General Provisions.

Ala. Code tit. 8, ch. 15, art. 1

in effect

Ala. Code § 8-15-1 Definition; Supervision by Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries.

8-15-1. Definition; Supervision by Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries. (a) All buildings, structures, or other protected enclosures used for storage of cotton or other articles of value for the public, with or without compensation, and all buildings, structures, or other protected enclosures for the storage of cotton or other articles of value where a statement is issued acknowledging the receipt of the articles of goods stored and undertaking to deliver the same are declared to be public warehouses. (b) All such warehouses shall be under the supervision of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, whose duty it shall be to enforce the requirements of the law and the rules and regulations promulgated by the State Board of Agriculture and Industries relative to public warehouses. (c) The term “public warehouse,” as used in this chapter, shall not be construed as applying to any building, structure, or protected enclosure, or portion thereof, used exclusively for the checking or storing of hats, wearing apparel, or baggage or exclusively for the storing of furs when the storage thereof is merely incidental to the business of a dealer therein or to the business of cleaning or renovating such furs. (Ag. Code 1927, §388; Acts 1935, No. 13, p. 12; Acts 1939, No. 443, p. 586; Code 1940, T. 2, §568; Acts 1943, No. 301, p. 260.)

Ala. Code § 8-15-2 Promulgation of Standards, Character of Records, Rules and Regulations by State Board of Agriculture and Industries.

8-15-2. Promulgation of Standards, Character of Records, Rules and Regulations by State Board of Agriculture and Industries. The State Board of Agriculture and Industries shall have authority to: (1) Provide the standards as to the suitability or adequacy for the purpose for which it is used or intended of any warehouse building, structure, or protected enclosure used for the storage of cotton or other articles of value; (2) Prescribe the character of records; and (3) Promulgate such other rules and regulations relative to the conduct of the business of a public warehouse and such as are necessary to effect the purposes of this chapter. (Ag. Code 1927, §389; Acts 1939, No. 443, p. 586; Code 1940, T. 2, §569.)

Ala. Code § 8-15-3 Permit - Required; Application; Fees.

8-15-3. Permit - Required; Application; Fees. (a) The judge of probate of the county may not issue a license permitting anyone to transact business as a public warehouseman unless the person presents to the judge of probate a permit to transact such business issued by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries showing that he or she has complied with all the provisions of the law and rules and regulations promulgated by the State Board of Agriculture and Industries relative to public warehouses. (b) Any person desiring to operate a public warehouse shall file with the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, upon forms prescribed by the commissioner, a written application, verified by affidavit, which shall set forth the location and the name of such warehouse and the name of such person interested as owner or principal in the management of the same or, if it is managed or controlled by a corporation, the names of the president, secretary, and treasurer of such corporation shall be stated, and the location of the principal office of such corporation. The application shall also state the character of goods or articles for the storage of which the public warehouse will be operated, and the estimated value of articles stored in such warehouse at the time, and during the preceding 12 months, when the value of the articles stored was the greatest. (c) In the event cotton is stored in the warehouse, the verified application shall also state the number of bales of cotton stored therein during the 12 months next preceding the date of the application. (d) Where no business has been done during the previous year, the application must state an estimate of the value of the articles which it is anticipated will be stored during the first year in the warehouse. (e) The application shall also show what persons are authorized to sign receipts for the warehouse. (f) A filing fee established by the Board of Agriculture and Industries not to exceed one hundred fifty dollars ($150) shall accompany the application, which shall accrue to the credit of the Agricultural Fund to be used in defraying the expenses of executing the provisions of this chapter. (g) The Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries may issue a permit to a federally bonded warehouse upon the payment of the fee established by the board not to exceed one hundred fifty dollars ($150) without the filing of any bond with the state. (Ag. Code 1927, §390; Acts 1939, No. 443, p. 586; Code 1940, T. 2, §570; Acts 1981, No. 81-693, p. 1165, §1; Act 2004-516, p. 996, §1.)

Ala. Code § 8-15-4 Permit - False Statements in Application.

