Town & Country v. Nm Reg. & Licensing

277 P.3d 490, 2012 WL 1708677
CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 22, 2012
Docket30,921, 30,922
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 277 P.3d 490 (Town & Country v. Nm Reg. & Licensing) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Town & Country v. Nm Reg. & Licensing, 277 P.3d 490, 2012 WL 1708677 (N.M. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

277 P.3d 490 (2012)
2012-NMCA-046

TOWN & COUNTRY FOOD STORES, INC., d/b/a Town and Country Food Stores # 241, Liquor License # 0996, Appellant-Respondent,
v.
NEW MEXICO REGULATION AND LICENSING DEPARTMENT, Alcohol and Gaming Division, and the Director of the Alcohol & Gaming Division, Appellees-Petitioners.
Town & Country Food Stores, Inc., d/b/a Town and Country Food Stores # 248, Liquor License # 4035, Appellant-Respondent,
v.
New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Alcohol and Gaming Division, and the Director of the Alcohol & Gaming Division, Appellees-Petitioners.

Nos. 30,921, 30,922.

Court of Appeals of New Mexico.

March 22, 2012.

*491 Linda L. Aikin, Santa Fe, NM, for Respondent.

Gary K. King, Attorney General, Andrea R. Buzzard, Assistant Attorney General, Santa Fe, NM, for Petitioners.

OPINION

WECHSLER, Judge.

{1} In this case, we consider whether criminal liability is a condition precedent to the imposition of a civil penalty on a licensee in an administrative hearing under the Liquor Control Act (the Act), NMSA 1978, §§ 60-3A-1 to -8A-19 (1981, as amended through 2011). Appellant, the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department Alcohol and Gaming Division (the Department), filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in this Court seeking review of a district court decision reversing two administrative decisions finding that Appellee, Town and Country Food Stores, Inc. (Town & Country), violated Section 60-7B-1(A)(1) by selling alcohol to a minor and imposing a one-day suspension of Town & Country's liquor license and a fine pursuant to Section 60-6C-1(A)(1). We granted the Department's petition.

{2} In its petition to this Court, the Department argues that the district court erred by (1) holding that criminal liability of the server is a condition precedent to the imposition of a civil penalty against a licensee under Section 60-6C-1(A)(1) for a violation of Section 60-7B-1(A)(1) and (2) raising the issue sua sponte because Town & Country did not raise the issue in the administrative hearing. We hold that the district court erred in determining that a criminal conviction of the server pursuant to Section 60-7B-1(F) is a condition precedent to the Department's imposing civil liability on the licensee under Section 60-6C-1 (A)(1). As a result, we reverse the decision of the district court and need not address the Department's second issue. We remand for the district court to consider the remaining appellate issues presented to, but not reached by, the district court.

BACKGROUND

{3} This case arises out of two consolidated appeals from the Department. In each case, the Department found that Town & Country violated Section 60-7B-1(A)(1) by selling alcohol to a minor. Both violations arose out of sting operations conducted by the Special Investigations Division (SID) of the New Mexico Public Safety Department.

{4} The first sting operation occurred on May 13, 2008. SID agents used Justin Garrison, then nineteen years old and therefore a minor, to purchase alcohol at Town & Country's store number 248 in Clovis, New Mexico. Garrison entered the store, obtained a six-pack of beer from the cooler, and placed it on the check-out counter. The clerk did not request identification from Garrison or inquire about his age. Garrison purchased the beer, and a SID agent issued Town & Country and the clerk citations for violating the Liquor Control Act, Section 60-7B-1(A)(1), which prohibits the sale of alcohol to minors.

