AI-assisted research summary: The department may issue a stop-sale order, must deliver it to the owner or seller, and the recipient may not sell the commodity or service until a court or the commissioner releases it.
Sec. 13.040. STOP-SALE ORDER. (a) If the department has reason to believe that a commodity is being sold or kept, offered, or exposed for sale in violation of this chapter or that a commodity or service is being sold or offered for sale by or through the use of a weighing or measuring device that is in violation of this chapter, the department may issue and enforce a written or printed order to stop the sale of the commodity or service. The department shall present the order to the owner or custodian of the commodity or seller of the service. The person receiving the order may not sell the commodity or provide the service until discharged by a court under Subsection (b) or until the commissioner finds that the commodity or weighing or measuring device is in compliance with this chapter. (b) The owner or custodian of a commodity or a person selling or offering for sale a service prohibited from sale by an order of the department is entitled to sue in a court of competent jurisdiction where the commodity is found or the service is being sold or offered for sale for a judgment as to the justification of the order and for the discharge of the commodity or service in accordance with the findings of the court. (c) This section does not limit the right of the department to proceed as authorized by other sections of this code. Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 1029, ch. 388, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1981. Amended by: Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 924 (H.B. 1494), Sec. 3.13, eff. September 1, 2013.