N.M. Code R. § 14.12.4.15 - CONSUMER PROTECTION BOND PROCEDURES
A. A person claiming to be injured by an
alleged violation of the act or these regulations or by reason of any other
cause set forth in the Manufactured Housing Act, NMSA 1978, Section
60-14-6,
may file with the division a written complaint which states the name and
address of the bondholder whose bond has been claimed against and includes a
concise statement of the cause of the alleged injury. If it is determined by
the division that the complaint is insufficient or defective, the complainant
shall be promptly notified and may be permitted to amend the complaint, in the
sole discretion of the division .
B.
Upon receipt of a written complaint, the division shall investigate, by
telephone or by in person contact, within thirty (30) days of receipt of the
complaint to determine whether cause exists to investigate further. If such
cause exists, an on-site inspection may be made within thirty (30) days of such
determination. The on-site inspection is not mandatory. The complainant should
be available to the investigator during reasonable business hours during the
investigation period.
C. The
division shall give written notice to the bondholder within ten (10) days of
receipt of the complaint. The notice shall request correction of the violations
within forty (40) days of the division 's receipt of the complaint. The letter
may also request investigation according to Subpart I of the Federal
Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards, Federal Procedural and
Enforcement Regulations, which require investigation of class or re-occurrences
of non-conformance to the Federal Standards.
D. Any notice or decision required pursuant
to this regulation may be served either personally or by regular, or certified
mail, return receipt requested, directed to the bondholder's last known address
as shown by the records of the division . If the notice or decision is served
personally, service shall be made in the same manner as is provided in the
Rules of Civil Procedure for the New Mexico district courts. Where the notice
or decision is served by certified mail, it shall be deemed to have been served
on the date shown on the return receipt showing delivery, or on the date of the
last attempted delivery of the notice or decision to the addressee or refusal
of the addressee to accept delivery of the notice or decision.
E. If the committee determines that there is
no cause for the complaint, the complaint shall be dismissed. The division
shall retain all information on which the decision was based in its consumer
complaint files for five (5) years after closing the case. This information
should include (a) the determination; (b) who made the determination; and (c)
how the determination was made.
F.
If committee determines that there is cause for the complaint, the division
should attempt to achieve a satisfactory resolution of the complaint through
correspondence or informal conference.
G. If the committee determines that the items
requested to be corrected by the complainant are the responsibility of the
manufacturer, and that these items are required to be corrected under the
Federal Regulations, the manufacturer will be requested to submit, in writing,
a notification or correction plan to the director of the division within twenty
(20) days of receipt of the request and as required under Subpart I of the
federal regulations. The plan should include, but not be limited to, a list of
manufactured homes affected, method of correction, content of notification
notice to consumer and the requirements as detailed under Subpart I of the
federal regulations. If a plan is submitted to the division, the division
should approve or modify the plan and send it back to the manufacturer for
remedial action in the case. If, within twenty (20) days, there does not seem
to be a reoccurrence of the same deficiencies, no formal plan needs to be
submitted if the division has granted waiver to the plan. The manufacturer
shall have sixty (60) days to notify and correct, and an additional thirty (30)
days to submit closeout reports of all action taken by the
manufacturer.
H. The division may
charge a re-inspection fee of sixty-five dollars ($65.00) each time a re-
inspection is performed in connection with a consumer complaint. On those
consumer complaints, which the division investigates but are not prosecuted by
the division , no fee will be charged. The fee, if assessed, shall be charged to
the dealer, manufacturer, installer/repairman, or broker as
appropriate.
I. If the complaint is
not substantially resolved by the foregoing method, the division may send the
complaint to the committee for bond attachment proceedings consistent with the
procedure set forth herein.
J. If
the matter is referred to the committee for bond revocation proceedings, the
division shall serve upon the bondholder a written notice containing a
statement (1) that the committee has sufficient evidence which, if not rebutted
or explained, will justify the committee taking the contemplated action; (2)
indicating the general nature of the evidence against the bondholder; (3) the
statutes and regulations authorizing the committee to take the contemplated
action; (4) that the bondholder may request a hearing on the matter within
twenty (20) days after service of the notice; and (5) the rights of a person
entitled to hearing as provided under the Uniform Licensing Act, Section
61-1-8
NMSA 1978.
K. If the bondholder
does not mail a request for a hearing within the time and in the manner
required by this section, the committee may take the action contemplated in the
notice, and such action shall be final.
L. If the bondholder timely requests a
hearing, the division shall notify the bondholder of the time and place of
hearing, the name of the hearing officer, if any, and the statutes and
regulations authorizing the committee to take the contemplated action. The
notice shall set the hearing within a reasonable time after the division 's
receipt of the request for hearing, but in no event later than sixty (60) days
thereafter.
M. The committee shall
conduct the hearing, or may appoint a hearing officer to do so.
N. A bondholder may be represented by
counsel, may be represented by a licensed member of his or her profession or
occupation, or both; and may present all relevant evidence by means of
witnesses and books, papers, documents and other evidence; to examine all
opposing witnesses who appear on any matter relevant to the issues;
O. Upon written request to another party, any
party may ask to: (1) obtain the names and addresses of witnesses who will or
may be called by the other party to testify at the hearing; and (2) inspect and
copy any documents or items which the other party will or may introduce in
evidence at the hearing. The division and the committee have no power to force
the parties to comply with such requests.
P. The party to whom such a request is made
should comply with it within ten (10) days after the mailing or delivery of the
request. No such request should be made less than fifteen (15) days before the
hearing.
Q. The committee has the
discretion to grant continuances, to take testimony or to examine witnesses.
The committee may also hold conferences before or during the hearing for the
settlement or simplification of the issues.
R. The division shall present the case
against the bondholder.
S. The
committee may admit any evidence and may give probative effect to evidence that
is of a kind commonly relied on by reasonably prudent people in the conduct of
serious affairs. The committee may in its discretion exclude incompetent,
irrelevant, immaterial and unduly repetitious evidence.
T. The committee may take notice of
judicially cognizable facts and in addition may take notice of general,
technical or scientific facts within their specialized knowledge. When the
committee takes notice of a fact, the bondholder should be notified either
before or during the hearing of the fact so noticed and its source and shall be
afforded an opportunity to contest the fact so noticed.
U. The committee members may use their
experience, technical competence and specialized knowledge in the evaluation of
evidence presented to them.
V. The
record may be preserved by audio or video recording or both.
W. Whether conducted by the committee or by a
hearing officer, after a hearing has been completed, all members who were not
present throughout the hearing should familiarize themselves with the record,
including the hearing officer's report, before participating in the
decision.
X. A decision based on
the hearing shall be made by a quorum of the committee and signed by the person
designated by the committee within ninety (90) days after the
hearing.
Y. Within fifteen days
(15) after the decision is rendered and signed, the division shall serve upon
the bondholder a copy of the written decision.
Z. If a person who has requested a hearing
does not appear, and no continuance has been granted, the committee may hear
the evidence of such witnesses as may have appeared, and the committee may
proceed to consider the matter and dispose of it on the basis of the evidence
before it. Where because of accident , sickness or other cause a person fails to
request a hearing or fails to appear for a hearing which he has requested, the
person may within a reasonable time apply to the committee to reopen the
proceeding, and the committee upon finding sufficient cause shall immediately
fix a time and place for a hearing and give the person notice as required
above. At the time and place fixed, a hearing shall be held in the same manner
as would have been employed if the person had appeared in response to the
original notice of hearing.
AA.
These procedures do not grant a statutory right of review.
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