Chavez v. Desert Eagle Distributing Co.

Decision Date01 December 2006
Docket NumberNo. 26,261.,26,261.
Citation2007 NMCA 018,151 P.3d 77
PartiesJoseph CHAVEZ, Peggy Chavez, and Janette Baca, individually and as next friend and parent of Katrina Baca, a minor, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. DESERT EAGLE DISTRIBUTING COMPANY OF NEW MEXICO, LLC, a New Mexico limited liability company; Joe G. Maloof and Company, a New Mexico Company, National Distributing Company, Inc., a foreign corporation, Southern Wine & Spirits of New Mexico, Inc., a New Mexico Company, Defendants-Appellees.
CourtCourt of Appeals of New Mexico

Jones, Snead, Wertheim & Wentworth, P.A., Jerry Todd Wertheim, Lee R. Hunt, Santa Fe, NM, Michael G. Rosenberg & Associates, P.C., Michael G. Rosenberg, Albuquerque, NM, for Appellants.

Hatch, Allen & Shepherd, P.A., Edward E. Shepherd, Amy M. Cardwell, Albuquerque, for Appellee Desert Eagle Distributing Company.

Klecan & Childress, Mark J. Klecan, Elaine R. Dailey, Albuquerque, NM, for Appellee Joe G. Maloof and Company.

Riley, Shane & Hale, P.A., Mark J. Riley, Susan R. Johnson, Albuquerque, NM for Appellee National Distributing Company.

Madison, Harbour & Mroz, P.A., Ada B. Priest, Albuquerque, NM for Appellee Southern Wine & Spirits of New Mexico, Inc.

OPINION

PICKARD, Judge.

{1} Plaintiffs appeal from a district court order dismissing their negligence claims with prejudice pursuant to Rule 1-012(B)(6) NMRA. Defendants are four alcohol distributors doing business in the State of New Mexico. At issue is whether Defendants, who sold alcohol to a casino knowing that the casino planned to sell alcohol continuously over a twenty-four-hour period, owe a duty to Plaintiffs, who were injured as a result of an accident caused by a drunk driver who was served alcohol while intoxicated at the casino. Plaintiffs claim that the district court erred in concluding that Defendants did not owe such a duty to Plaintiffs. Because we are convinced that New Mexico negligence law does not contemplate such an expansive application of the concept of duty, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW

{2} As part of a Memorial Day weekend grand opening celebration, the Mescalero Apache Travel Center Casino (Casino) planned to remain open for twenty-four hours a day. The Casino also planned to serve alcohol for twenty-four hours a day during the promotion. On the second day of promotion, a Casino employee, George Starr, arrived at the Casino at approximately 2:00 a.m. While it is unclear whether Starr was actually served alcohol or whether other employees procured alcoholic drinks for him, Starr was intoxicated when he left the Casino in his car around 6:20 a.m. that same morning.

{3} Shortly after leaving the Casino, Starr's car crossed the center median on U.S. 70 near Mescalero, striking a car occupied by Plaintiffs. Starr died at the scene of the accident. At the time of his death, Starr's blood alcohol content was 0.24, and he had traces of cocaine in his bloodstream. All of the occupants of the Plaintiffs' vehicle were seriously injured as a result of the accident.

{4} Plaintiffs subsequently filed suit against the Casino, its insurer, and the four alcohol distributors who supplied alcohol to the Casino during its Memorial Day promotion. The claims against the Casino and its insurer were eventually settled. As against the alcohol distributors, Plaintiffs alleged that Defendants were vicariously liable for the Casino's actions because Defendants and the Casino were involved in a joint enterprise to promote drinking during the Memorial Day promotion. Plaintiffs also alleged that Defendants were negligent in knowingly selling alcohol to the Casino, which was planning to serve alcohol around the clock. The district court dismissed both claims on the ground that the Plaintiffs failed to state a claim for which relief may be granted. On appeal, Plaintiffs challenge only the dismissal of their negligence claim.

