Anti-SLAPP Laws in New Mexico

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

New Mexico's anti-SLAPP law is NMSA 1978 §§ 38-2-9.1 and 38-2-9.2, enacted in 2001 and never amended since. It's a narrow, purpose-built statute focused specifically on quasi-judicial government proceedings — not a version of the newer Uniform Public Expression Protection Act or the broader California/Texas models other states have adopted.

What speech or conduct is protected

The statute applies only to a lawsuit seeking money damages over conduct or speech connected to a "public hearing or public meeting in a quasi-judicial proceeding" before a tribunal or decision-making body of a state or local political subdivision. The statute's own definition lists meetings or presentations before state, city, town, or village councils, planning commissions, or review boards or commissions. New Mexico courts have read "quasi-judicial proceeding" to reach comparable state-agency disciplinary hearings — for example, a state racing commission's board-of-stewards disciplinary proceeding — but this is a much narrower category than the general public-forum or public-issue speech most other states' anti-SLAPP laws cover.

The special motion procedure

There's no statutory deadline for filing the motion itself. A defendant instead uses whichever existing motion type fits — a motion to dismiss, a motion for judgment on the pleadings, or a motion for summary judgment — and the statute requires the court to consider it "on a priority or expedited basis" to avoid unnecessary litigation expense. Unlike most other states' anti-SLAPP statutes, New Mexico's doesn't automatically stay discovery while the motion is pending.

Burden of proof

New Mexico's statute doesn't create its own special evidentiary test. It's a scheduling and fee-shifting statute layered on top of ordinary motion practice: whichever standard normally governs the motion type chosen — the ordinary pleading-sufficiency standard for a motion to dismiss, or the ordinary genuine-issue-of-material-fact standard for summary judgment — is what the court actually applies, just on an accelerated timeline.

Attorney's fees

The fee award is conditionally mandatory. If the § 38-2-9.1 defense is raised and the court grants a motion to dismiss, for judgment on the pleadings, or for summary judgment that was filed within 90 days of the moving party's answer, the court must award the moving party reasonable attorney fees and costs. Separately, if the court finds that a motion to dismiss or for summary judgment was frivolous or filed solely to cause delay, it must award fees and costs to whoever prevailed on the motion.

Right to appeal

Any party has an express statutory right to an expedited appeal from a trial court's ruling on the motion — or from the trial court's failure to rule on an expedited basis at all. New Mexico's Court of Appeals has limited this expedited-appeal jurisdiction to speech-based defenses raised under this statute (or the related Noerr-Pennington petitioning doctrine); it doesn't extend to other grounds for dismissal argued alongside the anti-SLAPP defense in the same motion.

Exemptions

There's no exemptions section carving activity out of the statute's already-narrow scope. Instead, the statute includes a savings clause: nothing in it limits or prohibits a party's other constitutional, statutory, common-law, or administrative rights or remedies, including a separate civil action for defamation or malicious abuse of process.

What trips people up

This statute covers far less than most other states' anti-SLAPP laws. It only reaches money-damages claims tied to a public hearing or meeting in a quasi-judicial government proceeding — a negative online review of a private business, for instance, generally falls outside its scope entirely, unlike in states with a broad public-interest catch-all.

There's no automatic discovery stay. Filing the motion doesn't pause discovery the way it does in most other anti-SLAPP states; the statute only requires the court to give the motion priority or expedited consideration.

The fee award depends on filing within 90 days of the answer. The mandatory fee-shifting provision only applies if the successful motion was filed within that window — file late, and the fee award may not be automatic even if the motion succeeds.

The expedited-appeal right is real and statutory, not something you need case law to find. The statute itself creates the right to an expedited appeal, including from a court's failure to rule — you don't need to rely on a general, discretionary interlocutory-appeal procedure to get appellate review of a denial.

Common questions

Does this cover a lawsuit over a comment I made at a city council meeting? Likely yes, if the meeting qualifies as a quasi-judicial proceeding under the statute's definition and the suit seeks money damages over your comment.

Does this cover a lawsuit over my negative Yelp review? Generally no — the statute's scope is limited to conduct or speech connected to a quasi-judicial government proceeding, not general commercial or consumer-facing speech.

If my motion is denied, can I appeal right away? Yes — the statute gives any party an express right to an expedited appeal from the ruling, or from a court's failure to rule on an expedited basis, though New Mexico courts limit that right to appeals of the speech-based defense itself.

Statutes and sources

• NMSA 1978 § 38-2-9.1(A) — creates the three special-motion routes and requires priority or expedited consideration. Source: https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa/en/4369/1/document.do#38-2-9.1 (accessed 2026-08-23).
• NMSA 1978 § 38-2-9.1(B) — "If the rights afforded by this section are raised as an affirmative defense and if a court grants a motion to dismiss, a motion for judgment on the pleadings or a motion for summary judgment filed within ninety days of the filing of the moving party's answer, the court shall award reasonable attorney fees and costs incurred by the moving party in defending the action. If the court finds that a special motion to dismiss or motion for summary judgment is frivolous or solely intended to cause unnecessary delay, the court shall award costs and reasonable attorney fees to the party prevailing on the motion." Source: https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa/en/4369/1/document.do#38-2-9.1 (accessed 2026-08-23).
• NMSA 1978 § 38-2-9.1(C) — "Any party shall have the right to an expedited appeal from a trial court order on the special motions described in Subsection B of this section or from a trial court's failure to rule on the motion on an expedited basis." Source: https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa/en/4369/1/document.do#38-2-9.1 (accessed 2026-08-23).
• NMSA 1978 § 38-2-9.1(D)-(E) — defines a public meeting in a quasi-judicial proceeding and preserves other rights and remedies. Source: https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa/en/4369/1/document.do#38-2-9.1 (accessed 2026-08-23).
• NMSA 1978 § 38-2-9.2 — "The legislature declares that it is the public policy of New Mexico to protect the rights of its citizens to participate in quasi-judicial proceedings before local and state governmental tribunals... These lawsuits should be subject to prompt dismissal or judgment to prevent the abuse of the legal process and avoid the burden imposed by such baseless lawsuits." Source: https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa/en/4369/1/document.do#38-2-9.2 (accessed 2026-08-23).