NEW MEXICO REFORMS

Joint and Several Liability Reform: SB 164 (1987): N.M. Stat. Ann.  § 41-3A-1.  Bars application of the rule of joint and several liability in the recovery of all damages, except in cases involving toxic torts, cases in which the relationship of defendants could make one defendant vicariously liable for the acts of others, cases involving the manufacture or sale of a defective product (in these cases the manufacturer and retailer can be held liable for their collective percentage of fault but not the fault of other defendants), and in situations “having a sound basis in public policy.”

Jury Service Reform: SB 240 (2005); Amended N.M. Stat. Ann. § 38-5-10.1; Amended N.M. Stat. Ann. § 38-5-2; Amended N.M. Stat. Ann. § 38-5-3. Provides for: automatic postponement, allowing summoned jurors to reschedule    service within six months of the original date; small business protections, allowing jurors who work for employers with fewer than five employees to postpone service if another employee is summoned within the same time period; leave time protection; and an expansion of juror source lists to include income tax filers.  The legislation includes a hardship standard, defining that an excused juror must demonstrate that participating in their service would (1) be required to abandon another person under the person's care or supervision due to the extreme difficulty of obtaining an appropriate substitute caregiver during the period of jury service; (2) incur costs that would have a substantial adverse impact on the payment of necessary daily living expenses of the person or the person's dependent; or (3) suffer physical hardship that would result in illness or disease.  Hardship would not exist solely because a prospective juror will be absent from employment.

Medical Liability Reform: Damages Limits: N.M. Stat. Ann. § 41-5-6, 41-5-7.  Limits total damages in medical liability cases to $600,000, except for punitive damages and medical care and related benefits.

Medical Liability Reform: Periodic Payment of Future Damages: N.M. Stat. Ann. § 41‑5-7.  Requires juries in medical liability cases to be given a special interrogatory asking if damages are for future medical care.  Requires patients to be furnished with medical care as necessary.