Chapter 57 — Chapter 57

Any person desiring to conduct a distress merchandise sale shall make a written application verified under oath to the municipal governing body if the sale is to be held within the boundaries of an incorporated municipality or to the county governing body if the sale is to be hel…

license. The municipal or county governing body may upon the filing of an application investigate the applicant and examine his affairs in relation to the proposed sale and may examine the inventory and records of the applicant. No license shall be issued if it is found that: A. …

If the application which has been submitted complies with the provisions of the Distress Sales Act and if the required license fee has been paid, the municipal or county governing body shall issue the applicant a license to advertise and conduct the sale described in the applicat…

A. The fee for any license issued pursuant to the Distress Sales Act shall be fifty dollars ($50.00) or 1/4 of 1% of the inventory cost value of the goods, wares or merchandise to be sold at the sale, whichever is more. In no case, however, shall the license fee exceed two hundre…

The municipal or county governing body shall revoke any license issued pursuant to the Distress Sales Act if he finds that the license has: A. violated any provision of the Distress Sales Act; or B. violated any condition of the license; or C. made any material misstatement in th…

The filing of an application for a license, the contents of the application and the issuance of the license shall be confidential information and no disclosure thereof shall be made except that which is necessary in the administration of this act [57-10-1 to 57- 10-12 NMSA 1978].…

persons prohibited.] It shall be unlawful for any person who is engaged, either directly or indirectly, in the manufacture or distribution of motor vehicles, to sell or enter into a contract to sell motor vehicles, whether patented or unpatented, to any person who is engaged or i…

Any contract or agreement in violation of the provisions of this act [57-11-1 to 57-11- 13 NMSA 1978] shall be absolutely void and shall not be enforceable either in law or equity. History: Laws 1937, ch. 75, § 10; 1941 Comp., § 68-1610; 1953 Comp., § 64-31-10.

The provisions hereof shall be held cumulative of each other and of all other laws in any way affecting them now in force in this state. History: Laws 1937, ch. 75, § 11; 1941 Comp., § 68-1611; 1953 Comp., § 64-31-11.

In addition to the criminal and civil penalties herein provided, any person who is injured in his business or property by any other person or corporation or association or partnership, by reason of anything forbidden or declared to be unlawful by this act [57- 11-1 to 57-11-13 NM…

A. The term "person," as used in this act [57-11-1 to 57-11-13 NMSA 1978], means any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, association, trustee, receiver or assignee for the benefit of creditors. B. The terms "sell," "sold," "buy" and "purchase," as used in this act, includ…

persons; prima facie evidence of violation.] Any threat, expressed or implied, made directly or indirectly to any person engaged in the business of selling motor vehicles at retail in this state by any person engaged, either directly or indirectly, in the manufacture or distribut…

certain persons; prima facie evidence of violation.] Any threat, expressed or implied, made directly or indirectly, to any person engaged in the business of selling motor vehicles at retail in this state by any person, or any agent of any person, who is engaged in the business of…

financing sales prohibited.] It shall be unlawful for any person who is engaged, directly or indirectly, in the manufacture or wholesale distribution only of motor vehicles, whether patented or unpatented, to pay or give, or contract to pay or give anything or service of value to…

payments tending to eliminate competition prohibited.] It shall be unlawful for any person who is engaged in the business of financing the purchase or sale of motor vehicles or of buying conditional sales contracts, chattel mortgages or leases on motor vehicles sold at retail wit…

business.] It shall be unlawful for any person who hereafter so accepts or receives, either directly or indirectly, any payment, thing or service of value, as set forth in Section 5 [57- 11-5 NMSA 1978] of this act, or hereafter so contracts, either directly or indirectly, to rec…

For a violation of any of the provisions of this act [57-11-1 to 57-11-13 NMSA 1978] by any corporation or association mentioned herein, it shall be the duty of the attorney general or the district attorney of the proper county, to institute proper suits or quo warranto proceedin…

license to do business in state.] Every foreign corporation, as well as every foreign association, exercising any of the powers, franchises or functions of a corporation in this state, violating any of the provisions of this act [57-11-1 to 57-11-13 NMSA 1978], is hereby denied t…

Any person who violates any of the provisions of this act [57-11-1 to 57-11-13 NMSA 1978], any person who is a party to any agreement or understanding, or to any contract prescribing any condition prohibited by this act, and any employee, agent or officer of any such person who s…

Chapter 57, Article 12 NMSA 1978 may be cited as the "Unfair Practices Act". History: 1953 Comp., § 49-15-1, enacted by Laws 1967, ch. 268, § 1; 2003, ch. 167, § 8; 2003, ch. 168, § 1.

A. A person likely to be damaged by an unfair or deceptive trade practice or by an unconscionable trade practice of another may be granted an injunction against it under the principles of equity and on terms that the court considers reasonable. Proof of monetary damage, loss of p…

In any action brought under Section 57-12-8 NMSA 1978, if the court finds that a person is willfully using or has willfully used a method, act or practice declared unlawful by the Unfair Practices Act, the attorney general, upon petition to the court, may recover, on behalf of th…

A. Whenever the attorney general has reason to believe that any person may be in possession, custody or control of an original or copy of any book, record, report, memorandum, paper, communication, tabulation, map, chart, photograph, mechanical transcription or other tangible doc…

The attorney general is empowered to issue and file as required by law all regulations necessary to implement and enforce any provision of the Unfair Practices Act. History: 1953 Comp., § 49-15-11, enacted by Laws 1967, ch. 268, § 10 [10A].

