Sec. 14.013. RIGHT TO INTERVENE AND NOTIFICATION OF DEPARTMENT

(a) The department may intervene in a suit for receivership, garnishment, bankruptcy, or any other legal action affecting the assets of a warehouse operator licensed under this chapter or the grain assets of a depositor in a warehouse operated under a license issued by the department, including, to assert the rights of depositors not joined in the suit, a suit brought against a bond or surety under Section 14.065.

(b) Any person who files a suit for receivership, garnishment, or bankruptcy or who commences any other legal action affecting the assets of a warehouse operator licensed under this chapter or the grain assets of a depositor in a warehouse operated under a license issued by the department, including a suit against a bond or surety under Section 14.065, must give notice to the department of the suit or legal action.

(c) Notice under this section must be in writing and delivered to the department by certified mail, registered mail, or commercial delivery service not later than the 20th day after the date on which the suit or legal action is commenced.

(d) The judgment in an action described by Subsection (a) is voidable if the notice required by this section is not provided.

(e) The court in which a suit or other legal action described by Subsection (a) is commenced may impose appropriate sanctions against a party who fails to provide the notice required by this section.

Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1124, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.