A. A landowner shall not be held liable for damages arising out of off-highway motor
vehicle-related accidents or injuries occurring on the landowner's lands in which the
landowner is not directly involved unless the entry on the lands is subject to payment of
a fee.
B. It is unlawful to operate an off-highway motor vehicle on private lands or roads
except with the express permission of the landowner or leaseholder of the lands.
History: 1953 Comp., § 64-42-13, enacted by Laws 1975, ch. 240, § 13; recompiled as
1953 Comp., § 64-3-1013, by Laws 1978, ch. 35, § 209; 1985, ch. 189, § 13; 2005, ch.
325, § 16.
ANNOTATIONS
Compiler's notes. — As enacted, this section contained a section heading which read
"Liability; local registration prohibited".
The 2005 amendment, effective January 1, 2006, provided in Subsection B that it is
unlawful to operate an off-highway vehicle on private roads without the permission of
the landowner or leaseholder of the land.
Equal Protection Clause considerations. — The operation of off-highway
motorcycles is a potentially dangerous activity and the singling out of these vehicles in
Section 66-3-1013 NMSA 1978 is not precluded by the Equal Protection Clause.
Vandolsen v. Constructors, Inc., 1984-NMCA-023, 101 N.M. 109, 678 P.2d 1184, cert.
denied, 101 N.M. 77, 678 P.2d 705.
This section does not confer recreational usage immunity on government
landowners. Martin v. Middle Rio Grande Conservancy Dist., 2008-NMCA-151, 145
N.M. 151, 194 P.3d 766.
Exception for willful or malicious conduct. — The words "directly involved" in this
provision refer to "willful" or "malicious" conduct by landowners proximately causing
injury to individuals who have entered upon their property. Summary judgment against
plaintiff was therefore proper when there were no facts indicating that defendants'
actions causing plaintiff's injury were "willful" or "malicious" in nature. Matthews v. State,
1991-NMCA-116, 113 N.M. 291, 825 P.2d 224.
Utter disregard for consequences. — If a landowner performs intentional acts "in utter
disregard for the consequences," the landowner is not entitled to immunity. When a
defendant claims immunity, plaintiffs are therefore not required to prove deliberate
intention or purpose to harm in order to rebut the claim. Rivero v. Lovington Country
Club, Inc., 1997-NMCA-114, 124 N.M. 273, 949 P.2d 287.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
7
cases (
1 in the last 5 years), 1984–2021 · leading case:
Matthews v. State, 825 P.2d 224 (N.M. Ct. App. 1991).
Matthews v. State, 825 P.2d 224 (N.M. Ct. App. 1991).
· cites it 33× “We address two issues: (1) whether the district court properly granted summary judgment against the corporation and Ed Martines, individually, relying on the provisions of the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Act, NMSA 1978, Section 66-3-1013 (Repl.Pamp.1989) (statute); and (2) whether…”
Vandolsen Ex Rel. Price v. Constructors, Inc., 678 P.2d 1184 (N.M. Ct. App. 1984).
· cites it 26× “Plaintiff challenges the constitutionality of NMSA 1978, § 66-3-1013, alleging that it violates the equal protection guarantees of the New Mexico and United States Constitutions.”
Lucero v. Richardson & Richardson, Inc., 2002 NMCA 013 (N.M. Ct. App. 2001).
· cites it 2× “We also agree with Plaintiffs that the legislature would not have needed to pass the Off Highway Motor Vehicles Act, NMSA 1978, § 66-3-1013 (1985), a similar statute providing immunity to landowners who allow access to off-highway vehicles, if the RUS could be read so broadly.”
Rivero v. Lovington Country Club, Inc., 1997 NMCA 114 (N.M. Ct. App. 1997).
· cites it 2× “Section 66-3-1013(A) of New Mexico’s Act provides: No landowner shall be held liable for damages arising out of off-highway motor vehicle-related accidents or injuries occurring on his lands in which he is not directly involved unless the entry on the lands is subject to payment…”
Hugo v. United States (D.N.M. 2021).
· cites it 3× “1978 § 66-3-1013 (2006), so it cannot be held liable to Plaintiff in negligence.”
N.M. Stat. § 66-3-1013(A): 4 cases
Vandolsen Ex Rel. Price v. Constructors, Inc., 678 P.2d 1184 (N.M. Ct. App. 1984).
“Plaintiff challenges the constitutionality of NMSA 1978, § 66-3-1013, alleging that it violates the equal protection guarantees of the New Mexico and United States Constitutions.”
Matthews v. State, 825 P.2d 224 (N.M. Ct. App. 1991).
“We address two issues: (1) whether the district court properly granted summary judgment against the corporation and Ed Martines, individually, relying on the provisions of the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Act, NMSA 1978, Section 66-3-1013 (Repl.Pamp.1989) (statute); and (2) whether…”
Rivero v. Lovington Country Club, Inc., 1997 NMCA 114 (N.M. Ct. App. 1997).
“Section 66-3-1013(A) of New Mexico’s Act provides: No landowner shall be held liable for damages arising out of off-highway motor vehicle-related accidents or injuries occurring on his lands in which he is not directly involved unless the entry on the lands is subject to payment…”
N.M. Stat. § 66-3-1013(B): 1 case
Vandolsen Ex Rel. Price v. Constructors, Inc., 678 P.2d 1184 (N.M. Ct. App. 1984).
“Plaintiff challenges the constitutionality of NMSA 1978, § 66-3-1013, alleging that it violates the equal protection guarantees of the New Mexico and United States Constitutions.”
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.