2006 Louisiana Laws - RS 14:211 — Sale of forest products; failure to remit payment to owner; penalty

§211.  Sale of forest products; failure to remit payment to owner; penalty

A.(1)  Any person who acquires, with the consent of an owner, any forest product from that owner and who receives payment for the forest product shall, within thirty days of such receipt, make payment in full to the owner.

(2)  If the owner has not received payment within the required thirty days, the owner shall notify the offender of his demand for payment at the offender's last known address by certified mail or by personal delivery of the written notice to the offender.  The offender's failure to make payment in full within ten days after the mailing or personal delivery shall be presumptive evidence of the offender's intent to violate this Section.

B.  A written agreement signed by the owner providing for a means of payment contrary to this Section shall constitute an affirmative defense.

C.  As used in this Section:

(1)  "Forest product" means any tree, shrub, plant, or related vegetation, or any part thereof.

(2)  "Owner" means any person, partnership, corporation, unincorporated association, or other legal entity having any interest in any forest product, any land upon which a forest product is growing, or any land from which a forest product has been removed.

D.  Whoever violates this Section when the value of the forest product is five hundred dollars or less shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.  When the value of the forest product is more than five hundred dollars, the violator shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars, or imprisoned with or without hard labor for not more than ten years, or both.

E.  When the offender has violated this Section by a number of distinct acts, the aggregate of the amount of the forest products involved shall determine the grade of the offense.

Acts 1997, No. 978, §1.