Rule 1-071.1.Statutory stream system adjudication suits; service and joinder of water rights claimants; responses
Last amended June 8, 2011 · Last verified June 26, 2026
In one sentenceRule 1-071.1 governs joining and serving water rights claimants in statutory stream system adjudications, allowing joinder by stream subsections and requiring claimants to respond.
A.Joinder by sections. If the court determines, upon its own motion or motion by a party, that the division of the stream system into subsections would promote the speedy and efficient prosecution of a stream system adjudication suit conducted pursuant to Section 72-4-17 NMSA 1978, the court may order the plaintiff to join water rights claimants by stream system subsections in accordance with the division ordered by the court.
B.Service and joinder. Upon the court’s order, the plaintiff shall join water rights claimants as defendants to an adjudication by serving them with a proposed consent order or other document requiring a response by the claimant. The proposed consent order or other document served on a claimant pursuant to this paragraph shall contain a conspicuous notification of the claimant’s obligation to respond and such additional information about the adjudication as the court deems appropriate. The form of the foregoing documents shall be approved by the court. Service of the foregoing documents shall be made pursuant to Rule 1-004 NMRA, except that the summons shall be issued and signed by the plaintiff. Service of the foregoing documents or execution of the waiver of service shall join the claimant as a defendant to the adjudication, and no further order of the court shall be required for joinder.
C.Responses. Unless the court orders otherwise, claimants shall respond to any proposed consent order or other document served as set forth in Paragraph B of this rule within the deadlines set, and by the procedures ordered, by the court. A claimant who fails to respond to a proposed consent order within the time period set by the court may be subject to the entry of a default judgment pursuant to Rule 1-055 NMRA, which judgment will adjudicate the claimant’s water rights as proposed by the plaintiff in the proposed consent order. If the document requiring a response is not a proposed consent order, the default judgment will adjudicate the claimant’s rights as set forth in a hydrographic survey in compliance with Section 72-4-16 NMSA 1978, unless the court for good cause orders otherwise.
End
Rule History
[Provisionally approved by Supreme Court Order No. 07-8300-013 for one year, effective June 13, 2007; provisionally approved by Supreme Court Order No. 08-8300 for one additional year, effective June 9, 2008; provisionally approved by Supreme Court Order No. 09-8300-015, for one additional year, effective June 9, 2009; provisionally approved by Supreme Court Order No. 10-8300-020, for one additional year, effective June 8, 2010; as amended by Supreme Court Order No. 11-8300-027, effective for new and pending cases on or after June 8, 2011.]
Plain-English Summary
This rule manages the joinder of claimants in stream system adjudications under Section 72-4-17. If dividing the stream system into subsections would speed the case, the court may order the plaintiff to join water rights claimants by subsection. On that order, the plaintiff joins claimants as defendants by serving a proposed consent order or other document requiring a response, with conspicuous notice of the duty to respond; service follows Rule 1-004, except the plaintiff issues and signs the summons, and service or a waiver joins the claimant without further order.
Claimants must respond within the deadlines and procedures the court sets. A claimant who fails to respond to a proposed consent order may face a default judgment adjudicating water rights as the plaintiff proposed; where the document is not a consent order, the default judgment adjudicates rights as set out in a hydrographic survey unless the court orders otherwise.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are water rights claimants joined in a stream adjudication?
The court may order joinder by stream subsections; the plaintiff then serves each claimant a proposed consent order or other document requiring a response, and service or a waiver joins the claimant as a defendant.
What happens if a claimant does not respond?
The claimant may face a default judgment adjudicating water rights as the plaintiff proposed, or as set out in a hydrographic survey if the document was not a consent order.
Source & verification. Rule text and Committee commentary reproduced verbatim from the
New Mexico Rules of Civil Procedure for the District Courts (Rule 1-071.1 NMRA), published by the New Mexico Compilation Commission (NMOneSource).
Promulgated by the Supreme Court of New Mexico. The plain-English summary is original and draws on the official annotations. Last verified June 26, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:stream adjudicationwater rights joinderstream system serviceconsent order