California Food and Agricultural Code 61407.4 – (a) The director may bring an action against a surety bond …
(a) The director may bring an action against a surety bond company if the company fails to do any of the following:
(1) Acknowledge promptly and act reasonably upon receiving a bond demand from the director.
Terms Used In California Food and Agricultural Code 61407.4
- Department: means the Department of Food and Agriculture. See California Food and Agricultural Code 32
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- 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.
- Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which that term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Food and Agricultural Code 49
(2) Promptly investigate and process claims.
(3) Make fair and equitable settlement of claims.
(4) Pay the bond amount to the director.
(b) The authority provided in subdivision (a) is in addition to the authority provided for in subdivision (h) of § 790.03 of the Insurance Code.
(c) In addition to the bond proceeds, the surety bond company may be ordered to pay interest at the prevailing prime rate on the amounts owed from the date the claim was filed, all of the department‘s court costs, and reasonable attorney’s fees.
(Amended by Stats. 1987, Ch. 1074, Sec. 2. Effective September 24, 1987.)