DeMarsh v. Landreth (1976)
Decided: August 24, 1976. Full primary opinion retrieved on an unofficial reporter host; reader-only versus raw-body provenance is identified in the New Mexico source catalog. demarsh
Source note (2026-10-18):
- source replaced 2026-10-18: static.case.law robots-disallowed; official copy at NM OneSource (New Mexico Compilation Commission, official) (replaces
https://static.case.law/nm/89/cases/0494-01.json; retrieval dates stated elsewhere on this page refer to the earlier copy).
Facts
A shop installed a replacement engine for an agreed USD364; damage on starting produced about USD100 in additional charges. DeMarsh disputed the additional work and the shop retained the car under the garageman’s lien. DeMarsh challenged detention and the statutory sale option; he paid and recovered the car before appellate decision. demarsh
Holding and disposition
The majority upheld the challenged retention against the due-process attack while assuming, without deciding, state action. It expressly did not decide the constitutionality of sale: payment and recovery made that question moot. The judgment was affirmed on the detention issue. demarsh
Reasoning and complete remedial treatment
The majority emphasized the repairer’s possession and value added, the preexisting status quo, and the competing property interests. It distinguished detention from sale’s permanent severance of ownership. The majority’s treatment of authorities addressing sale was not a decision approving or striking the New Mexico sale procedure. demarsh
Practical impact and limits
Sutin specially concurred in the result only: he considered judicial chattel-mortgage foreclosure constitutional but would find the optional private notice-and-sale method unconstitutional. His position is not the majority holding. Neither the majority nor that concurrence establishes a current blanket rule that every private lien enforcement is state action, or that detention is immune from every later statutory/customer protection. demarsh
Treatment and currentness boundary
The retained official §48-3-1 annotations continue to identify this detention decision. The current grant/enforcement text and later operative tow/execution rules were compared; they do not convert its mooted sale issue into a holding. No comprehensive later constitutional-treatment certificate is claimed. This page does not adopt the former broad assertion that later federal law categorically resolves every New Mexico private sale. demarsh ch48
Applies in →
new-mexico · court-ordered-administrative-and-creditor-sales
Disclaimer. This page is legal information, not legal advice. It summarizes a court decision that may have been limited or distinguished by later authority. Nothing here creates an attorney-client relationship. Read the full opinion and consult a licensed attorney before acting.