Lawsuit Over Wind Leases Dismissed on Procedural Grounds in NM

SANTA FE — The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a lawsuit filed by Blanchard Corona Ranch over state land leases for wind energy was brought in the wrong county and must be dismissed.

The unanimous decision said the case against Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard should have been filed in Santa Fe County, where her office is located, or in Bernalillo County, where the ranch owners live. Instead, the suit was filed in Lincoln County, where the disputed land is located.

Challenge Focused on Procedure, Not Property

Blanchard Corona Ranch LLC had sued Garcia Richard after the State Land Office leased land for wind energy development that overlapped with the ranch’s existing grazing leases. The ranch renewed a grazing lease in 2019 on nearly 3,500 acres of state trust land in Lincoln County. In 2020, the Land Office entered agreements with two wind projects on part of that land.

The ranch argued that the lease provision allowing the state to permit renewable energy development was invalid under agency rules. But the high court said the legal challenge did not involve ownership or a direct claim to land.

In the opinion written by Justice Julie J. Vargas, the Court said the lawsuit did not seek to create or revoke a title or a legal interest in the land. “The declarations that Blanchard seeks would not themselves affect Blanchard’s possessory interest or any interest established by the Agricultural Lease,” the Court wrote.

The Court noted that the wind energy leases “have only a ‘potential’ to impact the land,” and that any future harm was speculative at this point.

Court Cites State Venue Law

At the heart of the ruling was how to apply New Mexico’s venue rules. The Court clarified that lawsuits involving actions of state officials must follow Section 38-3-1(D)(1) of state law, which directs those lawsuits to the county where the official works—Santa Fe—or the plaintiff’s home county.

Garcia Richard had appealed the trial court’s decision that Lincoln County was the proper venue, arguing the law clearly placed the case elsewhere. The Supreme Court agreed.

Blanchard Corona Ranch had argued that because the land in question was in Lincoln County, that should be where the case was heard. But the justices disagreed, stating the case was not about deciding rights to land, but rather the legal process used by the Land Office.

“Here, Blanchard’s action does not have the effect of settling possessory interests as between Blanchard and the Commissioner but instead seeks to vindicate Blanchard’s existing leasehold interest by challenging the procedures that the Commissioner followed,” the Court wrote.

Case Sent Back for Dismissal

The Supreme Court sent the case back to the Twelfth Judicial District Court in Lincoln County with instructions to dismiss it for being filed in the wrong venue.

The outcome leaves open the possibility that Blanchard Corona Ranch could refile the case in a proper county. However, the ruling sets a clear standard for where future lawsuits involving state officials must be brought.