A. Only the following entities are entitled to use the term "cooperative" or an abbreviation or derivation of that term as part of their business names or to represent themselves as conducting business on a cooperative basis:

(1) associations organized pursuant to the Cooperative Association Act;

(2) groups organized on a cooperative basis pursuant to any other law of this state; and

(3) foreign corporations authorized to do business in this state on a cooperative basis pursuant to the Cooperative Association Act or any other law of this state.

B. Any person, firm or corporation violating the provisions of Subsection A of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars ($200), and the attorney general or any aggrieved individual or association or group organized on a cooperative basis may sue to enjoin an alleged violation of this section.

C. Should the courts or the attorney general or the public regulation commission [secretary of state] decide that any person, firm or corporation, using the name "cooperative" prior to these provisions and not organized on a cooperative basis, is entitled to continue in such use, any such business shall always place immediately after its name, the words "does not comply with the cooperative laws of New Mexico" in the same kind of type and in letters not less than two-thirds as large as those used in the term "cooperative".

History: Laws 1939, ch. 164, § 37; 1941 Comp., § 54-1437; 1953 Comp., § 51-15-37; 2001, ch. 200, § 20.

Bracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and is not part of the law.

Laws 2013, ch. 75, § 9 provided that as of July 1, 2013, the secretary of state, pursuant to N.M. const., Art. 11, § 19, shall assume responsibility for chartering corporations as provided by law, including the performance of the functions of the former corporations bureau of the public regulation commission, and that except for Subsection D of 53-5-8 NMSA 1978, references to the "public regulation commission", "state corporation commission" or "commission" shall be construed to be references to the secretary of state. See 8-4-7 NMSA 1978.

Cross references. — For optional use of "cooperative" in title of cooperative marketing association of agricultural producers, see 76-12-7 NMSA 1978.

The 2001 amendment, effective July 1, 2001, added the subsection designations; substituted "pursuant to the Cooperative Association Act" for "hereunder" in Paragraph A(1) and for "under this" in Paragraph A(3); and substituted "public regulation commission" for "state corporation commission" in Subsection C.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 18 Am. Jur. 2d Cooperative Associations §§ 5 to 9.

18 C.J.S. Corporations §§ 98 to 105.