8-15-4. Permit - False Statements in Application. Any person making a false material statement in an application filed under this chapter to secure a permit to operate a public warehouse shall be guilty of perjury and, upon conviction, shall be punished as now provided by law for the commission of such offense. (Ag. Code 1927, §407; Acts 1935, No. 13, p. 12; Acts 1939, No. 443, p. 586; Code 1940, T. 2, §586.)

Ala. Code § 8-15-5 Permit - Investigation of Building and Applicant.

8-15-5. Permit - Investigation of Building and Applicant. (a) Upon the filing of an application with the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries to secure a permit for the operation of a public warehouse, the commissioner or his duly authorized agent shall make such investigation as necessary to ascertain whether or not the statements contained in such application are true and correct, whether or not the building, structure, or protected enclosure is reasonably suited or adequate for the purpose for which it is intended to be used and whether or not there has been a compliance with all conditions as required by the law and the rules and regulations of the State Board of Agriculture and Industries relative to public warehouses. (b) The Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries may investigate and consider the responsibility, reliability, and qualifications, as well as the capacity of the person or persons filing with him an application, for a permit to operate a public warehouse, both with reference to the person or persons applying for such permit and the person who is shown in the application as the person authorized to sign receipts for the warehouse. (Ag. Code 1927, §391; Acts 1935, No. 13, p. 12; Acts 1939, No. 443, p. 586; Code 1940, T. 2, §571.)

Ala. Code § 8-15-6 Permit - Notification of Grant or Denial; Appeals.

8-15-6. Permit - Notification of Grant or Denial; Appeals. (a) The Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall promptly notify any person applying for a permit to operate a public warehouse whether or not such application has been granted. (b) In the event the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries refuses to grant such permit, the applicant may give written notice, by filing the same with the chief clerk of the Department of Agriculture and Industries, that he appeals from the decision of the commissioner to the State Board of Agriculture and Industries. Such appeal must be heard at the next meeting of the board, at which time the board shall investigate the facts and hear from both the commissioner or his duly authorized agent and the applicant and, after due consideration, enter a written finding determining whether or not such permit should be issued, spreading the same upon the minutes of the board. (c) From the findings of the State Board of Agriculture and Industries, an appeal lies to the Circuit Court of Montgomery County. In the trial in the circuit court, the order of the board shall be presumed to be correct, and the burden shall be upon the applicant to show to the satisfaction of the court beyond a reasonable doubt that he is entitled to be permitted to engage in the operation of a public warehouse under the laws and rules and regulations relating to the same. (Ag. Code 1927, §392; Acts 1939, No. 443, p. 586; Code 1940, T. 2, §572.)

Ala. Code § 8-15-7 Permit - Bond and Proof of Insurance; Prerequisite to Issuance of Permit; Filing of Additional Bonds; Actions on Bond.

8-15-7. Permit - Bond and Proof of Insurance; Prerequisite to Issuance of Permit; Filing of Additional Bonds; Actions on Bond. (a) In the event the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries decides that a permit to operate a public warehouse should be issued, he shall fix the amount of the bond, which shall be furnished by the applicant and approved by the commissioner prior to the issuance of the permit. In addition to the requirement of bond, the commissioner may require the applicant, as a prerequisite to the issuance of such bond, to furnish legal proof of warehouseman’s legal liability insurance in effect on the commodities to be stored in any such public warehouse. (b) Such bond shall be made with some surety company that has complied with the laws of the State of Alabama and which has a reputation for promptly settling claims upon their merits and shall be payable to the State of Alabama in such sum as the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries may fix, but in no event be more than $5,000. Said bond shall be conditioned upon the faithful performance of his or its duties as a public warehouseman for the period covered by the permit and for a faithful compliance with all laws, rules, and regulations relating to the operation of a public warehouse. (c) Notwithstanding the above bond requirements the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries may require the filing of additional bonds at any time by any warehouseman storing agricultural commodities, and the failure to file any such additional bonds, within the time to be fixed by the commissioner, shall be sufficient cause for revoking the permit issued such warehouseman. (d) The bond required of an applicant for a permit to operate a public warehouse shall also undertake to pay to the State of Alabama all expenses of any successful litigation which the state institutes to compel a compliance with the laws and rules and regulations relative to public warehouses. (e) Any person who suffers a loss because of a breach of the conditions of the required public warehouseman’s bond may bring an action on such bond in his own name against the principal and surety thereon for any such breach and loss until the penalty of said bond is exhausted; provided, that the aggregate liability of the surety to all such persons shall in no event exceed the amount of such bond. In the event the penalty is exhausted, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall require the filing of an additional bond within a reasonable time period, or revoke the permit heretofore issued. (Ag. Code 1927, §§393, 394; Acts 1931, No. 737, p. 844; Acts 1939, No. 443, p. 586; Code 1940, T. 2, §§573, 574; Acts 1980, No. 80-83, p. 107.)

