Roth v. Thompson, 19708
| Docket Nº | No. 19708 |
| Citation | 113 N.M. 331, 825 P.2d 1241, 1992 NMSC 11 |
| Case Date | January 23, 1992 |
| Court | Supreme Court of New Mexico |
Page 1241
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
Carolyn THOMPSON, Leland Peach, Carolyn Sue Thompson
Revocable Trust, Defendants-Appellees.
[113 NM 331] Campbell, Carr, Berge & Sheridan, P.A., William P. Slattery, Santa Fe, for plaintiff-appellant.
Page 1242
[113 NM 332] Sommer, Udall, Othmer, Hardwick & Garcia, P.A., Jack N. Hardwick, Santa Fe, for defendants-appellees.
FRANCHINI, Justice.
In this appeal we consider the statutory proviso that contractors comply with licensing requirements as a prerequisite to utilizing the courts to file or foreclose mechanic's liens. Plaintiff Roth was the qualifying party for a GS-30 license held by Rocky Mountain Plastering until January 1982, at which time he was deleted as the qualifying party and the license expired. A GS-30 license holder may perform plastering, stuccoing, and lathing services.
In November 1987, defendants Peach and Thompson (Thompson Defendants) entered into a contract with LaFortune for construction of a residence on real property owned by the Carolyn Sue Thompson Revocable Trust. In April 1988, LaFortune subcontracted with Roth to perform plastering work on the Thompson residence. Roth performed under the subcontract until July 1988, at which time LaFortune ceased work on the residence due to a dispute with the Thompson Defendants.
During June and July of 1988, Roth sat for and passed the tests required for a new GS-30 license. On August 9, 1988, the Construction Industries Division of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department (CID) received an application for a GS-30 license from Roth for a business known as Bill Roth Plastering. On August 29, 1988, the CID issued a GS-30 license to Bill Roth Plastering with Roth as the qualifying party.
Roth filed a Claim of Lien for $6,750.00 upon the Thompson residence on August 9, 1988, the same day his license application was received by CID. In August 1989, Roth filed an action in district court against the Thompson Defendants seeking to foreclose the lien. On the Thompson Defendants' motion, the district court entered summary judgment against Roth, finding no genuine issue of material fact to preclude a holding that Roth did not substantially comply with NMSA 1978, Section 60-13-30 (Repl.Pamp.1989).
On appeal Roth argues: (1) the trial court applied the incorrect legal standard in determining he had not substantially complied with Section 60-13-30; and (2) the trial court erred in determining there was no genuine issue of material fact as to whether he had substantially complied with the licensing act. We affirm the trial court's grant of summary judgment.
Whether the trial court applied the correct legal standard in determining Roth had not substantially complied with Section 60-13-30.
Section 60-13-30 provides:
A. No contractor shall act as an agent or bring or maintain any action in any court of the state for the collection of compensation for the performance of any act for which a license is required by the Construction Industries Licensing Act * * * without alleging and proving that such contractor was a duly licensed contractor at the time the alleged cause of action arose.
B. Any contractor operating without a license as required by the Construction Industries Licensing Act shall have no right to file or claim any mechanic's lien as now provided by law.
The chief aim of statutory construction is to give effect to the intent of the legislature. In re Rehabilitation of Western Investors Life Ins. Co., 100 N.M. 370, 373, 671 P.2d 31, 34 (1983). We recently discussed the purpose of the Construction Industries Licensing Act, NMSA 1978, Sections 60-13-1 to 60-13-59 (Repl.Pamp.1984) (the Act), in Mascarenas v. Jaramillo, 111 N.M. 410, 806 P.2d 59 (1991). In Mascarenas, we determined:
[t]he object sought to be accomplished by the Act is a healthy, ordered market in
Page 1243
[113 NM 333] which consumers may contract with competent, reliable construction contractors who have passed the scrutiny of a licensing division. The wrong to be remedied is the exploitation of the public by incompetent and unscrupulous contractors who are unable or unwilling to obtain a license.Id. at 413, 806 P.2d at 62. In order to protect the public, our legislature has chosen to harshly penalize unlicensed contractors by denying them access to the courts to collect compensation for work performed. Triple B Corp. v. Brown & Root, Inc., 106 N.M. 99, 102, 739 P.2d 968, 971 (1987). This is true even with respect to work which has been fully and satisfactorily performed. Id. at 101, 739 P.2d at 970.
