A. The petitioner may not be required to pay a filing fee or other costs.
B. If an obligee prevails, a responding tribunal of this state may assess against an obligor filing fees, reasonable attorney fees, other costs and necessary travel and other reasonable expenses incurred by the obligee and the obligee's witnesses. The tribunal may not assess fees, costs or expenses against the obligee or the support enforcement agency of either the initiating or the responding state or foreign country, except as provided by other law. Attorney fees may be taxed as costs and may be ordered paid directly to the attorney, who may enforce the order in the attorney's own name. Payment of support owed to the obligee has priority over fees, costs and expenses.
C. The tribunal shall order the payment of costs and reasonable attorney fees if it determines that a hearing was requested primarily for delay. In a proceeding pursuant to Sections 40-6A-601 through 40-6A-616 NMSA 1978, a hearing is presumed to have been requested primarily for delay if a registered support order is confirmed or enforced without change.
History: Laws 1994, ch. 107, § 313; 2005, ch. 166, § 24; 2011, ch. 159, § 24.
ANNOTATIONSCross references. — For costs and attorney fees, see Rule 1-054 NMRA.
Compiler's notes. — Laws 2016, ch. 61, § 1 repealed Laws 2011, ch. 159, §§ 69 and 70, an applicability clause and contingent effective date, respectively, effective May 18, 2016, thereby making Laws 2011, ch. 159, §§ 1 through 68, effective May 18, 2016. For provisions of Laws 2011, ch. 159, §§ 69 and 70, see compiler's note to 40-6A-100 NMSA 1978.
The 2011 amendment, effective May 18, 2016, included foreign countries within the scope of Subsection B and broadened the scope of proceedings in which a hearing may be presumed to have been requested primarily for delay to Sections 40-6A-601 through 40-6A-616 NMSA 1978.
The 2005 amendment, effective June 17, 2005, changed the statutory reference in Subsection (c) to "Sections 40-6A-601 through 40-6A-615 NMSA 1978".