Co-op case goes to court
Nearly six months after Socorro Electric Cooperative filed a lawsuit against its member-owners, the case finally went to court.
Judge Albert J. Mitchell, who was assigned to the case by the New Mexico Supreme Court, sketched out a schedule during a status hearing in district court in Los Lunas on Tuesday.
The co-op originally filed the lawsuit in June in an effort to block three new bylaws — all of which address transparency of governance — that were passed by member-owners at the annual meeting in April.
Though the co-op later filed a motion to dismiss the case, Mitchell said he wouldn’t allow that.
“I’m not going to dismiss. I think you have legitimate issues here,” he said.
One of the first matters to be addressed was venue. When Mitchell asked if there was anyone who opposed moving the case to Socorro, only the co-op’s attorneys, Dennis Francish and Paul Kennedy, raised their hands.
Kennedy said the co-op was opposed because Valencia County constituted proper venue.
Mitchell required all attorneys to file briefs on the matter before the end of December.
Addressing the co-op’s request for injunctive relief from the three bylaws, Mitchell said attorneys should look at the one that calls for the co-op board to follow the Open Meetings Act first. Another bylaw, similar in vein, allows members to attend meetings and be able to address the board. Mitchell said addressing the merit of the bylaw covering OMA overlaps the other.
Mitchell asked for briefs on that matter within 30 days, and he set a Jan. 20 deadline for written arguments pertaining to whether carrying on the lawsuit would be binding on members who did not answer the original complaint.
Mitchell said a counterclaim requesting class-action certification filed against the co-op would be taken up at a later date.
More on the status hearing will be covered in the Dec. 18 edition of El Defensor Chieftain.
Contact T.S. Last