Ala. Code § 8-15-9 Permit - Issuance; Term; Expiration Date.

8-15-9. Permit - Issuance; Term; Expiration Date. (a) Upon the filing and approval of a bond with the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, the commissioner must issue a permit which will authorize the applicant to operate a public warehouse at the place, building, structure, or enclosure named in the application upon such applicant’s securing from the probate judge of the county a license required by law to transact such business. (b) Such permit shall not be issued for a longer period than one year and shall expire on July 31 next after the issuance thereof. (Ag. Code 1927, §395; Acts 1939, No. 443, p. 586; Code 1940, T. 2, §575; Acts 1945, No. 476, p. 708.)

Ala. Code § 8-15-10 Permit - Penalty for Operating Without Permit; Disposition of Proceeds from Penalties.

8-15-10. Permit - Penalty for Operating Without Permit; Disposition of Proceeds from Penalties. (a) Any person operating a public warehouse without a permit required by this chapter shall be subject to a penalty of not over $1,000, which may be collected in a civil action instituted at the instance of the Governor, the Attorney General or the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries. (b) All moneys received from the collection of such penalty shall accrue to the Agricultural Fund. (Ag. Code 1927, §407; Acts 1935, No. 13, p. 12; Acts 1939, No. 443, p. 586; Code 1940, T. 2, §586.)

Ala. Code § 8-15-11 Inspection of Warehouses by Commissioner and Agents.

8-15-11. Inspection of Warehouses by Commissioner and Agents. (a) The Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries and his duly authorized agents or employees shall have full power and authority to inspect public warehouses, to audit the books thereof, to check the articles or goods stored with the records or receipts, and to exercise such other power relative to public warehouses as is necessary to ascertain whether or not the business is conducted in such a manner as to protect the interest of the persons who are storing, or may store, articles in such warehouse. (b) The inspectors, when instructed by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, shall make sworn reports of their findings, within 10 days after the completion of the work assigned, to the commissioner, who shall hold and keep same in the records of his office. Such reports, when sworn to, shall be public records and shall be prima facie evidence of what they charge. (c) Such inspections shall be made at least twice between October 1 and September 30 in each fiscal year. (Ag. Code 1927, §397; Acts 1935, No. 148, p. 192; Acts 1939, No. 443, p. 586; Code 1940, T. 2, §577.)

Ala. Code § 8-15-12 Investigation of Complaints Against Warehouse.

8-15-12. Investigation of Complaints Against Warehouse. Upon the filing of a complaint in writing by any person with the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries setting forth a violation of the laws or rules and regulations relating to the operation of a public warehouse, setting forth that the warehouse building, structure, or protected enclosure is not reasonably suitable or adequate for the purpose for which it is used, setting forth facts showing that there is a shortage of the articles which have been stored in said warehouse, setting forth any other facts showing that the interests of the persons who have stored, or who may store, articles in such warehouse are jeopardized or are not properly safeguarded and protected or where such facts are ascertained by the commissioner by an investigation upon his own initiative, or otherwise, the commissioner must make an investigation to ascertain whether or not the facts alleged in the complaint are true or whether or not there is reasonable cause to believe such facts to be true. (Ag. Code 1927, §398; Acts 1935, No. 13, p. 12; Acts 1939, No. 443, p. 586; Code 1940, T. 2, §578.)

