Rule text
A. Clerical mistakes. Clerical mistakes and errors in judgments, orders, or other parts of the file arising from oversight or omission may be corrected by the magistrate at any time of his own initiative or on the request of any party after such notice to the opposing party, if any, as the magistrate orders. During the pendency of an appeal, these mistakes may be so corrected before the transcript is filed in the district court, and thereafter while the appeal is pending may be so corrected with leave of the district court.
B. Mistakes; inadvertence; excusable neglect; fraud, etc. If the judgment has not been filed in the district court, on motion and on such terms as are just, the court may relieve a party or his legal representative from a final judgment, order or proceeding for the following reasons:
(1) mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect;
(2) fraud (whether heretofore denominated intrinsic or extrinsic), misrepresentation or other misconduct of an adverse party;
(3) the judgment is void;
(4) the judgment has been satisfied, released or discharged, or a prior judgment on which it is based has been reversed or otherwise vacated; or (5) any other reason justifying relief from the operation of a judgment, including failure of a party who was subject to the provisions of Rule 2-201(E) NMRA to comply with Rules 2-201(E)(1) and 2-401(D) NMRA, and to substantially comply with Form 4-226 NMRA, or to comply with Rules 2-201(E)(2) and 2-401(D), and to substantially comply with Form 4-226A NMRA.
A motion filed under Subparagraphs (1) or (2) of this paragraph shall be filed not more than one (1) year after the judgment, order or proceeding was entered or taken. A motion under this paragraph does not affect the finality of a judgment or suspend its operation.
An order granting or denying relief from a final judgment under this rule may be appealed to the district court in the same manner as other appeals from final judgments of the magistrate court are taken.
C. Satisfied judgments. On the filing with the court of a motion for an order declaring the judgment to be satisfied and notice to the opposing party, the court may set a hearing to determine if the judgment has been satisfied, released or discharged. The application shall be served on the judgment creditor in the manner prescribed by Rule 2-202 NMRA for service of summons and complaint. A hearing on the application shall be held within a reasonable time after the filing of the application. Notice of the hearing shall be mailed to the parties by the clerk of the court. If the judgment creditor fails to appear at the hearing, a default satisfaction of judgment may be entered on:
(1) the filing of the return of service or an affidavit that after "diligent search" the judgment creditor could not be located. For purposes of this subparagraph "diligent search" includes, but shall not be limited to an affidavit that:
(a) the judgment creditor no longer has a business or residence at the judgment creditor's last known address as shown in the court file; and
(b) the judgment creditor could not be located through a search of telephone and city directories in each county where the judgment creditor was known to have resided or maintained a place of business in this state; and
(2) proof of payment of the full amount of the judgment with interest thereon to date of payment, plus post-judgment costs incurred by the judgment creditor which can be determined from the court record or, if the judgment, including any interest and costs has not been paid in full, payment into the court of a money order or cashier's check made payable to the administrative office of the courts. On receipt of a money order or cashier's check under this subparagraph, the administrative office of the courts shall deposit the money order or cashier's check in a suspense account in the state treasury. Funds deposited in the account shall be disbursed in accordance with NMSA 1978, Section 39-1-6.2. D. Filing in district courts. If the judgment has been filed in the district court under Paragraph E of Rule 2-803, the motion for an order declaring the judgment satisfied shall be filed in the district court.
[As amended, effective July 1, 1990; January 1, 1993; January 1, 1997; as amended by Supreme Court Order No. 20-8300-005, effective for all cases filed on or after December 31, 2020; as amended by Supreme Court Order No. S-1-RCR-2025-00174, effective for all cases pending or filed on or after December 31, 2025.]
Notes
Committee commentary. -- In 2016, the New Mexico Supreme Court approved amendments to Rules 1-009, 1-017, 1-055, and 1-060 NMRA, and created a new civil complaint form for consumer debt claims, Form 4-226 NMRA, for use in the district courts.
Paragraph B of this rule was amended in 2020 to provide additional protections to consumers in consumer debt collection cases. See Rule 2-201 NMRA, Committee commentary. In addition, Rules 2-201, 2-401, 2-702, 3-201, 3-401, 3-702, and 3-704 NMRA, as well as Form 4-226, were amended in 2020 to align the magistrate and metropolitan court rules for consumer debt claims with the district court rules.
