In Bd. of Educ. v. Standhardt, 80 N.M. 543, 549, 458 P.2d 795, 801 (1969) the Court addressed the question of whether a school board could bring an action against a company after the statutes of limitations had run on the school board's claim. 80 N.M. at 548, 458 P.2d at 800.

In analyzing this issue, the Court construed and applied the statute now compiled as NMSA 1978, § 37-1-19 (1880), which provides that statutes of limitations apply to "actions brought by or against all bodies corporate or politic, except when otherwise expressly declared."

The Court reasoned that while the common law rule protects the State from statutes of limitations, the statute, Section 37-1-19, makes statutes of limitations applicable in actions involving other political subdivisions. Standhardt, 80 N.M. at 550, 458 P.2d at 802.

In construing the equivalent statute to Section 37-1-19, the Court determined that a political subdivision would only be immune from the statutes of limitations when the State was the real party in interest in the claim brought by or against that subdivision. Standhardt, 80 N.M. at 550, 458 P.2d at 802.