More About Litigation
The Litigation Division consists of 10 lawyers, 3 paralegals and 1 legal assistant.
As the State’s Lawyer the Litigation Division is charged with the following:
Civil Litigation in Federal and State Court and Appellate Courts
This division prosecutes civil matters on behalf of state entities, and defends
state entities in civil matters in the U.S. District Courts and the State Courts. This
includes defending challenges to state statutes or constitutional provisions and
representation of judges and state officers when they are sued in their official
capacities in non tort-related claims and when authority of the court is challenged. The
division also prosecutes and defends any appeals on cases in which the division
is involved at all appellate levels.
In conjunction with its civil representation, the Division contributes significant
staff resources to the representation of outside agencies.
Bankruptcy Section
As the Attorney General’s bankruptcy counsel, litigation counsel represents
the State and has taken the lead in determining what claims the State and its various
agencies may have in major national bankruptcy actions such as Asarco, K-Mart and
Enron. On the local level, this division, by inter-agency agreement with the
Taxation and Revenue Department, represents the Department in matters pending before
the New Mexico Bankruptcy Court where yearly, more than 8,000 New Mexico taxpayers
are expected to seek relief.
Antitrust Section
Antitrust counsel is part of the Litigation Division. Counsel is involved in
large antitrust matters including FTC v. Paul Foster, et al, litigation relating
to the proposed merging of Western Refining, Inc. with Giant Industries, Inc.
Counsel has been appointed special counsel to the FTC for this matter. While
New Mexico is not a party, we are lending assets to the FTC because of the impact
this merger would have on the citizens of New Mexico.
The DRAM antitrust litigation affects consumers and a class of local companies of
which the class representative is the County of Sandoval and involves global price
fixing of DRAM memory chips during the period 1998-2002.
Also, Monsanto is proposing acquisition of Delta and Pine Land Company and this
acquisition would concentrate Monsanto’s presence to what seems to be an unacceptable
degree in the cotton states including New Mexico. This involves cotton seeds
and genetic strains.
Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement Enforcement
The Attorney General is charged with enforcement of the Master Settlement Agreement
entered into by many of the tobacco manufacturers and 46 states, the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico and four territories in 1998. This division conducts
enforcement by the filing of lawsuits against those manufacturers who illegally
sell in the State of New Mexico; auditing escrow payments made by non-participating
manufacturers for sales in the state; requiring compliance by the manufacturers
to the statutory reporting requirements; and working closely with Taxation and Revenue
Department to assure that sales are compliant and escrows are paid. Further, this
division maintains and continually updates the statutorily required tobacco webpage
directory so that all currently compliant manufacturers and brands are listed thereon.
Administrative Prosecutions
This Division serves as administrative prosecutor to approximately 30 boards and
commissions. A majority of these prosecutions are for violations of the Uniform
Licensing Act. Sanctions range from fines to revocation of state-issued licenses.
The Division also seeks injunctions in state court against individuals or organizations
that refuse to become licensed by the appropriate state agencies.
Please note: complaints against individual licensees should be made to the Regulation
and Licensing Division.
Service of Process
The division accepts summons and other legal documents declaring civil wrongdoing
or injury against another and demanding restitution, penalty or other judgment in
court when the action is against any state agency or official. Service must
be made pursuant to the Rules of Civil Procedure to the Litigation Division, 408
Galisteo Street, Santa Fe, NM 87504. The main phone number is 505-827-6000.
We do not accept subpoenas of any kind, unless they are for the Litigation Division
itself. We have no statutory authority to guarantee the appearance of witnesses,
nor the provision of documents or other items customarily required by a subpoena. A
writ against state officials must be served in the manner established above.