University of New Mexico Police Officer's Association v. The University of New Mexico and The University of New Mexico Police Department

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Mexico held that governmental immunity under NMSA 1978, Section 37-1-23(A), did not bar enforcement of a written collective bargaining agreement between the University of New Mexico and its police officers' association. The court allowed oral representations to clarify an intentionally vague wage provision because the agreement was valid, executed, implemented, and relied upon, and the representations were consistent with rather than contradictory to the written contract.

Holdings

1. Section 37-1-23(A) did not bar the Association's action because the parties had a valid written collective bargaining agreement, and under the specific circumstances of this case the court could consider oral representations to clarify the agreement's ambiguous wage term.
2. The decision did not authorize resort to parol evidence to resolve every ambiguity in every government contract; its holding was confined to the particular circumstances involving a valid, implemented government employment contract that expressly anticipated a later compensation study and whose wage term was clarified by reliable, noncontradictory representations.

Questions Presented

1. Whether NMSA 1978, Section 37-1-23(A), which waives governmental immunity only for actions based on a valid written contract, barred enforcement of a written collective bargaining agreement whose ambiguous wage term was clarified through oral representations.
2. Whether the use of extrinsic oral representations to interpret the wage provision transformed the action into one based on an invalid oral government contract or otherwise defeated the statutory written-contract exception to governmental immunity.

Disposition

affirmed