New Mexico's highest court is considering whether to reinstate portions of whistleblower lawsuits seeking to recover hundreds of millions of dollars for the state because of an alleged pay-to-play scheme over public investments.
The Supreme Court heard arguments from lawyers on Thursday over a law allowing citizens to bring lawsuits on behalf of the state to recover triple damages.
The Court of Appeals last year upheld a judge's ruling that it was unconstitutional to apply the law to activities taking place before the statute took effect in 2007.
The ruling came in a lawsuit by former pension fund investment officer Frank Foy, who alleged that investment business was improperly steered to former Gov. Bill Richardson's political supporters.
The court took the case under advisement and will issue a decision later.
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