Ala. Code § 8-15-13 Public Hearing on Operations; Notice of Hearing; Sworn Testimony Heard; Authority to Subpoena Witnesses; Witness Fees; Production of Books and Records; Appearance in Person or by Counsel; Failure to Obey Process; Rules of Evidence Not Applicable.

8-15-13. Public Hearing on Operations; Notice of Hearing; Sworn Testimony Heard; Authority to Subpoena Witnesses; Witness Fees; Production of Books and Records; Appearance in Person or by Counsel; Failure to Obey Process; Rules of Evidence Not Applicable. (a) In the event the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries is of the opinion that a condition exists which would jeopardize the interest of persons patronizing, or who may patronize, a public warehouse by reason of the manner in which such public warehouse is being operated or that the same is being operated without having complied with the laws or rules and regulations relating to the operation of public warehouses, he shall order a public hearing thereon, to be held in the office of the commissioner at Montgomery or at the courthouse of the county in which the warehouse is being operated, to determine what action shall be taken relative to the said warehouse. (b) It shall be the duty of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries to give notice by registered mail addressed to the owners or operators of the public warehouse at least 10 days prior to the date fixed for the hearing, of the time and place thereof. (c) Upon the hearing, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall hear sworn testimony of persons complaining as to the manner of the operation of the warehouse and of agents and employees of the Department of Agriculture and Industries who have made investigations into the manner of the operation thereof. He shall also hear sworn testimony of the owners and operators of said warehouse, if any is offered, and the sworn testimony of any persons which they may offer in refutation of the complaints and charges. (d) The Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries in such cases shall have the authority to compel the attendance of witnesses by issuing subpoenas signed by him, which subpoenas must be served by any lawful officer of the State of Alabama and due return made thereon as is provided by law for the procuring of testimony in civil actions in the circuit courts of this state. (e) Each witness so subpoenaed and attending upon such hearing shall be entitled to $3 per day for each day of his attendance upon such hearing and $.05 for each mile necessarily traveled in coming to and returning from the hearing. (f) In the event that investigation results in a finding of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries that the said public warehouse is being operated in a manner in violation of the laws and regulations pertaining thereto or in a manner which jeopardizes the interest of the persons patronizing the same, witnesses subpoenaed and attending on behalf of the warehouse shall not be paid from public funds, but the witnesses attending on behalf of the complainant or on behalf of the commissioner shall be paid from the funds of the Department of Agriculture and Industries in the treasury. In the event that the finding of the commissioner shall determine that the public warehouse is being operated in compliance with law and regulations relating thereto, all witnesses appearing upon such hearing shall be paid from the funds of the Department of Agriculture and Industries. (g) Upon such hearing the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall have authority to administer oaths to witnesses and to compel the production of books and records necessary to a determination of the issue involved in such cause by the issuance of subpoena duces tecum and all other necessary process. (h) The public warehouse involved and the owners and operators thereof may appear in person or by counsel and shall have the benefit of compulsory process for the attendance of its witnesses. (i) Willful failure to obey the process issued to witnesses by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall be punishable as in cases of failure to obey the process issued out of the circuit courts of this state. In such cases the commissioner shall certify to the judge of the circuit court having jurisdiction at the place of the commissioner’s hearing the fact of willful disobedience of his subpoena, whereupon such judge shall cause the defaulting witness to appear before him upon a date fixed to show cause why he should not be adjudged in contempt for the willful failure to obey the process issued by the commissioner as hereinabove provided, and upon determination of willful disobedience of such process, shall enter judgment and impose punishment as in cases of contempt of the circuit court. (j) In the conduct of such hearing the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall not be bound by the strict rules of evidence prevailing in the courts of the state. (Ag. Code 1927, §§399, 400; Acts 1939, No. 443, p. 586; Code 1940, T. 2, §§579, 580.)

Ala. Code § 8-15-14 Revocation of Permit; Liquidation of Operation.

