Text: HF00388 Text: HF00390 Text: HF00300 - HF00399 Text: HF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. FINDINGS. The general assembly finds and
1 2 declares that the production of agricultural products
1 3 constitutes an important and significant portion of this
1 4 state's economy as well as providing the basis of the culture
1 5 and customs of this state. The general assembly therefore
1 6 determines that it is imperative to protect the vitality of
1 7 the agricultural economy of this state by providing a cause of
1 8 action for producers, researchers, and industries involved in
1 9 agriculture and to hold persons criminally liable for the
1 10 defamation of Iowa producers, researchers, or industries and
1 11 their agricultural products.
1 12 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 673.1 SHORT TITLE.
1 13 This chapter is known and shall be cited as the "Iowa
1 14 Agricultural Food Products Act".
1 15 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 673.2 DEFINITIONS.
1 16 As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
1 17 requires:
1 18 1. "Aggrieved party" means a producer, researcher, or
1 19 industry.
1 20 2. "Defamation" means information disseminated by a person
1 21 under circumstances in which the information may be reasonably
1 22 expected to be believed, if the information is unreliable or
1 23 not based on scientific facts or scientific data, and the
1 24 person knows or fails to take reasonable care to know this,
1 25 and if any of the following applies:
1 26 a. The information reflects upon the character or
1 27 reputation of an aggrieved party or upon the quality, safety,
1 28 or value of an aggrieved party's product which tends to do any
1 29 of the following:
1 30 (1) Harm the aggrieved party's reputation or cast
1 31 suspicion on the aggrieved party's character in the estimation
1 32 of the community.
1 33 (2) Deter a third person from doing business with the
1 34 aggrieved party.
1 35 (3) Deter a third person from purchasing a product of the
2 1 aggrieved party.
2 2 (4) Cast an aggrieved party in a negative light in the
2 3 eyes of the general public.
2 4 b. The information states or implies any of the following:
2 5 (1) A product is not safe for consumption or use by the
2 6 public.
2 7 (2) A generally accepted agricultural or management
2 8 practice makes a product unsafe for consumption by the public.
2 9 c. The person disseminating the information intends to
2 10 cause harm or disparage an aggrieved party who is using
2 11 generally accepted agricultural or management practices during
2 12 the normal course of business.
2 13 3. "Disseminate" means to state, publish, or otherwise
2 14 convey information to another person.
2 15 4. "Generally accepted agricultural or management
2 16 practice" means a procedure used in the production of a
2 17 product, including a procedure used in agronomy or animal
2 18 husbandry, such as tillage; the application of fertilizers or
2 19 crop enhancements; crop protection; irrigation; and the
2 20 feeding, transporting, and providing for shelter, care, and
2 21 health practices for livestock or poultry.
2 22 5. "Industry" means a person organized under the laws of
2 23 this state as a corporation, association, or other entity
2 24 whose purpose is to represent, promote, or engage in other
2 25 activities to enhance the interests of a number of producers.
2 26 6. "Malice" means an intent to vex, injure, defame, annoy,
2 27 or cause another person to be held in an undesirable light by
2 28 another person.
2 29 7. "Producer" means a person who is engaged in growing or
2 30 raising a product in this state.
2 31 8. "Product" means a product of agriculture or
2 32 aquaculture, including food or fiber produced from crops or
2 33 livestock, that is sold or distributed in a form that will
2 34 perish or decay beyond a marketable state within a certain
2 35 period of time.
3 1 9. "Researcher" means a person who is engaged in studying,
3 2 developing, exploring, or promoting new, improved, refined, or
3 3 additional technologies, activities, or practices which are
3 4 intended to improve, promote, support, or otherwise enhance
3 5 products, producers, or industries in the state.
3 6 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION. 673.3 CIVIL ACTION.
3 7 1. a. An aggrieved party who suffers damage as a result
3 8 of another person's defamation has a cause of action for
3 9 damages and any other appropriate relief as provided in this
3 10 chapter. This chapter does not preclude a person from
3 11 bringing a cause of action based on another theory of law.
3 12 b. If an entire group or class of producers are aggrieved,
3 13 a cause of action shall arise in favor of each producer of the
3 14 group or class, regardless of the size of the group or class.
3 15 Each producer is entitled to receive actual and punitive
3 16 damages alleged in the cause of action as provided in section
3 17 673.4.
3 18 2. A person shall be liable to an aggrieved party for
3 19 actual damages caused by the person who defames an aggrieved
3 20 party. However, if the statement is made with malice, the
3 21 person shall also be liable to the aggrieved party for
3 22 punitive damages in an amount equal to not more than three
3 23 times the amount received in actual damages.
