[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7, Volume 2]
[Revised as of January 1, 2008]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR47.6]

[Page 294-295]
 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
                        DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 
PART 47_RULES OF PRACTICE UNDER THE PERISHABLE AGRICULTURAL 
COMMODITIES ACT--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 47.6  Formal complaints.

    (a) Filing; contents; number of copies. (1) If the procedure 
provided in Sec. 47.3(b) fails to effect an amicable or informal 
settlement, the person who filed the informal complaint may, if further 
proceedings are desired, file a formal complaint with the Fruit and 
Vegetable Programs. The formal complaint shall be filed within ninety 
days of notification of the opportunity to proceed formally. Failure to 
file a formal reparation complaint within the time prescribed shall 
result in the waiver of further proceedings on the claim alleged in the 
informal complaint.
    (2) The formal complaint shall set forth the information and be 
accompanied by the papers indicated in Sec. 47.3(a)(2) and (3), 
including a statement of the amount of damages claimed, with the basis 
therefor, and the method of determination. The original and three copies 
shall be furnished for filing, and service on the respondent. If there 
is more than one respondent, a further copy shall be furnished for each 
additional respondent.
    (b) Bond Required if Complainant is Nonresident. If formal complaint 
for reparation is filed by a nonresident of the United States, 
complainant shall first file a bond in double the amount of the claim 
either with a surety company approved by the Treasury Department of the 
United States as surety or with two personal sureties, each of whom 
shall be a citizen of the United States and shall qualify as financially

[[Page 295]]

responsible for the entire amount of the bond. The bond shall run to the 
respondent and be conditioned upon the payment of costs, including 
reasonable attorney's fees, for the respondent if the respondent shall 
prevail, and of any reparation award that may be issued by the Secretary 
against the complainant on any counterclaim asserted by respondent: 
Provided, That the furnishing of a bond may be waived at the discretion 
of the Secretary if the complainant is a resident of a country which 
permits the filing of a complaint in an administrative forum or its 
equivalent which is substantially similar to that provided under the 
Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act by a resident of the United 
States against a citizen of that country without the furnishing of a 
bond. Nothing in this section shall limit the discretion of the 
Secretary to deny such a waiver in order to effectuate the purposes of 
the Act or to protect the interests of the businesses concerned.
    (c) Service upon respondent; proof of service. Upon receipt by the 
Fruit and Vegetable Programs of the formal complaint, the accompanying 
papers and the $300 handling fee required by the Act, a copy thereof 
shall be served by the Fruit and Vegetable Programs upon the respondent 
in accordance with Sec. 47.4. If the complaint is not in the proper 
form, the Fruit and Vegetable Programs shall return it and inform the 
complainant of the deficiencies therein.
    (d) Amendments. At any time prior to the close of the hearing, the 
complaint may be amended; but, in case of an amendment adding new 
provisions, the hearing shall, if the respondent so requests, be 
adjourned for a reasonable time to be determined by the examiner: 
Provided, That, if the amendment introduces a new or different cause of 
action, it must be filed within 9 months after the cause of action 
accrued. Amendments subsequent to the first amendment or subsequent to 
the filing of an answer by the respondent may be made only with leave of 
the examiner or with the written consent of the adverse party.

[10 FR 2209, Feb. 27, 1945, as amended at 56 FR 176, Jan. 3, 1991; 64 FR 
38106, July 15, 1999]