AI Generated Opinion Summaries

This summary was computer-generated without any editorial revision. It is not official, has not been checked for accuracy, and is NOT citable.

Facts

The Plaintiffs filed a complaint against the Defendants, raising issues of liability and damages. The case involves unresolved questions of damages, which were to be determined at a later date.

Procedural History

• District Court, Grant County: An amended default judgment was issued against the Defendants, and their motion for relief under Rule 1-060(B) NMRA was denied.

Parties' Submissions

• Defendants-Appellants: Argued that the appeal should proceed and focused on the issue of one Defendant's standing.
• Plaintiffs-Appellees: [Not applicable or not found]

Legal Issues

• Whether the order denying relief under Rule 1-060(B) NMRA is a final, appealable order.
• Whether the unresolved issue of damages precludes the appeal.

Disposition

• The appeal was dismissed for lack of a final, appealable order.

Reasons

Per Wechsler J. (Bustamante and Sutin JJ. concurring):

The Court emphasized that the right to appeal is limited to final judgments and decisions, as per statutory and case law precedents. A judgment is not considered final unless all issues of law and fact have been resolved to the fullest extent possible. In this case, the issue of damages remains unresolved, as explicitly noted in the record. The Court cited relevant case law, including Principal Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Straus and Cole v. McNeill, to support the conclusion that the absence of a quantified damages award renders the judgment non-final and non-appealable. The Defendants' memorandum in opposition failed to address the lack of finality and instead focused on the standing issue, which the Court deemed irrelevant given the jurisdictional defect. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed.