemption Section 2C. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this chapter, persons, or corporations established under the laws of, and having their places of business within, the commonwealth, may keep and maintain a public warehouse on the premises of any other person or corporation for the storage therein, under contract, of goods, wares and merchandise of such other person or corporation, without being licensed under this chapter.

M.G.L. c. 105, § 3 Action on bond

c. 105, § 3. Action on bond Section 3. Whoever is injured by the failure of a licensed warehouseman to perform his duty or his violation of any provision of this chapter may bring an action for his own benefit, in the name of the commonwealth, on the bond of such warehouseman. The writ shall be endorsed by the person in whose behalf such action is brought, or by some other person satisfactory to the court; and the endorser shall be liable to the defendant for any costs which he may recover in such action, but the commonwealth shall not be liable for any costs.

M.G.L. c. 105, § 4 Insuring property upon request; notice to depositor of household goods

c. 105, § 4. Insuring property upon request; notice to depositor of household goods Section 4. A licensed warehouseman shall, upon written request by a party placing property with him on storage, cause such property to be insured for whom it may concern. A railroad corporation acting as warehouseman may itself be the insurer. Any warehouse receipt delivered to a depositor of family, personal or household goods shall contain the following notice conspicuously printed in at least eight point type: ''The property which you are putting in storage is not covered by insurance against fire or theft. You may contact the warehouseman for instructions on placing insurance coverage for fire and theft on the deposited property.'' This section shall not apply to property stored pursuant to section 4 of chapter 239.

M.G.L. c. 105, § 5 Books of warehousemen; accounts; inspection

c. 105, § 5. Books of warehousemen; accounts; inspection Section 5. Such warehouseman shall keep books in which shall be entered an account of all his transactions relative to the storing and insuring of goods, wares and merchandise, to the issuing of receipts therefor and to the disposition of proceeds of sales thereof under this chapter. Such books shall be open to the inspection of any person interested in the property to which the entries relate.

M.G.L. c. 105, § 6 Publication of notice of revocation of license

c. 105, § 6. Publication of notice of revocation of license Section 6. The commissioner shall, at the expense of each warehouseman, give notice of his license and qualification, of the amount of the bond given by him and of any discontinuance of his license and shall, at the expense of any surety on his bond proceeding under section two A, give notice of the revocation of his license, by publishing such notice once in each week for three successive weeks in some newspaper published in the city or town where the warehouse is located.

M.G.L. c. 105, § 55 Issuance of receipt for goods not received

c. 105, § 55. Issuance of receipt for goods not received Section 55. A warehouseman, or any officer, agent or servant of a warehouseman, who issues or aids in issuing a receipt, knowing that the goods for which such receipt is issued have not been actually received by such warehouseman, or are not under his actual control at the time of issuing such receipt, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years, or in a jail or house of correction for not more than two and one half years, or both.

M.G.L. c. 105, § 56 Issuance of receipt containing false statement

c. 105, § 56. Issuance of receipt containing false statement Section 56. A warehouseman, or any officer, agent or servant of a warehouseman, who fraudulently issues or aids in fraudulently issuing a receipt for goods, knowing that it contains any false statement, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.

M.G.L. c. 105, § 57 Issuance of unmarked duplicate receipts

c. 105, § 57. Issuance of unmarked duplicate receipts Section 57. A warehouseman, or any officer, agent or servant of a warehouseman, who issues or aids in issuing a duplicate or additional negotiable receipt for goods, knowing that a former negotiable receipt for the same goods or any part of them is outstanding and uncancelled, without plainly placing upon the face thereof the word ''Duplicate'', except in the case of a lost or destroyed receipt after proceedings as provided for in subsection (1) of section seven—six hundred and one of chapter one hundred and six, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or in a jail or house of correction for not more than two and one half years, or both.

M.G.L. c. 105, § 58 Issuance of receipt not stating fact of ownership

c. 105, § 58. Issuance of receipt not stating fact of ownership Section 58. If there are deposited with or held by a warehouseman goods of which he is owner, either solely or jointly or in common with others, such warehouseman, or any of his officers, agents or servants, who, knowing such ownership, issues or aids in issuing a negotiable receipt for such goods which does not state such ownership, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.

M.G.L. c. 105, § 59 Delivery of goods with negotiable receipt outstanding

c. 105, § 59. Delivery of goods with negotiable receipt outstanding Section 59. A warehouseman, or any officer, agent or servant of a warehouseman, who delivers goods out of the possession of such warehouseman, knowing that a negotiable receipt the negotiation of which would transfer the right to the possession of such goods is outstanding and uncancelled, without obtaining the possession of such receipt at or before the time of such delivery, shall, except as provided in paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section seven—four hundred and three and subsection (1) of section seven—six hundred and one of chapter one hundred and six, be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.

M.G.L. c. 105, § 60 Negotiation of receipt for mortgaged goods

c. 105, § 60. Negotiation of receipt for mortgaged goods Section 60. Whoever deposits goods to which he has no title, or upon which there is a lien or mortgage, and takes for such goods a negotiable receipt which he afterwards negotiates for value with intent to deceive, and without disclosing his want of title or the existence of the lien or mortgage, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.

M.G.L. c. 105, § 61 Fraudulent negotiation or transfer of receipt

c. 105, § 61. Fraudulent negotiation or transfer of receipt Section 61. Whoever, with intent to deceive, negotiates or transfers for value a receipt, knowing that any or all of the goods which by the terms thereof appear to have been received for storage by the warehouseman issuing the receipt, are not in the possession or control of such warehouseman, without disclosing this fact, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or in a jail or house of correction for not more than two and a half years, or both.

M.G.L. c. 105, § 62 Unlawful sale, pledge or loan of deposited property

c. 105, § 62. Unlawful sale, pledge or loan of deposited property Section 62. Whoever, with intent to injure or defraud, unlawfully sells, pledges, lends or in any other way disposes of, or permits or is a party to the unlawful selling, pledging, lending or other disposition of, any property stored in a public warehouse, without the authority of the person in whose name the same is stored, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars and by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than three years.

M.G.L. c. 105, § 63 Forging or counterfeiting warehouse receipts

c. 105, § 63. Forging or counterfeiting warehouse receipts Section 63. Whoever falsely makes, utters, forges or counterfeits, or whoever permits or is a party to the false making, uttering, forging or counterfeiting of, a warehouse receipt, certificate or other instrument, or of the signature of a warehouseman or of an endorser or other person to an instrument used to pass or to give title to property stored in a public warehouse, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars and by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than three years.

M.G.L. c. 105, § 64 Disposing of receipt after attachment

c. 105, § 64. Disposing of receipt after attachment Section 64. Whoever, knowing that his interest in the property described in a warehouse receipt has been attached, endorses, assigns or otherwise disposes of such receipt without disclosing such attachment to the person to whom such receipt is endorsed, assigned or disposed of, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars and by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than three years, or by imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than one year.

Source: Massachusetts General Court (malegislature.gov)URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXV/Chapter105Fetched: 10/20/2026