A. Except as otherwise specified in this section, upon default by the pledgor, the pawnbroker shall comply with the requirements of Chapter 55, Article 9 NMSA 1978 in the disposition of the pledged goods.

B. If there is a conflict between a specific provision of the Pawnbrokers Act and a more general provision of Chapter 55, Article 9 NMSA 1978, the more specific provision of the Pawnbrokers Act shall control.

C. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A of this section, the pawnbroker shall not dispose of the pledged property, except by redemption, until at least ninety days after the indebtedness has become due.

D. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A of this section, if the pawnbroker disposes of the pledged property by sale in the regular course of business, such sale shall conform to the requirements of Chapter 55, Article 9 NMSA 1978 and, if a surplus remains after sale of the pledged property, the pawnbroker shall make a record of the sale and the amount of the surplus and notify the pledgor by first class mail sent to the pledgor's last known address of the amount of the surplus and the pledgor's right to claim it at a specified location within ninety days of the date of mailing of the notice if the surplus is one hundred dollars ($100) or less or within twelve months of the date of mailing of the notice if the surplus is greater than one hundred dollars ($100). In the event that the first class mail addressed to any person is returned unclaimed to the pawnbroker, then the pawnbroker shall post and maintain on a conspicuous public part of the pawnbroker's premises an appropriately entitled list naming each such person. Ninety days or twelve months, as applicable, after the date of the mailing or posting, whichever is later, the pawnbroker may retain any surplus remaining unclaimed by the pledgor as the pawnbroker's own property.

History: Laws 1985, ch. 228, § 11; 2009, ch. 187, § 1.

The 2009 amendment, effective June 19, 2009, added Subsection B and in Subsection D, after "conform to the requirements of", deleted "Section 55-9-504" and added "Chapter 55, Article 9".