8-15-14. Revocation of Permit; Liquidation of Operation. (a) In the event that the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries upon a public hearing finds and determines that a public warehouse is being operated in violation of law and regulations and in jeopardy of the public interest, he shall thereupon revoke the permit to operate such public warehouse and, in his discretion, he may take charge of the operation of such warehouse for the purpose of liquidating the same under the direction of the circuit court having jurisdiction at the place of the operation thereof and to operate same under the direction of the court for such time as may be necessary to protect the public interest or to compel compliance with the laws and regulations relating to the operation of public warehouses. (b) Upon taking charge thereof, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall appoint in writing, under his hand and official seal, an agent to assist him in the duty of liquidation and distribution of the assets of any public warehouse so taken possession of by him under the provisions of this chapter and the commissioner may authorize such agent to perform such duties connected with such liquidation and distribution as the commissioner himself could in person do and perform. (c) The Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries forthwith shall cause to be addressed to the circuit court of the county in which such warehouse is located a petition for receivership and liquidation thereof, setting forth the full facts upon which his action in taking charge of the warehouse is based and requesting that the court take jurisdiction and order the liquidation of such public warehouse and the collection of its assets and the distribution thereof and of the property therein stored to its creditors and to claimants of such property so stored therein in such manner as will best serve the public interest. (d) The court shall fix a date for hearing thereof not less than 10 days from the date of presentation and shall order that in the interim between the filing of the petition and the final determination of the matter of liquidation thereof, that the warehouse shall be under the direction of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries or the agents appointed by him to assist therein. If upon final hearing thereof the court determines that the warehouse is not being operated in such manner as is violative of laws and regulations pertaining thereto or in a manner which jeopardizes the public interest, an order shall thereupon be made and entered dismissing the petition and directing the return of the control and operation of the warehouse to the owners and operators thereof. In the event, however, that the court determines that the warehouse is being operated in violation of law and regulations pertaining thereto or in jeopardy of the public interest, an order shall be made and entered appointing the commissioner as liquidating agent thereof and directing the operation of the warehouse by the commissioner and his designated agents under the direction of the court so long as may be necessary for the purpose of the collection of the assets of the warehouse and the distribution thereof to the creditors thereof and for the protection and distribution of the property therein stored to the owners thereof. (e) The court may provide for the compensation of the liquidating agent and of the employees necessary in the operation thereof, for the employment of counsel and the payment of other expenses necessary to the operation of the warehouse during the period of receivership and cause the same to be paid from the assets of the public warehouse as a prior charge thereon. (f) The court shall also cause notice to be given by publication of the receivership of the public warehouse and that claims of creditors and bailors of property therein stored shall be presented to the designated liquidating agent within such time as the court may fix not less than six nor more than 12 months after the date of the completion of the publication. If the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries doubts the justice and validity of any claims of creditors or of bailors, he may reject the same and serve notice of such rejection upon the creditor or bailor, either by mail or personally, and an affidavit of service of such notice which shall be prima facie evidence thereof shall be filed in the office of the liquidating agent and a copy thereof shall be filed in the office of the commissioner. An action upon a claim so rejected must be brought by complaint to the court having jurisdiction of the affairs of the public warehouse by the creditor or bailor within six months after such service or the same shall be barred. Claims presented and allowed after the expiration of the time fixed in the notice to creditors and bailors shall be entitled to share in the distribution only to the extent of the assets in the hands of the commissioner at the time such claims are filed without allowance for prior distributions. (g) The Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall have authority for, and in the name of, the public warehouse in liquidation to collect the assets of such public warehouse and to initiate and prosecute litigation for the collection thereof. (h) At any time after the expiration of the date fixed for the presentation of claims, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries may petition the court for direction as to distribution of assets then in his hands, and he shall make distribution as directed by the court. After one year from the expiration of the date fixed for the presentation of claims, the court shall order final distribution to creditors and bailors unless the time thereof shall have been extended by the court by order duly made and entered. Whenever the commissioner shall have paid all of the creditors and shall have satisfied the claims and demands of all the bailors of the public warehouse whose claims shall have been duly proven and allowed and shall have paid all of the expenses of the liquidation, he shall deliver upon order of the court duly made and entered the remaining assets in his custody to the public warehouse or the owners and operators thereof. The property of bailors remaining in the hands of the commissioner, or the liquidating agent, for a period of six months after the date fixed by the court for final distribution of assets shall be sold and converted into money, with a complete record of the proceeds of the property belonging to each separate bailor who has not claimed the same. The proceeds of such sales shall be covered by him into the treasury to the credit of the commissioner in trust for the several bailors of the liquidated public warehouse, and the commissioner may pay over the money so held by him in trust to the bailors entitled thereto upon being satisfied of their right to the same. In case of doubtful or conflicting claims to said proceeds, he may require an order from the court having jurisdiction of the liquidation of the warehouse authorizing and directing the payment thereof. All such funds remaining in his hands for a period of 10 years after the date upon which he covered the same into the treasury shall become the property of the state and shall be covered into the state Agricultural Fund. (i) Upon the finding of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries that it is necessary to take charge of a public warehouse for liquidation thereof, he shall forthwith make full report thereof to the State Board of Agriculture and Industries which shall spread his findings upon the minutes of the said State Board of Agriculture and Industries; and at the conclusion of the liquidation of any warehouse of which the commissioner has taken charge as herein provided, he shall forthwith make full report thereof to the State Board of Agriculture and Industries, which shall spread the same upon its minutes. (Ag. Code 1927, §401; Acts 1939, No. 443, p. 586; Code 1940, T. 2, §581.)