This court, however, has been reluctant to construe the licensing statute more broadly than necessary to accomplish the purpose of the Act. In Peck v. Ives, 84 N.M. 62, 499 P.2d 684 (1972), we characterized the statutory provisions then in place, which were identical to the provisions of Section 60-13-30, as bar-to-suit provisions and, following Latipac, Inc. v. Superior Court of Marin County, ...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Garcia-Montoya v. State Treasurer's Office, No. 25,668.
...is proper if there are no genuine issues of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Roth v. Thompson, 113 N.M. 331, 334, 825 P.2d 1241, 1244 (1992); accord Rule 1-056(C) NMRA 2000. In order to rule on a motion for summary judgment under Rule 1-056, courts m......
-
JBI Elec. Sys., Inc. v. KW AQE, LLC, No. CIV 19-0614 JB/SCY
...Roth v. Thompson, JBI Electrical waited too long to obtain a new license to satisfy substantial compliance. See JMD Reply at 2-3 (citing 113 N.M. 331, 825 P.2d 1241 (1992)). JMD Construction concludes, therefore, that because JBI Electrical "through its agent, knew of the lapse in its licen......
-
1999 -NMSC- 5, New Mexico Right to Choose/NARAL v. Johnson, No. 23,239
...is proper if there are no genuine issues of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Roth v. Thompson, 113 N.M. 331, 334, 825 P.2d 1241, 1244 (1992); see also Rule 1-056(C) NMRA 1998. On appeal, the Department contends that the district court erred in enteri......
-
Young v. City of Albuquerque, No. CIV 13–1046 JB/RHS.
...of contraband. The main purpose of construing statutes is to determine the meaning and intent of the legislature. Roth v. Thompson, 113 N.M. 331, 332, 825 P.2d 1241, 1242 (1991 [1992] ). In State ex rel. Dep't of Public Safety v. One 1986 Peterbilt Tractor, the New Mexico Court of Appeals h......
-
1999 -NMSC- 5, New Mexico Right to Choose/NARAL v. Johnson, 23,239
...is proper if there are no genuine issues of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Roth v. Thompson, 113 N.M. 331, 334, 825 P.2d 1241, 1244 (1992); see also Rule 1-056(C) NMRA 1998. On appeal, the Department contends that the district court erred in enteri......
-
Garcia-Montoya v. State Treasurer's Office, 25,668.
...is proper if there are no genuine issues of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Roth v. Thompson, 113 N.M. 331, 334, 825 P.2d 1241, 1244 (1992); accord Rule 1-056(C) NMRA 2000. In order to rule on a motion for summary judgment under Rule 1-056, courts m......
-
Romero v. Philip Morris Inc., 31,433.
...be proper when the moving party has met its initial burden of establishing a prima facie case for summary judgment. See Roth v. Thompson, 113 N.M. 331, 334-35, 825 P.2d 1241, 1244-45 (1992). "By a prima facie showing is meant such evidence as is sufficient in law to raise a presumption of f......
-
Young v. City of Albuquerque, CIV 13–1046 JB/RHS.
...of contraband. The main purpose of construing statutes is to determine the meaning and intent of the legislature. Roth v. Thompson, 113 N.M. 331, 332, 825 P.2d 1241, 1242 (1991 [1992] ). In State ex rel. Dep't of Public Safety v. One 1986 Peterbilt Tractor, the New Mexico Court of Appeals h......