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Romero v. Pueblo of Sandia/Sandia Casino9/29/2003
Breeden v. Wilson, 58 N.M. 517, 523-24, 273 P.2d 376, 379-80 (1954) (applying test to city ordinance requiring taxi cab operators to obtain surety bond or policy of insurance). We now hold that it applies when the relevant statute is the Compact.
We reach this conclusion having considered the parties' responses to our request that they brief the specific question of whether the Compact operates in the same manner as the MFRA with respect to the factors in Raskob. Cigna argues that we should not treat the Compact like the MFRA because the statutes have different purposes. In addition, Cigna asserts that the Raskob factors are not met because the mandatory insurance provisions of the Compact are merely incidental and because the Compact implies negation of joinder. As discussed below, we find these arguments unpersuasive.
Before addressing Cigna's attempts to distinguish the Compact from the MFRA, however, we observe that neither party attributes any significance to the fact that the Compact is a negotiated contract ratified by the legislature. See Gallegos v. Pueblo of Tesuque, 2002-NMSC-012, 30, 132 N.M. 207, 46 P.3d 668 (noting that the Compact is a contract between the State and the defendant tribe and codified by the legislature). The MFRA, in contrast, is a statute passed by the standard legislative process. This distinction would inform our analysis if we were interpreting the meaning of the Compact. Id. 30-33. In this case, however, our primary task is not to give meaning to the Compact itself, but instead to consider the Compact's legal effect within the framework of the Raskob factors. We have no reason to believe, nor do the parties suggest, that the method by which the Compact became law has any bearing on its function within our joinder analysis. Thus, we assume without deciding that the contractual nature of the Compact has no significance to this case.
We now turn to Cigna's attempts to distinguish the Compact from the MFRA. Cigna emphasizes that the exclusive purpose of the MFRA is to provide a means to recover damages arising from the use of motor vehicles. Section 66-5-201.1. Cigna contrasts this with purposes of the Compact, which include implementing the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, 25 U.S.C. ยงยง 2701 to 2721, providing revenue to tribal governments, and permitting the State to ensure that casino gaming is conducted fairly and honestly. Section 11-13-1, Section 1(G). That the Compact has multiple purposes reflects a much broader scope than the MFRA, but we do not agree with Cigna's suggestion that because the Compact has wide-ranging goals, any purposes outside of the "Purpose and Objectives" section of the Compact are rendered incidental. This view disregards the entire section of the Compact devoted to "Protection of Visitors." Section 11-13-1, Section 8. Moreover, the section on protection of visitors contains language explicitly linking it to the Compact's larger goal of permitting and regulating Indian gaming. See id. Section 8(A) ("The safety and protection of visitors to a Gaming Facility . . . is directly related to and necessary for the regulation of Tribal gaming activities in this state."). Accordingly, we reject Cigna's suggestion that the Raskob analysis does not apply just because the Compact's primary focus is not liability insurance.
Cigna further tries to distinguish the Compact from the MFRA by focusing on language in the version of the MFRA analyzed in Raskob. Specifically, Cigna zeroes in on the now repealed "absolute liability" provision, which conferred liability on insurers at the moment of injury or damage under a motor vehicle policy regardless of whether the policy expressly so provided. Raskob, 1998-NMSC-0
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