N.M. Stat. » Chapter 55 — Uniform Commercial Code
New Mexico Statutes

N.M. Stat. § 55-9-505 (2026)

Filing and compliance with other statutes and treaties for

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section NM-LEGnmonesource.com JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

consignments, leases, other bailments and other transactions. (a) A consignor, lessor, or other bailor of goods, a licensor or a buyer of a payment intangible or promissory note may file a financing statement, or may comply with a statute, regulation or treaty described in Subsection (a) of Section 55-9-311 NMSA 1978, using the terms "consignor", "consignee", "lessor", "lessee", "bailor", "bailee", "licensor", "licensee", "owner", "registered owner", "buyer", "seller" or words of similar import, instead of the terms "secured party" and "debtor".

(b) Sections 55-9-501 through 55-9-526 NMSA 1978 apply to the filing of a financing statement under Subsection (a) of this section and, as appropriate, to compliance that is equivalent to filing a financing statement under Subsection (b) of Section 55-9-311 NMSA 1978, but the filing or compliance is not of itself a factor in determining whether the collateral secures an obligation. If it is determined for another reason that the collateral secures an obligation, a security interest held by the consignor, lessor, bailor, licensor, owner or buyer which attaches to the collateral is perfected by the filing or compliance.

History: 1978 Comp., § 55-9-505, enacted by Laws 2001, ch. 139, § 76.

OFFICIAL COMMENTS

UCC Official Comments © by ALI & the NCCUSL. Reproduced with permission of the PEB for the UCC. All rights reserved.

1. Source. Former section 9-408.

2. Precautionary Filing. Occasionally, doubts arise concerning whether a transaction creates a relationship to which this article or its filing provisions apply. For example, questions may arise over whether a "lease" of equipment in fact creates a security interest or whether the "sale" of payment intangibles in fact secures an obligation, thereby requiring action to perfect the security interest. This section, which derives from former section 9-408, affords the option of filing of a financing statement with appropriate changes of terminology but without affecting the substantive question of classification of the transaction.

3. Changes from Former Section 9-408. This section expands the rule of former Section 9-408 [55-9-408 NMSA 1978] to embrace more generally other bailments and transactions, as well as sales transactions, primarily sales of payment intangibles and promissory notes. It provides the same benefits for compliance with a statute or treaty described in Section 9-311(a) [55-9-311(a) NMSA 1978] that former Section 9-408 [55- 9-408 NMSA 1978] provided for filing, in connection with the use of terms such as "lessor," consignor," etc. The references to "owner" and "registered owner" are intended to address, for example, the situation where a putative lessor is the registered owner of an automobile covered by a certificate of title and the transaction is determined to create a security interest. Although this section provides that the security interest is perfected, the relevant certificate-of-title statute may expressly provide to the contrary or may be ambiguous. If so, it may be necessary or advisable to amend the certificate-of- title statute to ensure that perfection of the security interest will be achieved.

As did former Section 1-201 [55-1-201 NMSA 1978], former Article 9 referred to transactions, including leases and consignments, "intended as security." This misleading phrase created the erroneous impression that the parties to a transaction can dictate how the law will classify it (e.g., as a bailment or as a security interest) and thus affect the rights of third parties. This Article deletes the phrase wherever it appears. Subsection (b) expresses the principle more precisely by referring to a security interest that "secures an obligation."

4. Consignments. Although a "true" consignment is a bailment, the filing and priority provisions of former Article 9 applied to "true" consignments. See former Sections 2- 326(3), 9-114 [55-2-326(3), 55-9-114 NMSA 1978]. A consignment "intended as security" created a security interest that was in all respects subject to former Article 9. This Article subsumes most true consignments under the rubric of "security interest." See Sections 9-102 [55-9-102 NMSA 1978] (definition of "consignment"), 9-109(a)(4) [55-9-109(a)(4) NMSA 1978], 1-201(b)(35) [55-1-201(b)(35) NMSA 1978] (definition of "security interest"). Nevertheless, it maintains the distinction between a (true) "consignment," as to which only certain aspects of Article 9 apply, and a so-called consignment that actually "secures an obligation," to which Article 9 applies in full. The revisions to this section reflect the change in terminology.

ANNOTATIONS

Repeals and reenactments. — Laws 2001, ch. 139, § 76 repealed former 55-9-505 NMSA 1978, as amended by Laws 1985, ch. 193, § 37, and enacted a new section, effective July 1, 2001.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases, 1979–1991 · leading case: Begay v. Foutz & Tanner, Inc., 619 P.2d 551 (N.M. Ct. App. 1979).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Begay v. Foutz & Tanner, Inc., 619 P.2d 551 (N.M. Ct. App. 1979). · cites it 30× “Both complained, in separate suits below, that when they defaulted in payment of the loans collateralized by their pawned jewelry, defendant attempted to retain the collateral pursuant to § 505 of the Uniform Commercial Code (§ 55-9-505, N.M.S.A. 1978), instead of proceeding…”
Wing Pawn Shop v. Taxation & Revenue Dep't, 809 P.2d 649 (N.M. Ct. App. 1991). · cites it 6× “Under this particular choice, taxpayer would have the right to claim any deficiency or an obligation to return any surplus after the sale.”
Michel v. J's Foods, Inc., 661 P.2d 474 (N.M. 1983). · cites it 26× “Whether the transfer of the corporation’s assets to defendant Gozard, pursuant to Section 55-9-505(2), N.M.S.A.1978, is in violation of the Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act.”
Reeves v. Foutz & Tanner, Inc., 617 P.2d 149 (N.M. 1980). · cites it 10× “The question we are presented with is whether a secured party who sends a notice of intent to retain collateral, in conformance with Section 55-9-505, N.M.S.A. 1978 of the Uniform Commercial Code, may sell the collateral in its regular course of business without complying with…”
Kimura v. Wauford, 715 P.2d 451 (N.M. 1986). · cites it 6× “The defendant argues that the plaintiffs must either retain the collateral in satisfaction of the debt or dispose of it according to NMSA 1978, Section 55-9-505 (Cum.Supp.1985). We do not agree.”
N.M. Stat. § 55-9-505(2): 4 cases
Begay v. Foutz & Tanner, Inc., 619 P.2d 551 (N.M. Ct. App. 1979). “Both complained, in separate suits below, that when they defaulted in payment of the loans collateralized by their pawned jewelry, defendant attempted to retain the collateral pursuant to § 505 of the Uniform Commercial Code (§ 55-9-505, N.M.S.A. 1978), instead of proceeding…”
Wing Pawn Shop v. Taxation & Revenue Dep't, 809 P.2d 649 (N.M. Ct. App. 1991). “Under this particular choice, taxpayer would have the right to claim any deficiency or an obligation to return any surplus after the sale.”
Michel v. J's Foods, Inc., 661 P.2d 474 (N.M. 1983). “Whether the transfer of the corporation’s assets to defendant Gozard, pursuant to Section 55-9-505(2), N.M.S.A.1978, is in violation of the Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act.”
Reeves v. Foutz & Tanner, Inc., 617 P.2d 149 (N.M. 1980). “The question we are presented with is whether a secured party who sends a notice of intent to retain collateral, in conformance with Section 55-9-505, N.M.S.A. 1978 of the Uniform Commercial Code, may sell the collateral in its regular course of business without complying with…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.