Deutsche Bank Nat'l Trust Co. v. Johnston, 2016-NMSC-013, ¶ 34, 369 P.3d 1046, provides that a judgment "is not voidable under Rule 1-060(B) due to a lack of prudential standing." (Emphasis added). Rule 1-060(B)(4) is equivalent to Rule 2- 703(B)(3) in providing grounds for relief of a void judgment. The 2020 amendment to Rule 2-703 (adding Subparagraph (B)(5)) provides a ground for relief in consumer debt litigation separate from the relief from voidable judgments under Rule 2-703(B)(3).
Rule 2-703(B)(5) now provides that noncompliance with the requirements of Rule 2- 201(E)(2) NMRA or Rule 2-401(D), or the failure to substantially comply with Form 4- 226, can provide a basis for granting relief from a judgment entered in a case controlled by Rule 2-201(E). The addition of this language provides a ground for relief, but does not compel the magistrate court to grant relief in every case in which the movant shows noncompliance with these consumer debt provisions. The movant must also demonstrate that it has a meritorious defense. See Rodriguez v. Conant, 1987-NMSC- 040, ¶ 18, 105 N.M. 746, 737 P.2d 527. When the movant meets this requirement, the court may exercise discretion to determine whether intervening equities or other considerations outweigh the desire "that the ultimate result will address the true merits and substantial justice will be done." Phelps Dodge Corp. v. Guerra, 1978-NMSC-053, ¶¶ 15, 20, 21, 92 N.M. 47, 582 P.2d 819.
In contrast, a motion to void the judgment under Rule 2-703(B)(3) does not permit the trial court to exercise discretion to deny the motion, Classen v. Classen, 1995-NMCA- 022, ¶¶ 10, 13, 119 N.M. 582, 893 P.2d 478, and does not require proof of a meritorious defense. Peralta v. Heights Med. Ctr., Inc., 485 U.S. 80, 86-87 (1988). Subparagraph (B)(5) of this rule was amended in 2025, based on the Supreme Court's amendment to Rule 2-201(E), which modified the pleading rules that apply to consumer debt claims and created a separate pleading rule for collection actions pursuing "medical debt" as defined in the Patients' Debt Collection Protection Act, NMSA 1978, Section 57-32-2(I) (2021).
[Adopted by Supreme Court Order No. 20-8300-005; as amended by Supreme Court Order No. S-1-RCR-2025-00174.]
ANNOTATIONS
The 2025 amendment, approved by Supreme Court Order No. S-1-RCR-2025-00174, effective December 31, 2025, made certain revisions to conform with amendments to the pleading rules that apply to consumer debt claims and actions to collect medical debt, and revised the committee commentary; in Paragraph B, Subparagraph B(5), after "Rules" changed "2-201(E)(2)" to "2-201(E)(1)", and after "Form 4-226 NMRA" added "or to comply with Rules 2-201(E)(2) and 2-401(D), and to substantially comply with Form 4-226A NMRA".
The 2020 amendment, approved by Supreme Court Order No. 20-8300-005, effective December 31, 2020, provided additional bases for granting relief from a judgment, including a judgment entered in a consumer debt collection case, and added the committee commentary; in Subparagraph B(5), added "any other reason justifying relief from the operation of a judgment, including failure of a party who was subject to the provisions of Rule 2-201(E) NMRA to comply with Rules 2-201(E)(2) and 2-401(D) NMRA, and to substantially comply with Form 4-226 NMRA.".
The 1997 amendment, effective January 1, 1997, substituted "judgment creditor" for "defendant" near the end of Subparagraph C(1)(b).
The 1993 amendment, effective January 1, 1993, substituted "Paragraph E of Rule 2- 803" for "Paragraph L of Rule 2-802" in Paragraph D.
The 1990 amendment, effective for cases filed in the magistrate courts on or after July 1, 1990, rewrote all of Paragraph B, which formerly related to relief from void or satisfied judgments, except the last sentence thereof, and added Paragraphs C and D.
