Section 35-10-3 - Forcible entry or detainer; special provisions. - New Mexico Statutes

35-10-3. Forcible entry or detainer; special provisions.

A.     Except as provided in Section 35-10-1 NMSA 1978, three days' notice in writing to quit must be given to the defendant before a civil action for forcible entry or unlawful detainer may be filed.   

B.     The return day of the summons in an action for forcible entry or unlawful detainer shall be not less than three, nor more than ten, days from the time of service of the civil complaint and summons on the defendant. Except by consent of the parties, no continuance shall be granted for more than ten days.   

C.     The questions of title or boundaries of land shall not be investigated in an action for forcible entry or unlawful detainer, but the action does not prevent a party from testing the right of property in any other manner. An action for forcible entry or unlawful detainer may not be brought in connection with any other action, nor may it be made the subject of setoff.   

D.     The right of a landlord in an action for forcible entry or unlawful detainer is not affected by the underleasing of his tenant.   

E.     When a lessee has been induced to take a lease by means of force, fraud or intimidation, he may plead a paramount title in himself, an outstanding title or the want of title in the lessor.   

F.     Legal representatives of a person who, if alive, might have brought an action for forcible entry or unlawful detainer may bring the action after his death.   

G.     All laws and procedures governing magistrate courts apply to actions for forcible entry or unlawful detainer in the magistrate court except as otherwise provided by law.