Voss

Food and Agricultural Code section 56707 requires the Director of the Department of Food and Agriculture (the Director) to pay compensation out of a specified fund to farm products creditors who suffer losses when a licensed processor, broker, merchant, reseller, or dealer defaults on its obligations. Section 56708 places a ceiling on the amount of such payments. Appellants Jacobs, Malcolm & Burtt, Washington Vegetable Company, United Melon Distributors, and What A Tomato, Inc., brought this proceeding challenging the Director’s allowance of certain claims in amounts below the statutory máximums. Appellants petitioned the superior court for a writ of mandate to compel respondent to pay the full amount of the claims up to the limits specified in section 56708. The court found the governing statutes ambiguous, but resolved the ambiguity adversely to appellants, concluding that the statutes permit the Director to allow smaller amounts under the circumstances shown by the record. We agree with this analysis, and affirm the judgment denying the petition for writ of mandate.

Background

In 1977 the Legislature created the Farm Products Trust Fund as part of the “Department of…