Ala. Code § 8-15-15 Issuance of Receipt by Warehouseman.

8-15-15. Issuance of Receipt by Warehouseman. Every public warehouseman receiving property of any kind for safekeeping must issue, on delivery to him or it of such property, in favor of the person from whom received, a receipt therefor, which shall comply with the requirements of the laws of this state. (Ag. Code 1927, §403; Acts 1939, No. 443, p. 586; Code 1940, T. 2, §582.)

Ala. Code § 8-15-16 When Receipt to Be Endorsed “Stored in the Open”.

8-15-16. When Receipt to Be Endorsed “Stored in the Open”. Whenever any public warehouseman accepts for storage any cotton or other article of value and keeps or stores the same where it is exposed to weather conditions or in any place except within the warehouse, there shall be endorsed on the warehouse receipt given for such cotton or other article the words “Stored In The Open” in such manner as may be prescribed by the rules and regulations promulgated by the State Board of Agriculture and Industries. (Ag. Code 1927, §404; Acts 1939, No. 443, p. 586; Code 1940, T. 2, §583.)

Ala. Code § 8-15-17 Insurance Requirement and Liability of Warehouseman for Articles Not Stored in Warehouse.

8-15-17. Insurance Requirement and Liability of Warehouseman for Articles Not Stored in Warehouse. (a) A public warehouseman who stores cotton or other article in the open or in any place except in the warehouse shall keep the same insured against destruction or injury by fire and shall be responsible and liable for all injury or damage suffered from the weather or any other cause by reason of the cotton or other article being stored in the open or in any other place except in the warehouse. (b) Such warehouseman shall also have the same responsibility and liability for the cotton or other article as if the same was stored or kept in the warehouse. The warehouseman’s bond shall also cover all duties and liabilities of a warehouseman imposed by this section and Section 8-15-16. (Ag. Code 1927, §405; Acts 1939, No. 443, p. 586; Code 1940, T. 2, §584.)

Ala. Code § 8-15-18 Insurance of Stored Cotton and Other Raw Agricultural Commodities.

8-15-18. Insurance of Stored Cotton and Other Raw Agricultural Commodities. The Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall have power to require that all bales of cotton or other raw agricultural commodities, accepted for storage by a public warehouseman, other than cotton moving in transit to a compress to be compressed, shall be insured against destruction, damage by fire, and other hazards, or perils that could be incurred by such warehouseman, unless otherwise instructed in writing by the bailor. (Ag. Code 1927, §406; Acts 1939, No. 443, p. 586; Code 1940, T. 2, §585; Acts 1981, No. 81-693, p. 1165, §2.)

Source: Alabama Legislature (alison.legislature.state.al.us)URL: https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabamaFetched: 10/20/2026