3 24 3. An aggrieved party may seek injunctive relief by
3 25 petitioning the court to restrain a defendant from
3 26 disseminating statements regarding an aggrieved party.
3 27 4. A person who is a losing party in a cause of action
3 28 shall be liable to the person who is the prevailing party for
3 29 all costs and expenses incurred by the prevailing party,
3 30 including reasonable attorney fees.
3 31 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION. 673.4 CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
3 32 A person who defames a product of a producer, researcher,
3 33 or industry with malice shall be guilty of an aggravated
3 34 misdemeanor. Notwithstanding section 903.1, the maximum
3 35 penalty shall be imprisonment not to exceed one year and in
4 1 addition a maximum fine of ten thousand dollars for a first
4 2 conviction, twenty-five thousand dollars for a second
4 3 conviction, and one hundred thousand dollars for each
4 4 subsequent conviction.
4 5 Sec. 6. Section 614.1, Code 1997, is amended by adding the
4 6 following new subsection:
4 7 NEW SUBSECTION. 14. DEFAMATION. An action for damages
4 8 for defamation of an aggrieved party as provided under chapter
4 9 673 must be commenced within two years from the date of the
4 10 incident giving rise to the cause of action.
4 11 Sec. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of
4 12 immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
4 13 EXPLANATION
4 14 This bill prohibits the defamation of agricultural
4 15 products, producers, researchers, and industry associations by
4 16 providing for a cause of action and providing for criminal
4 17 penalties. The bill creates a new Code chapter 673 to provide
4 18 for defamation and specifically does all of the following:
4 19 The bill provides for findings by the general assembly
4 20 which state the importance of agricultural production and
4 21 products to the state's economy, and declares that it is
4 22 imperative to protect the vitality of the agricultural economy
4 23 of this state by providing a cause of action for producers,
4 24 researchers, and industries involved in agriculture as
4 25 aggrieved parties and holds persons criminally liable for the
4 26 defamation of Iowa producers, researchers, or industries and
4 27 their agricultural products.
4 28 New Code section 673.1 provides that the new chapter is
4 29 referred to as the "Iowa Agricultural Food Products Act".
4 30 New Code section 673.2 provides for definitions.
4 31 Specifically, it provides for the elements of defamation. It
4 32 provides that defamation means the dissemination of
4 33 information which may be reasonably expected to be believed,
4 34 if the person disseminating the information knows, or should
4 35 know, by taking reasonable care to assure that the information
5 1 is unreliable or not based on scientific facts or scientific
5 2 data. In addition, (1) the information must reflect upon the
5 3 character or reputation of an aggrieved party or upon the
5 4 quality, safety, or value of an aggrieved party's product; or
5 5 (2) the information must state or imply that the product is
5 6 unsafe for consumption or use or that a generally accepted
5 7 agricultural or management practice makes a product unsafe; or
5 8 (3) the person disseminating the information must intend to
5 9 cause harm or disparage an aggrieved party who is using
5 10 generally accepted agricultural or management practices during
5 11 the normal course of business.
5 12 New Code section 673.3 provides that an aggrieved party who
5 13 suffers damage as a result of another person's defamation has
5 14 a civil cause of action for damages. The bill provides that
5 15 this does not preclude a person from bringing a cause of
5 16 action based on another theory of law. The bill provides that
5 17 if an entire group or class of producers are aggrieved, a
5 18 cause of action arises in favor of each producer of the group
5 19 or class. The bill provides that a person is liable to an
5 20 aggrieved party for actual damages caused by the person for
5 21 defamation. If the statement is made with malice, the person
5 22 shall also be liable to the aggrieved party for punitive
5 23 damages in an amount equal to not more than three times the
5 24 amount received in actual damages. The bill provides that an
5 25 aggrieved party may also seek injunctive relief. It provides
5 26 that a person who is a losing party is liable to pay for all
5 27 costs and expenses incurred by the prevailing party, including
5 28 reasonable attorney fees.
5 29 New Code section 673.4 provides that a person who
5 30 maliciously defames a producer, researcher, or industry or
5 31 their products is guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor. The
5 32 bill provides that the maximum penalty is imprisonment not to
5 33 exceed one year and in addition a maximum fine of $10,000 for
5 34 a first conviction, $25,000 for a second conviction, and
5 35 $100,000 for each subsequent conviction.
6 1 Code section 614.1 is amended to provide that an action for
6 2 damages for defamation must be commenced within two years from
6 3 the date of the incident giving rise to the cause of action.
6 4 The bill takes effect upon enactment.
6 5 LSB 1980HH 77
6 6 da/cf/24
Text: HF00388 Text: HF00390 Text: HF00300 - HF00399 Text: HF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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