N.M. Stat. § 53-15-4
Rights of dissenting shareholders.
A. Any shareholder electing to exercise his right of dissent shall file with the
corporation, prior to or at the meeting of shareholders at which the proposed corporate
action is submitted to a vote, a written objection to the proposed corporate action. If the
proposed corporate action is approved by the required vote and the shareholder has not
voted in favor thereof, the shareholder may, within ten days after the date on which the
vote was taken or if a corporation is to be merged without a vote of its shareholders into
another corporation any of its shareholders may, within twenty-five days after the plan of
the merger has been mailed to the shareholders, make written demand on the
corporation, or, in the case of a merger or consolidation, on the surviving or new
corporation, domestic or foreign, for payment of the fair value of the shareholder's
shares, and, if the proposed corporate action is effected, the corporation shall pay to the
shareholder, upon the determination of the fair value, by agreement or judgment as
provided herein, and, in the case of shares represented by certificates, the surrender of
such certificates the fair value thereof as of the day prior to the date on which the vote
was taken approving the proposed corporate action, excluding any appreciation or
depreciation in anticipation of the corporate action. Any shareholder failing to make
demand within the prescribed ten-day or twenty-five-day period shall be bound by the
terms of the proposed corporate action. Any shareholder making such demand shall
thereafter be entitled only to payment as in this section provided and shall not be
entitled to vote or to exercise any other rights of a shareholder.
B. No such demand may be withdrawn unless the corporation consents thereto. If,
however, the demand is withdrawn upon consent, or if the proposed corporate action is
abandoned or rescinded or the shareholders revoke the authority to effect the action, or
if, in the case of a merger, on the date of the filing of the articles of merger the surviving
corporation is the owner of all the outstanding shares of the other corporation, domestic
and foreign, that are parties to the merger, or if no demand or petition for the
determination of fair value by a court has been made or filed within the time provided in
this section, or if a court of competent jurisdiction determines that the shareholder is not
entitled to the relief provided by this section, then the right of the shareholder to be paid
the fair value of his shares ceases and his status as a shareholder shall be restored,
without prejudice, to any corporate proceedings which may have been taken during the
interim.
C. Within ten days after such corporate action is effected, the corporation, or, in the
case of a merger or consolidation, the surviving or new corporation, domestic or foreign,
shall give written notice thereof to each dissenting shareholder who has made demand
as provided in this section and shall make a written offer to each such shareholder to
pay for such shares at a specified price deemed by the corporation to be the fair value
thereof. The notice and offer shall be accompanied by a balance sheet of the
corporation, the shares of which the dissenting shareholder holds, as of the latest
available date and not more than twelve months prior to the making of the offer, and a
profit and loss statement of the corporation for the twelve-months' period ended on the
date of the balance sheet.
D. If within thirty days after the date on which the corporate action was effected the
fair value of the shares is agreed upon between any dissenting shareholder and the
corporation, payment therefor shall be made within ninety days after the date on which
the corporate action was effected, and, in the case of shares represented by
certificates, upon surrender of the certificates. Upon payment of the agreed value, the
dissenting shareholder shall cease to have any interest in the shares.
E. If, within the period of thirty days, a dissenting shareholder and the corporation
do not so agree, then the corporation, within thirty days after receipt of written demand
from any dissenting shareholder, given within sixty days after the date on which
corporate action was effected, shall, or at its election at any time within the period of
sixty days may, file a petition in any court of competent jurisdiction in the county in this
state where the registered office of the corporation is located praying that the fair value
of the shares be found and determined. If, in the case of a merger or consolidation, the
surviving or new corporation is a foreign corporation without a registered office in this
state, the petition shall be filed in the county where the registered office of the domestic
corporation was last located. If the corporation fails to institute the proceeding as
provided in this section, any dissenting shareholder may do so in the name of the
corporation. All dissenting shareholders, wherever residing, shall be made parties to the
proceeding as an action against their shares quasi in rem. A copy of the petition shall be
served on each dissenting shareholder who is a resident of this state and shall be
served by registered or certified mail on each dissenting shareholder who is a
nonresident. Service on nonresidents shall also be made by publication as provided by
law. The jurisdiction of the court shall be plenary and exclusive. All shareholders who
are parties to the proceeding shall be entitled to judgment against the corporation for
the amount of the fair value of their shares. The court may, if it so elects, appoint one or
more persons as appraisers to receive evidence and recommend a decision on the
question of fair value. The appraisers shall have such power and authority as specified
in the order of their appointment or on an amendment thereof. The judgment shall be
payable to the holders of uncertificated shares immediately, but to the holders of shares
represented by certificates only upon and concurrently with the surrender to the
corporation of certificates. Upon payment of the judgment, the dissenting shareholder
ceases to have any interest in the shares.
F. The judgment shall include an allowance for interest at such rate as the court
may find to be fair and equitable, in all the circumstances, from the date on which the
vote was taken on the proposed corporate action to the date of payment.
G. The costs and expenses of any such proceeding shall be determined by the court
and shall be assessed against the corporation, but all or any part of the costs and
expenses may be apportioned and assessed as the court deems equitable against any
or all of the dissenting shareholders who are parties to the proceeding to whom the
corporation made an offer to pay for the shares if the court finds that the action of the
shareholders in failing to accept the offer was arbitrary or vexatious or not in good faith.
Such expenses include reasonable compensation for and reasonable expenses of the
appraisers, but exclude the fees and expenses of counsel for and experts employed by
any party; but if the fair value of the shares as determined materially exceeds the
amount which the corporation offered to pay therefor, or if no offer was made, the court
in its discretion may award to any shareholder who is a party to the proceeding such
sum as the court determines to be reasonable compensation to any expert employed by
the shareholder in the proceeding, together with reasonable fees of legal counsel.
H. Upon receiving a demand for payment from any dissenting shareholder, the
corporation shall make an appropriate notation thereof in its shareholder records. Within
twenty days after demanding payment for his shares, each holder of shares represented
by certificates demanding payment shall submit the certificates to the corporation for
notation thereon that such demand has been made. His failure to do so shall, at the
option of the corporation, terminate his rights under this section unless a court of
competent jurisdiction, for good and sufficient cause shown, otherwise directs. If
uncertificated shares for which payment has been demanded or shares represented by
a certificate on which notation has been so made is [are] transferred, any new certificate
issued therefor shall bear similar notation, together with the name of the original
dissenting holder of the shares, and a transferee of the shares acquires by such transfer
no rights in the corporation other than those which the original dissenting shareholder
had after making demand for payment of the fair value thereof.
I. Shares acquired by a corporation pursuant to payment of the agreed value
therefor or to payment of the judgment entered therefor, as in this section provided, may
be held and disposed of by the corporation as in the case of other treasury shares,
except that, in the case of a merger or consolidation, they may be held and disposed of
as the plan of merger or consolidation may otherwise provide.