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

• On January 1, 2012, the plaintiff was driving on Highway 550 south of Bloomfield, New Mexico, when her vehicle collided with a pedestrian, Jasper Lopez. Prior to the accident, a motorist had reported Lopez as a potentially intoxicated pedestrian on the highway. Deputy Stevens responded to the call, took Lopez into custody for the purpose of transporting him home, but subsequently instructed Lopez to exit his vehicle near a gas station following an emergency call. Lopez re-entered the highway and was struck by the plaintiff's vehicle, resulting in property damage and personal injuries to the plaintiff (paras 3, 7).

Procedural History

• District Court of San Juan County: The plaintiff's negligence claim was dismissed under the New Mexico Tort Claims Act, finding insufficient facts to establish a waiver of governmental immunity (para 1).

Parties' Submissions

• Plaintiff-Appellant: Argued that the district court erred in dismissing the complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, asserting that the facts pleaded were sufficient to establish a claim for damages caused by the defendants' negligence (para 1).
• Defendants-Appellees: [Not applicable or not found]

Legal Issues

• Whether the plaintiff's well-pleaded facts were sufficient to establish a waiver of the governmental immunity granted by Section 41-4-4(A) of the New Mexico Tort Claims Act (para 2).
• Whether the district court failed to accept the facts alleged as true as required by Rule 1-012(B)(6) (para 1).

Disposition

• The Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's dismissal of the plaintiff's negligence claim, concluding that the defendants are immune from suit under the facts of the case, and the plaintiff has not stated a claim upon which relief may be granted (para 32).

Reasons

• The Court, per Judge James J. Wechsler with Chief Judge Michael E. Vigil and Judge Stephen G. French concurring, found that while the plaintiff's facts might support a claim of negligence, they do not establish a waiver of governmental immunity under Section 41-4-4(A). The Court determined that the mere negligence of a law enforcement officer, without resulting in one of the torts enumerated in Section 41-4-12 or a deprivation of a statutory right, is insufficient to waive immunity. The Court also concluded that the plaintiff did not suffer a battery or any other enumerated tort, nor was there a deprivation of a statutory right that could waive the defendants' immunity from tort liability. The decision to transport and subsequently release Lopez did not breach a statutory duty owed to the plaintiff, and thus, the defendants' immunity from tort liability was not waived (paras 2, 9-31).