Bracketed material. -- The bracketed reference in Paragraph D was inserted by the compiler. The reference to Paragraph E of Rule 2-803 in Paragraph D should be a reference to Paragraph E of Rule 2-804 NMRA as a result of the 1996 amendment that renumbered that rule.
Cross references. -- For appeal to the district court from final judgments to the magistrate court, see Rule 2-705 NMRA.
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. -- 46 Am. Jur. 2d Judgments §§ 165, 175. Failure to perform the duty to make disclosures which rests upon one because of trust or confidential relation as fraud for which equity, in an independent suit, will relieve against a judgment, 5 A.L.R. 672.
Correcting clerical errors in judgments, 10 A.L.R. 526, 67 A.L.R. 828, 126 A.L.R. 956, 14 A.L.R.2d 224.
Right of infant to set aside consent judgment in action for personal injuries, 15 A.L.R. 667, 20 A.L.R. 1249.
Character of judgment which refers to representative or fiduciary character of one against whom it is rendered, 21 A.L.R. 908.
Reliance of attorney on agreement or supposed agreement of opposing attorney to give notice when case was set for trial as ground for relief from judgment, 29 A.L.R. 1336.
Mental incompetency at the time of rendition of judgment in civil action as ground of attack upon it, 34 A.L.R. 221, 140 A.L.R. 1336.
Judgment on substituted service as within provision for relief from judgment taken through mistake, surprise or excusable neglect, 44 A.L.R. 618.
Correction of entry or amendment of judgment nunc pro tunc as affecting intervening liens and property rights, 48 A.L.R. 1182.
Fraud or perjury in misrepresenting status or relationship essential to the judgment as ground of relief from, or injunction against, judgment, 49 A.L.R. 1219.
Is service of notice or process in proceeding to vacate or modify judgment to be made upon owner of the judgment or upon the attorney, 78 A.L.R. 370.
Criterion of extrinsic fraud as distinguished from intrinsic fraud, as regards relief from judgment on ground of fraud, 88 A.L.R. 1201.
Asking relief in addition to vacation of service of process as waiver of special appearance of or right to rely upon lack of jurisdiction, 111 A.L.R. 925.
Perjury as ground of attack on judgment or order of court, 126 A.L.R. 390.
Secreting witness or other conduct preventing summoning or appearance of witness as ground for relief from judgment, 131 A.L.R. 1519.
Correction of mistake in judgment entered under warrant of attorney to confess judgment, 144 A.L.R. 830. Lapse of time as bar to action or proceeding for relief in respect of void judgment, 154 A.L.R. 818.
Misinformation by judge or clerk of court as to status of case or time of trial or hearing as ground for relief from judgment, 164 A.L.R. 537.
Interlocutory decree as subject to modification after term other than correction of clerical errors, 169 A.L.R. 121.
Notice contemplated by statute for relief from judgment upon application within specified time after notice, 171 A.L.R. 253.
Scope and character of meritorious defense as condition of relief from judgment, 174 A.L.R. 10.
Remedy and procedure to avoid release or satisfaction of judgment, 9 A.L.R.2d 553.
Power of successor judge taking office during term-time to vacate judgment entered by his predecessor, 11 A.L.R.2d 1117.
Necessity of notice of application or intention to correct error in judgment entry, 14 A.L.R.2d 224.
Conditioning the setting aside of judgment or grant of new trial on payment of opposing attorney's fees, 21 A.L.R.2d 863.
Motion to vacate judgment or order as constituting general appearance, 31 A.L.R.2d 262.
Judgment ambiguous or silent as to amount of recovery as defective for lack of certainty, 55 A.L.R.2d 723.
Formal requirements of judgment or order as regards appealability, 73 A.L.R.2d 250.
Filing of notice of appeal as affecting jurisdiction of state trial court to consider motion to vacate judgment, 5 A.L.R.5th 422.
Amendment of record of judgment in state civil case to correct judicial errors and omissions, 50 A.L.R.5th 653.
Power of successor judge taking office during term time to vacate, set aside, or annul judgment entered by his or her predecessor, 51 A.L.R.5th 747.
Vacating or opening judgment by confession on ground of fraud, illegality, or mistake, 91 A.L.R.5th 485. 49 C.J.S. Judgments §§ 275, 280.