DISCUSSION
A. Standard of Review

{5} We review de novo a district court's decision to dismiss a case under Rule 1-012(B)(6). Valdez v. State, 2002-NMSC-028, ¶ 4, 132 N.M. 667, 54 P.3d 71. "Dismissal on 12(B)(6) grounds is appropriate only if Plaintiffs are not entitled to recover under any theory of the facts alleged in their complaint." Callahan v. N.M. Fed'n of Teachers-TVI, 2006-NMSC-010, ¶ 4, 139 N.M. 201, 131 P.3d 51. In reviewing the district court's dismissal of Plaintiffs' negligence claim, we "accept all well-pleaded factual allegations in the complaint as true and resolve all doubts in favor of sufficiency of the complaint." Valdez, 2002-NMSC-028, ¶ 4, 132 N.M. 667, 54 P.3d 71. We must then examine the legal sufficiency of Plaintiffs' negligence claim in order to determine whether Plaintiffs are entitled to relief. See Padwa v. Hadley, 1999-NMCA-067, ¶ 8, 127 N.M. 416, 981 P.2d 1234.

B. Duty in General

{6} In New Mexico, "a negligence claim requires the existence of a duty from a defendant to a plaintiff, breach of that duty, which is typically based upon a standard of reasonable care, and the breach being a proximate cause and cause in fact of the plaintiff's damages." Herrera v. Quality Pontiac, 2003-NMSC-018, ¶ 6, 134 N.M. 43, 73 P.3d 181; see also Solorzano v. Bristow, 2004-NMCA-136, ¶ 21, 136 N.M. 658, 103 P.3d 582. At issue in the present matter is whether Defendants owed a duty to Plaintiffs with respect to the sale of alcohol to the Casino as part of its Memorial Day promotion.

{7} "Duty . . . defines the legal obligations of one party toward another and limits the reach of potential liability." Calkins v. Cox Estates, 110 N.M. 59, 62 n. 1, 792 P.2d 36, 39 n. 1 (1990). In the absence of a legal duty, there is "no general duty to protect others from harm." Johnstone v. City of Albuquerque, 2006-NMCA-119, ¶ 7, 140 N.M. 596, 145 P.3d 76. The question of whether Defendants owed Plaintiffs a duty in the case at bar is a question of law to be determined by the court. Solorzano, 2004-NMCA-136, ¶ 21, 136 N.M. 658, 103 P.3d 582.

{8} "[A] duty may be established by statute or common law." Spencer v. Health Force, Inc., 2005-NMSC-002, ¶ 11, 137 N.M. 64, 107 P.3d 504. The first step in determining whether a duty exists in a particular case is to examine whether the legislature has spoken on the issue. Herrera, 2003-NMSC-018, ¶ 11, 134 N.M. 43, 73 P.3d 181; see also Torres v. State, 119 N.M. 609 612, 894 P.2d 386, 389 (1995) ("With deference always to constitutional principles, it is the particular domain of the legislature, as the voice of the people, to make public policy."). If the legislature is silent on the issue or statutory law otherwise counsels against finding that a duty exists, the court must then consider whether the common law supports imposing a duty in a particular case. See Herrera, 2003-NMSC-018, ¶ 14, 134 N.M. 43, 73 P.3d 181 ("Because we conclude that the Legislature has not articulated a statutory duty, we next determine whether a common law duty extends from Defendant to Plaintiffs."); Vigil v. State Auditor's Office, 2005-NMCA-096, ¶ 16, 138 N.M. 63, 116 P.3d 854 ("Whether a person owes a duty is a question of policy determined by the courts when the legislature has not spoken.").

