Case Title: Nelson v. Naranjo

Citation: 395 P.2d 228, 74 N.M. 502

Docket Number: 

State: new-mexico

Court: New Mexico Supreme Court

Date: 1964-09-08T00:00:00Z

Document:
395 P.2d 228 (1964) 74 N.M. 502 L.V. NELSON and Pearl G. Nelson, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Emilio NARANJO, Individually and as Sheriff of Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, Defendant-Appellee. No. 7472. Supreme Court of New Mexico. September 8, 1964. Chacon & Melendez, Espanola, for appelants. Bigbee & Byrd, John A. Mitchell, Santa Fe, for appellee. C.R. McINTOSH, District Judge. The only question presented for determination in this case is whether a liquor license, issued under the laws of the State of New Mexico, is property, subject to levy execution and sale by the Sheriff acting under authority of a lawfully issued writ of execution. Appellants were the owners of a dispenser's liquor license issued by the State of New Mexico and had previously in other litigation pending in the district court of Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, suffered a substantial judgment to be rendered against them, upon which a writ of execution had been duly issued and delivered to the appellee herein as the Sheriff of Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, for levy and satisfaction upon and out of the property goods, chattels and lands of the appellants. Acting under the authority of this writ of execution the Sheriff, appellee herein, levied upon and took into his possession, and proposed to sell at public vendue the dispenser's liquor license issued to appellants and removed it from their premises. Thereupon, appellants started this action by petition to the district court of Rio Arriba County for the return of said liquor license and to recover substantial damages against appellee for wrongful levy, claiming that the license was not subject to levy under the execution issued by the district court for the reason that it was not a property right, but on the contrary was a mere privilege granted by the State and as such not a proper subject matter for levy and sale under execution. Among other things, it was stipulated by the parties in the trial court "That in the event a liquor license is property, that it is subject to execution, levy and sale under the laws of New Mexico." *229 Section 24-1-2, N.M.S.A. 1953, on the subject of execution, provides as follows: The trial court in sustaining a motion to dismiss ruled that the dispenser's liquor license is property and therefore subject to execution, levy and sale under the laws of New Mexico, and dismissed the complaint from which ruling plaintiff has appealed. Appellants strenuously contended that this court is unalterably committed to the proposition that a liquor license in New Mexico is not property but, on the contrary, is a mere privilege granted by the State in which the holder has no vested property rights, and cites in support of his position three decisions of this court, as follows: Ex parte Everman, 18 N.M. 605, 139 P. 156; Ex parte Deats, 22 N.M. 536, 166 P. 913; Yarbrough v. Montoya, 54 N.M. 91, 214 P.2d 769, as conclusively supporting their position. We have carefully reviewed the three above cited cases and have noted the language used by this court therein substantially holding that in New Mexico as against the State, a license to retail intoxicating liquor is neither a property right nor a contract, but is a mere privilege in which the licensee has no vested property rights. It must be noted that in each of the three cases the controversy involved was between the State on the one hand and the licensee on the other. There can be no question that as between the State and a licensee this is a correct statement of the law and we adhere to our rulings as set forth in those cases. We cannot, however, agree with appellants' contention that these earlier cases are conclusive in this case. An entirely different situation is here presented, in that the State of New Mexico is in no way involved in this controversy. It is a controversy strictly between two private citizens or individuals. This distinction was clearly recognized by this court in Valley Country Club, Inc. v. Mender, 64 N.M. 59, 323 P.2d 1099, where we said: The Court then had under consideration the rights of a liquor licensee in a license which it had leased to another individual where the original licensee was seeking to enjoin a transfer of the license to another location. It should be pointed out that ever since the adoption of Ch. 236, N.M.S.L. 1939 (§ 46-5-15, N.M.S.A. 1953, sub-paragraph (c) and (f)), and under subsequent amendments thereafter adopted (Ch. 196, N.M.S.L. 1961, and Ch. 270, N.M.S.L. 1963 (§ 46-5-15(B) and (E), N.M.S.A. 1953) liquor licenses were specifically made assignable and transferable to persons found by the chief of the liquor division to be qualified to receive licenses in the first instance and subject to certain other restrictions, and in the case of the death of the holder of any license, the unexpired portion of the license is transferred to and vested by operation of law in the personal representative of the deceased who is given authority to dispose of the same to a qualified purchaser and subject to the same conditions of approval by the chief of the liquor division applicable to other transfers. In discussing the effect of assignability or transferability of a liquor license, the early (1940) edition of Am.Jur., under the heading of Intoxicating Liquors, § 136, p. 326, says: From the later (1958) edition of the same work, Vol. 30, Am.Jur., "Intoxicating Liquors," § 119, p. 603, the above language is changed somewhat but is essentially to the same effect, as follows: The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia was confronted with the identical question presented here, in the case of Rowe v. Colpoys, 78 U.S.App.D.C. 75, 137 F.2d 249, 148 A.L.R. 488 (1943); cert. den., 320 U.S. 783, 64 S. Ct. 190, 88 L. Ed. 470, which was an action by a judgment debtor against the United States Marshal for damages for an alleged improper levy on a liquor license of the judgment debtor by the United States Marshal. In affirming the trial court, the Circuit Court of Appeals said: We agree with this reasoning. The Supreme Court of Montana had the identical proposition before it in the case of Stallinger v. Goss, 121 Mont. 437, 193 P.2d 810. We quote from that opinion, as follows: A somewhat different aspect of the problem was involved in Hom Moon Jung v. Soo, 64 Ariz. 216, 167 P.2d 929, at page 931, where the Arizona Supreme Court quoted with approval, from Deggender v. Seattle Brewing & Malting Co., 41 Wash. 385, 83 P. 898, 4 L.R.A.,N.S., 626, as follows: It accordingly is our opinion that as between the State and the licensee, a liquor license is a mere revocable privilege vesting no property rights in the licensee, but, as between the licensee and any other individual, such license is property and as such is subject to levy and sale under execution. The judgment of the district court in dismissing the petition is affirmed. It is so ordered. COMPTON, C.J., and CARMODY, J., concur.