A. Any property owner may accept the appraisals in his favor of benefits and of damages and of land to be taken, made by the appraisers, or may acquiesce in their failure to appraise damages in his favor, and shall be construed to have done so unless he shall within ten (10) days after the last publication provided for in the preceding section [73-15-6 NMSA 1978], file written exceptions to said report or to any appraisal of either benefits or of damages, or of the value of land to be taken.

B. All exceptions except in cases where a trial by jury is demanded shall be heard by the court beginning on the date set for the said hearing, or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard, and determined in advance of other business so as to carry out, liberally, the purposes and needs of the district.

C. The court may, if it deems necessary, by order, direct the return of the report to the appraisers for further consideration and amendment. If the court directs the appraisers to revise and amend the roll, specifying the changes to be made, a further hearing thereon may be had without new notice. If, however, the appraisal roll or the report, as a whole is referred back to the appraisers, the court shall not resume the hearing thereon without new notice, as for an original hearing thereon.

D. The conservancy court may appoint a special master, to take testimony and conduct hearings on all controversies arising under provisions of this act, whenever a jury trial is not guaranteed thereon by the constitution. Such special master together with the chief engineer, or his assistant shall attend at convenient places within the district after giving notice by publication of the time and place of such hearings, and shall endeavor to adjust such controversies. He shall have power to administer oaths, issue subpoenas and compel the attendance of witnesses. He shall take the evidence on each such controversy and report the same with his findings and conclusions and recommendations thereon to the conservancy court.

E. The special master shall be paid for his services a per diem compensation to be fixed and approved by the court, together with his expenses including a stenographer, which shall be paid out of any available funds of the conservency [conservancy] district.

F. The special master shall not report the evidence unless the exceptant requires him to do so, and deposits the fees required to transcribe such testimony. Failure to make such requirement and to pay such fees within five days after such hearing shall be taken and considered a waiver of reporting testimony and an election to rely on the report so made as to fact.

G. A person aggrieved by any report of such special master must, within ten days after it is filed, file written exceptions to said report specifying his grounds of objection thereto; failing in which he shall be considered to have acquiesced in such report as made.

H. Immediately on filing such exceptions with the court the clerk thereof shall set the same for hearing before the court on a day certain set apart by the court for hearing such exceptions.

I. Upon hearing such exceptions to the report the court shall enter such final judgment thereon as the facts shall warrant or return the matter to the master for further proceedings.

History: Laws 1927, ch. 45, § 407; C.S. 1929, § 30-407; 1941 Comp., § 77-2807; 1953 Comp., § 75-29-7.

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

Compiler's notes. — For the meaning of "this act", see compiler's notes to 73-14 1 NMSA 1978.

This section affords fair hearing on the total amount which may be assessed against any property in the conservancy district. Gutierrez v. Middle Rio Grande Conservancy Dist., 1929-NMSC-071, 34 N.M. 346, 282 P. 1, cert. denied, 280 U.S. 610, 50 S. Ct. 158, 74 L. Ed. 653 (1930).

Finality of appraisal proceedings. — Where an established conservancy district managed a community ditch, and property owners did not object to the method of taking and appraising the ditch prior to the court's approval, the proceedings were final. Middle Rio Grande Conservancy Dist. v. Chavez, 1940-NMSC-016, 44 N.M. 240, 101 P.2d 190.