The Unfair Practices Act neither enlarges nor diminishes the rights of parties in private litigation. History: 1953 Comp., § 49-15-12, enacted by Laws 1967, ch. 268, § 11.

In order to promote the uniform administration of the Unfair Practices Act in New Mexico, the attorney general is to be responsible for its enforcement, but he may in appropriate cases delegate this authority to the district attorneys of the state and when this is done, the distr…

The Unfair Practices Act does not apply to publishers, broadcasters, printers or other persons engaged in the dissemination of information or reproduction of printed or pictorial matters who publish, broadcast or reproduce material without knowledge of its deceptive or unconscion…

Whenever the attorney general has reasonable belief that any person is using or is about to use any method, act or practice which is declared by the Unfair Practices Act to be unlawful, and whenever the attorney general has reasonable belief that any such person is about to remov…

The court may require any such person to post a ne exeat bond conditioned on such persons [person's] appearance at all hearings on the matter at issue. History: 1953 Comp., § 49-15-16, enacted by Laws 1971, ch. 164, § 2.

No such person shall be incarcerated for failure to post said ne exeat bond for longer than 72 hours, Sundays excepted, without the benefit of a hearing before the court setting said bond. Such hearing shall be held as soon as possible after incarceration. History: 1953 Comp., § …

As used in the Unfair Practices Act: A. “person" means, where applicable, natural persons, corporations, trusts, partnerships, associations, cooperative associations, clubs, companies, firms, joint ventures or syndicates; B. “seller-initiated telephone sale" means a sale, lease o…

The sureties upon any bond, shall in all cases justify as to their sufficiency; and the clerk of the district court taking such bond shall certify his approval of the same, as to form and the manner of its execution and to the sufficiency of the sureties thereon. History: 1953 Co…

A. In connection with a door-to-door sale, it constitutes an unfair or deceptive trade practice for a seller to: (1) fail to furnish the buyer with a fully completed receipt or copy of a contract pertaining to the sale at the time of its execution that is in the same language as …

systems for sales restricted; disclosure and other requirements established for authorized telephone solicitation sales; prohibited telephone solicitation. A. A person shall not utilize an automated telephone dialing or push-button or tone- activated address signaling system with…

A. No person conducting business in this state shall transmit by facsimile or cause to be transmitted by facsimile an unsolicited advertisement unless: (1) the person establishes a toll-free telephone number that a recipient of the unsolicited advertisement may call to notify the…

A. Any person who receives an unsolicited advertisement by facsimile or email may bring an action against the sender of the unsolicited advertisement to recover actual damages, including loss of profits, or statutory damages equal to the greater of twenty- five dollars ($25.00) f…

action. A. A person shall not reference the trade name or trademark of a lender or a trade name or trademark confusingly similar to that of a lender in a solicitation offering services or products without the consent of the lender, unless the solicitation clearly and conspicuousl…

A. As used in this section, "gift certificate" means a writing identified as a gift certificate that is not redeemable in cash and is usable in its face amount in lieu of cash in exchange for goods or services supplied by a seller, but does not include a gift certificate useable …

A. As used in this section: (1) "applicant" means a person who submits an application to rent a dwelling unit to the owner or agrees to act as a guarantor or cosigner on a rental agreement; (2) "dwelling unit" means a structure, mobile home or the part of a structure, including a…

prohibited. Unfair or deceptive trade practices and unconscionable trade practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce are unlawful. History: 1953 Comp., § 49-15-3, enacted by Laws 1967, ch. 268, § 3; 1971, ch. 240, § 2.

A. It shall be an unlawful practice within the meaning of the Unfair Practices Act for any person to: (1) remove the owner's container from the owner's or a recipient's premises or parking area without the permission of the owner or recipient; (2) possess or use the owner's conta…

It is the intent of the legislature that in construing Section 3 [57-12-3 NMSA 1978] of the Unfair Practices Act the courts to the extent possible will be guided by the interpretations given by the federal trade commission and the federal courts. History: 1953 Comp., § 49-15-4, e…

The use or employment of any chain referral sales technique, plan, arrangement or agreement whereby the buyer is induced to purchase merchandise or services upon the seller's representation or promise that if the buyer will furnish the seller names of other prospective buyers of …

A. The willful misrepresentation of the age or condition of a motor vehicle by any person, including regrooving tires or performing chassis repair, without informing the purchaser of the vehicle that the regrooving or chassis repair has been performed, is an unlawful practice wit…

Nothing in the Unfair Practices Act shall apply to actions or transactions expressly permitted under laws administered by a regulatory body of New Mexico or the United States, but all actions or transactions forbidden by the regulatory body, and about which the regulatory body re…

A. Whenever the attorney general has reasonable belief that any person is using, has used or is about to use any method, act or practice which is declared by the Unfair Practices Act to be unlawful, and that proceedings would be in the public interest, he may bring an action in t…

A. In lieu of beginning or continuing an action pursuant to the Unfair Practices Act, the attorney general may accept a written assurance of discontinuance of any practice in violation of the Unfair Practices Act from the person who has engaged in the unlawful practice. The attor…

History: Laws 2003, ch. 167, § 1; repealed by Laws 2003, ch. 167, § 11.

History: Laws 2003, ch. 167, § 2; repealed by Laws 2003, ch. 167, § 11.

History: Laws 2003, ch. 167, § 3; repealed by Laws 2003, ch. 167, § 11.