A. Whenever it appears to the superintendent that any insurer or any director, officer, employee or agent thereof has committed or is about to commit a violation of Chapter 59A, Article 37 NMSA 1978 or of any rule, regulation or order of the superintendent hereunder, the superintendent may apply to the district court for the county in which the principal office of the insurer is located or, if such insurer has no such office in this state, then to the district court for Santa Fe county, for an order enjoining the insurer or the director, officer, employee or agent thereof from violating or continuing to violate that article or any rule, regulation or order, and for such other equitable relief as the nature of the case and the interest of the insurer's policyholders, creditors and shareholders or the public may require.

B. No security which is the subject of any agreement or arrangement regarding acquisition, or which is acquired or to be acquired, in contravention of the provisions of Chapter 59A, Article 37 NMSA 1978 or of any rule, regulation or order of the superintendent hereunder may be voted at any shareholders' meeting, or may be counted for quorum purposes, and any action of shareholders requiring the affirmative vote of a percentage of shares may be taken as though such securities were not issued and outstanding; but no action taken at any such meeting shall be invalidated by the voting of such securities, unless the action would materially affect control of the insurer or unless the courts of this state have so ordered. If an insurer or the superintendent has reason to believe that any security of the insurer has been or is about to be acquired in contravention of the provisions of that article or of any rule, regulation or order of the superintendent hereunder, the insurer or the superintendent may apply to the district court for Santa Fe county or to the district court for the county in which the insurer has its principal place of business to enjoin any offer, request, invitation, agreement or acquisition made in contravention of Sections 59A-37-4 through 59A-37-10 NMSA 1978, or any rule, regulation or order of the superintendent thereunder, to enjoin the voting of any security so acquired, to void any vote of such security already cast at any meeting of shareholders, and for such other equitable relief as the nature of the case and the interests of the insurer's policyholders, creditors and shareholders or the public may require.

C. In any case where a person has acquired or is proposing to acquire any voting securities in violation of Chapter 59A, Article 37 NMSA 1978 or any rule, regulation or order of the superintendent hereunder, the district court for the county in which the insurer has its principal place of business may, on such notice as the court deems appropriate, upon the application of the insurer or the superintendent, seize or sequester any voting securities of the insurer owned directly or indirectly by the person, and issue such orders with respect thereto as may be appropriate to effectuate the provisions of that article. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, for the purpose of that article, the situs of the ownership of the securities of domestic insurers shall be deemed to be in this state.

History: Laws 1984, ch. 127, § 640; 1993, ch. 320, § 86.

The 1993 amendment, effective June 18, 1993, substituted "Chapter 59A, Article 37 NMSA 1978" for "this article" in Subsections A, B, and C; substituted "that article" for "this article" near the end in Subsection A; in Subsection B, in the second sentence, substituted "that article" for "this article" and substituted "Sections 59A-37-4 through 59A-37-10 NMSA 1978" for "Sections 626 through 634 of this article"; in Subsection C, substituted "owned directly or indirectly by the person" for "owned directly by such person" in the first sentence and substituted "that article" for "this article" in the first and second sentences.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 43 Am. Jur. 2d Insurance § 56.