AI Generated Opinion Summaries

This summary was computer-generated without any editorial revision. It is not official, has not been checked for accuracy, and is NOT citable.

Facts

• In 2007, property owners near the Town of Mesilla expressed interest in annexation, leading to Mesilla adopting Ordinance 2007-13, which annexed approximately 788 acres. However, Barbara Waggoner and others opposed the annexation, arguing it was carried out improperly according to statutory requirements (paras 2-4).

Procedural History

• District Court of Doña Ana County, January 2009: The court dismissed Waggoner’s complaint, finding Mesilla acted legally and constitutionally in adopting Ordinance 2007-13 (para 5).

Parties' Submissions

• Plaintiffs-Appellants: Argued that Ordinance 2007-13 was void due to non-compliance with procedural mandates of Section 3-7-17.1, specifically that the annexation did not occur within the required thirty to sixty days after receiving the petition (paras 6, 9).
• Defendants-Appellees: Contended that the term "after receiving the petition" referred to the date the petitions were received back from the County with comments, thus within the statutory timeframe (para 11).

Legal Issues

• Whether the annexation process, specifically the adoption of Ordinance 2007-13, complied with the procedural requirements of NMSA 1978, Section 3-7-17.1 (2003) (para 1).

Disposition

• The Court of Appeals of New Mexico held that the annexation was invalid due to failure to comply with the procedural requirements of Section 3-7-17.1(B)(2), specifically the timing of the ordinance's approval (para 17).

Reasons

• The Court, per Chief Judge Celia Foy Castillo, with Judges Michael E. Vigil and Linda M. Vanzi concurring, found that the term "after receiving the petition" unambiguously referred to the date Mesilla first received the petition from the petitioners, not the date it was received back from the County with comments. This interpretation was based on the plain language of the statute and the principle that words in a statute are to be given their ordinary meanings. The Court concluded that Mesilla's failure to approve the annexation within sixty days of receiving the petition rendered the annexation invalid. The Court also found the doctrine of substantial compliance inapplicable in this case, distinguishing it from previous cases where the doctrine was applied (paras 8-17).