§ 62-14-6 — Liability for damage to underground facilities

A. If any underground facility is damaged by any person who failed to make reasonable efforts to determine its location as provided in Chapter 62, Article 14 NMSA 1978, that person shall reimburse the owner of the underground facility for the actual cost of the damage to the underground facility, including the cost of restoration of services. The person engaging in the excavation may also be liable to the owner or operator of the underground facility for the comparative negligence of the person engaging in the excavation which results in damage to the facility for an additional amount not to exceed three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) for each occurrence. B. If any underground facility is damaged by any person who has made reasonable efforts to determine its location and the damaged underground facility was correctly located by the owner or operator of the underground facility as provided in Section 62- 14-5 NMSA 1978, then that person causing the damage shall be liable to the owner or operator of the underground facility for only the actual cost of damage to the underground facility, including the cost of restoration of service. C. If any underground facility is damaged by any person who has made reasonable efforts to determine its location and damage to the underground facility is caused by the failure of the owner or operator to correctly locate that underground facility as provided in Section 62-14-5 NMSA 1978, then the person engaging in the excavation shall have no liability for the damage to that facility. D. It is not the intent of Chapter 62, Article 14 NMSA 1978 to impose civil liability to any person beyond that provided in this section.

Legislative History

1953 Comp., § 12-32-6, enacted by Laws 1973, ch. 252, § 6; 1987, ch. 156, §