2020 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 47 - Property Law
Article 8 - Owner-Resident Relations
Section 47-8-48 - Prevailing party rights in law suit; civil penalties.

A. If suit is brought by any party to the rental agreement to enforce the terms and conditions of the rental agreement or to enforce any provisions of the Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act, the prevailing party shall be entitled to reasonable attorneys' fees and court costs to be assessed by the court.

B. Any owner who violates a provision of Section 47-8-36 or 47-8-39 NMSA 1978 shall be subject to a civil penalty equal to two times the amount of the monthly rent.

C. Any resident who intentionally violates a provision of Subsection F of Section 47-8-22 NMSA 1978 shall be subject to a civil penalty equal to two times the amount of the monthly rent.

History: 1953 Comp., § 70-7-48, enacted by Laws 1975, ch. 38, § 48; 1995, ch. 195, § 23.

The 1995 amendment, effective July 1, 1995, designated the existing language as Subsection A, and in that subsection, substituted "or to enforce any provisions" for "entered into pursuant to the terms", and substituted "attorneys' " for "attorney's"; and added Subsections B and C.

Determination of reasonable attorney fees. — Where a fire, that was negligently caused by defendant, destroyed plaintiff's personal property in a mobile home that plaintiff rented from defendant; the jury awarded plaintiff $25,000 in compensatory damages; plaintiff sought $70,318 in attorney fees based on the lodestar calculation of time spent on the case and the hourly rate charged by plaintiff's counsel; and on the grounds that plaintiff's attorney fees were almost three times the jury award and that the case involved only property damage and no broader public policy, the district court applied a proportional test and awarded plaintiff $10,000 in attorney fees with an offset of $5,000 for defendant's successful defense of plaintiff's claims for punitive damages, emotional stress damages, and civil penalty damages, the district court abused its discretion because the district court failed to consider the public policy goals of the Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act to encourage compliance with the act and because the district court failed to consider a lodestar analysis or any objective analysis of the facts in determining attorney fees. Behrens v. Gateway Court, L.L.C., 2013-NMCA-097, cert. granted, 2013-NMCERT-009.

Prevailing party. — The "prevailing party" is the party who wins on the merits or on the main issue of the case. Hedicke v. Gunville, 2003-NMCA-032, 133 N.M. 335, 62 P.3d 1217, cert. denied, 133 N.M. 413, 63 P.3d 516.

Assessing attorneys' fees. — Assessing attorneys' fees need not be mechanistic or formalistic, but as governed by, and should be apportioned according to, the facts and circumstances of the case and the extent to which the parties, in fact, prevailed. Hedicke v. Gunville, 2003-NMCA-032, 133 N.M. 335, 62 P.3d 1217, cert. denied, 133 N.M. 413, 63 P.3d 516.

Prevailing parties are entitled to award of reasonable attorney fees. — Where tenants brought action against apartment owner and manager for violations of the New Mexico Unfair Practices Act (UPA), §§ 57-12-1 through § 57-12-26 NMSA 1978, and the New Mexico Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act (UORRA), §§ 47-8-1 through § 47-8-52 NMSA 1978, and where the parties reached a settlement agreement on all issues except attorney fees, plaintiffs were entitled to reasonable attorney fees, notwithstanding the fact that the damage award was small, because plaintiffs successfully prosecuted their UPA and UORRA claims; the amount involved and the results obtained are only one factor among several the court may consider to determine a reasonable attorney fee. Fallen v. GREP Southwest, LLC, 247 F.Supp.3d 1165 (2017).

Law reviews. — For survey, "The Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act," see 6 N.M.L. Rev. 293 (1976).

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 51C C.J.S. Landlord and Tenant §§ 247(2), 250(2).