Michigan Laws 290.714 – Mediation of issues; duties of department; designation of person to act in department’s behalf; fee
Current as of: 2023 | Check for updates
|
Other versions
Terms Used In Michigan Laws 290.714
- Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
- 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
- Department: means the department of agriculture and rural development. See Michigan Laws 290.702
- 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 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) Upon the request of an accredited association or upon the request of a handler, the department shall provide for the mediation of the issues in dispute. The department shall take such steps as it considers expedient to effect a voluntary, amicable, and expeditious adjustment and settlement of the differences and issues between the association and the handler which could disrupt the normal sale and purchase of the agricultural commodity between producers and the handler. The department shall do all of the following:
(a) Arrange for, hold, adjourn, or reconvene a conference or conferences between disputants and 1 or more of their representatives.
(b) Invite the disputants and their representatives to attend the conference and submit, orally or in writing, the differences between the disputants.
(c) Discuss the differences with the disputants or their representatives.
(d) Assist in negotiating and drafting agreements for the adjustment and settlement of differences.
(2) In implementing its duties under this section, the department may retain a competent individual to act on its behalf. If the department seeks to retain an individual to mediate a dispute, the department shall attempt to retain an individual who has experience in mediation and in agricultural marketing.
(3) Where an individual is retained, the department shall establish his or her fee in advance.