NM Court of Appeals Schedules September 20, 10:00 AM Hearing

September 8, 2017 - Jen Laws

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The New Mexico Court of Appeals has scheduled a hearing at the Pamela B. Minzner Law Center on Wednesday, September 20, 2017. The oral argument is open to the public and begins at 10:00 A.M.

A three-judge panel will preside: Judge Julie J. Vargas (’93), Judge Stephen G. French, and Judge Henry Bohnhoff.

Following are the details of the case:

LIVING CROSS AMBULANCE SERVICE, INC., Plaintiff-Appellant/Cross-Appellee, represented by Steven M. Chavez and Joseph E. Earnest

v.

VALENCIA COUNTY REGIONAL EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CENTER; and VILLAGE OF LOS LUNAS, Defendants-Appellees/Cross-Appellants, represented by Brandon Juss, Dennis K. Wallin, Kari E. Olson, Stephen S. Hamilton, and Laurence P. Guggino Jr.

and

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF VALENCIA COUNTY, Defendant.

In 2006 the Village of Los Lunas formed the Valencia Regional Emergency Communications Center (VRECC), a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), using funds from the State of New Mexico and local funding from member local governments. This PSAP is a twenty-four hour local communications facility that receives 911 service calls and directly dispatches emergency response services. Each of the Valencia County government entities that pay into the fund to operate the VRECC has a seat on the Center’s overseeing board of directors. In 2006 the Valencia County Fire Marshal demanded payment from Plaintiff-Appellant for current and past dispatch services. Believing the payment imposition process to be flawed, Plaintiff-Appellant refused to pay and when threatened with exclusion from the services of the PSAP, Plaintiff-Appellant filed the underlying declaratory action. Plaintiff-Appellant seeks review of the District Court’s ruling in favor of the Defendants-Appellees, specifically whether non-home rule local governments have implied power to impose non-regulatory fees on private ambulance companies for emergency 911 medical dispatch service and whether the Anti-Donation Clause of the New Mexico Constitution prohibits the provision of emergency 911 dispatch to private ambulance providers without a fee.

For more information, contact Nora Gonzales at 505-841-4618.