{5} The second sting operation took place on June 12, 2008. Again, SID agents used Garrison to purchase alcohol, this time at Town & Country's store number 241 in Clovis, New Mexico. Garrison entered the *492 store, obtained a six-pack of beer from the cooler, and placed it on the check-out counter. The clerk requested identification from Garrison. Garrison provided the clerk with his New Mexico issued driver's license, which had a printed legend stating that Garrison was not twenty-one years old and contained his date of birth. Despite Garrison's age, the clerk sold Garrison the beer. A SID agent then issued Town & Country and the clerk citations for violating Section 60-7B-1(A)(1).

{6} Pursuant to Section 60-6C-4(F), in each case, the Department director appointed a hearing officer, who conducted an administrative hearing to address the alleged violations of Section 60-7B-1(A)(1). The hearing officer found, in each case, that Town & Country violated Section 60-7B-1(A)(1) and that the sting operation did not entrap Town & Country. The Department director adopted the findings and imposed a $1000 fine and a one-day suspension of alcohol sales pursuant to Section 60-6C-1 (A)(1). Pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 39-3-1.1 (1999) and Rule 1-074 NMRA, Town & Country appealed to the district court, arguing that the hearing officer erred (1) in finding that SID did not conduct the sting operation in a manner that amounted to entrapment of Town & Country, (2) by improperly shifting the burden of proof to Town & Country to prove that the clerk was not predisposed to sell liquor to a minor, and (3) in determining that the SID agents conducted the sting operation in a manner that violated SID rules, but that the violations were not relevant. The district court consolidated the cases and issued a decision on May 13, 2010, reversing the Department director's order.

{7} The district court did not rely on Town & Country's arguments in reversing the Department director. Instead, the district court held that the "respective servers must be found guilty of [violating Section 60-7B-1(A)(1)] in a separate criminal proceeding" under Section 60-7B-1(F) as a "condition precedent" to civil liability for Town & Country as a licensee. The Department timely filed a petition for writ of certiorari under Rule 12-505 NMRA, which this Court granted.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

{8} Upon a grant of a petition for writ of certiorari under Rule 12-505, this Court "conduct[s] the same review of an administrative order as the district court sitting in its appellate capacity, while at the same time determining whether the district court erred in the first appeal." Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club v. N.M. Mining Comm'n, 2003-NMSC-005, ¶ 16, 133 N.M. 97, 61 P.3d 806. In reviewing an administrative decision, "we apply a whole-record standard of review." See Smyers v. City of Albuquerque, 2006-NMCA-095, ¶ 5, 140 N.M. 198, 141 P.3d 542 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). "We independently review the entire record of the administrative hearing to determine whether the... decision was arbitrary and capricious, not supported by substantial evidence, or otherwise not in accordance with law." City of Albuquerque v. AFSCME Council 18 ex rel. Puccini, 2011-NMCA-021, ¶ 8, 149 N.M. 379, 249 P.3d 510 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). When the hearing officer's decision is based on an issue of law, such as statutory interpretation, our review is de novo. ERICA, Inc. v. N.M. Regulation & Licensing Dep't, 2008-NMCA-065, ¶ 11, 144 N.M. 132, 184 P.3d 444.

CRIMINAL LIABILITY AS A CONDITION PRECEDENT

{9} The Department argues that the district court erred by determining that Section 60-7B-1(A)(1) requires criminal liability as a condition precedent to the Department imposing civil liability on a licensee. This argument requires statutory construction. In engaging in statutory construction, our primary purpose is to give effect to the intent of the Legislature. Bd. of Educ. v. N.M. State Dep't of Pub.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Padilla v. N.M. Corr. Dep't
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2025
Cave v. Montano
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2023
Vigil v. Taintor
2020 NMCA 037 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2019)
N.M. Corrections Dep't v. AFSCME
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2017
2727 San Pedro LLC v. Bernalillo County Assessor
2017 NMCA 008 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2016)
Janet v. Marshall
2013 NMCA 037 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2013)
State Ex Rel. Children, Youth & Families Department v. Carl C.
2012 NMCA 65 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2012)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
277 P.3d 490, 2012 WL 1708677, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/town-country-v-nm-reg-licensing-nmctapp-2012.