New Mexico Statutes 58-16-15. Civil liability
A. A cardholder who is authorized to engage in transactions through or by means of remote financial service units may bring a civil action against a person violating the Remote Financial Service Unit Act for an amount equal to the sum of any actual damages sustained by the cardholder. Upon adverse adjudication, the defendant shall be liable for actual damages or fifty dollars ($50.00), whichever is greater, together with court costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred by the plaintiff. The court may provide such equitable relief as it deems necessary or proper, including enjoining the defendant from further such violations of the Remote Financial Service Unit Act. If it appears to the court that the suit by the plaintiff was ill founded or brought for purposes of harassment, the plaintiff shall be liable for court costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred by the defendant.
Terms Used In New Mexico Statutes 58-16-15
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
B. In the case of a class action, no minimum recovery for each member of the class shall be applicable and the total recovery in any such action is limited to the actual damages sustained by the members of the class but shall not exceed the lesser of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or one percent of the net worth of the defendant.