V.P. Clarence Co. V. Colgate

This appeal requires us to determine whether a Texas loan brokerage company violated the registration requirement of the New Mexico Mortgage Loan Company and Loan Broker Act, NMSA 1978, Sections 58-21-1 to -27 (Repl.Pamp.1991),*fn1 by providing loan brokerage services to individuals in New Mexico without a registration certificate. Plaintiff-appellant V.P. Clarence Company ("Clarence"), a loan brokerage firm without a New Mexico registration certificate under the Loan Broker Act, sued defendants-appellees Henry Colgate and Maureen McGuinness (collectively "Colgate"), New Mexico residents doing business in New Mexico as Colgate Properties, to recover brokerage fees allegedly owed for services rendered. The New Mexico district court dismissed Clarence's claim for failure to comply with the Act's registration requirement, Section 58-21-3. Because we find that Clarence was not required to obtain a registration certificate or to plead compliance with or exemption from the Act, we reverse and remand for proceedings consistent with this decision.