{9} In New Mexico, the question of whether a common law duty exists requires consideration of both foreseeability and policy. Herrera, 2003-NMSC-018, ¶ 20, 134 N.M. 43, 73 P.3d 181 ("This Court has consistently relied on the principle of foreseeability, along with policy concerns, to determine whether a defendant owed a duty to a particular plaintiff or class of plaintiffs."); see also Johnstone, 2006-NMCA-119, ¶ 9, 140 N.M. 596, 145 P.3d 76 ("Foreseeability of injury is not the sole consideration in establishing a duty, since a person's duty to another is also tempered by policy considerations."). We observe that although foreseeability and policy are both important considerations in a duty analysis, "the overarching question for the Court is whether issues of policy trump foreseeability and preclude imposing a duty in a particular case." Herrera, 2003-NMSC-018, ¶ 20 n. 2, 134 N.M. 43, 73 P.3d 181. Thus, the existence of a common law duty "is not merely a matter of determining whether a particular plaintiff, a particular event, and a particular injury are foreseeable," since we must also ask "whether the obligation of the defendant is one to which the law will give recognition and effect." Madrid v. Lincoln County Med. Ctr., 121 N.M. 133, 139, 909 P.2d 14, 20 (Ct.App. 1995) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted), aff'd, 1996-NMSC-049, 122 N.M. 269, 923 P.2d 1154.

{10} In the instant matter, the district court concluded that Defendants did not owe Plaintiffs a duty because the harm to Plaintiffs was not foreseeable and because finding a duty under the circumstances of the case would necessarily require alcohol distributors to enforce laws relating to the sale of alcohol, a result not contemplated by statutory or common law. Accordingly, we first discuss whether Defendants owed Plaintiffs a statutory duty with respect the sale of alcohol to the Casino. Second, we discuss whether a common law duty exists, considering issues of both foreseeability and policy. We conclude that Defendants did not owe Plaintiffs a duty, and we affirm the decision of the district court dismissing the case under Rule 1-012(B)(6).

1. Defendants Did Not Owe Plaintiffs a Statutory Duty

{11} We first address Plaintiffs' argument that the Liquor Control Act, which is interspersed throughout NMSA 1978, §§ 60-3A-1 to -8A-19 (1981, as amended through 2005), creates a duty of reasonable care on behalf of Defendants. See Herrera, 2003-NMSC-018, ¶ 11, 134 N.M. 43, 73 P.3d 181. According to Section 60-7A-1 of the Liquor Control Act, except for special rules for Sunday sales and service,

A. Alcoholic beverages shall be sold, served and consumed on licensed premises only during the follow hours and days:

(1) on Mondays from 7:00 a.m. until midnight;

(2) on other...

To continue reading

Request your trial
27 cases
  • Morris v. Giant Four Corners, Inc.
    • United States
    • New Mexico Supreme Court
    • July 19, 2021
    ...how they must conduct themselves to avoid liability. See id. ; Chavez v. Desert Eagle Distrib. Co. of N.M. , 2007-NMCA-018, ¶ 29, 141 N.M. 116, 151 P.3d 77 (holding that alcohol distributors were not liable for third parties’ injuries when the casino conformed with local laws and ordinances......
  • United Tort Claimants v. Quorum Health Res., LLC (In re Otero Cnty. Hosp. Ass'n, Inc.)
    • United States
    • U.S. Bankruptcy Court — District of New Mexico
    • March 18, 2015
    ...to determine whether a defendant owed a duty to a particular plaintiff or class of plaintiffs.”); Chavez v. Desert Eagle Distrib. Co., 141 N.M. 116, 120, 151 P.3d 77, 81 (Ct.App.2006), overruled by Del Sol, 326 P.3d 465 (2014) (“In New Mexico, the question of whether a common law duty exist......
  • Salopek v. Friedman
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of New Mexico
    • June 4, 2013
    ...P.3d 76 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted); see Chavez v. Desert Eagle Distrib. Co. of N.M., LLC, 2007–NMCA–018, ¶ 17, 141 N.M. 116, 151 P.3d 77 (“The risk must be actual and perceptible, not speculative.” (internal quotation marks and citation omitted)). Thus, we frame the que......
  • United Tort Claimants v. Quorum Health Res., LLC (In re Otero Cnty. Hosp. Ass'n, Inc.)
    • United States
    • U.S. Bankruptcy Court — District of New Mexico
    • February 27, 2015
    ...to determine whether a defendant owed a duty to a particular plaintiff or class of plaintiffs."); Chavez v. Desert Eagle Distrib. Co., 141 N.M. 116, 120, 151 P.3d 77, 81 (Ct.App. 2006), overruled by Del Sol, 326 P.3d 465 (2014) ("In New Mexico, the question of whether a common law duty exis......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT