Federal Judge Dismisses Rio Rancho Residents' Lawsuit Over City Ordinances

Corrine Rios, the former Rio Rancho mayoral candidate who ran on a government-transparency platform, saw her federal lawsuit against the city dismissed April 1 when U.S. District Court Judge Sarah M. Davenport ruled the case did not belong in federal court, though the judge stopped short of sanctioning Rios or ordering her to pay the city's legal costs.

The lawsuit, filed by Rios and five other Rio Rancho residents, challenged five ordinances the city's Governing Body adopted without a sponsor: Ordinance O5 (a lodger's tax on short-term rentals), O7 (water and wastewater rate adjustments), O8 (municipal judge salaries), O18 (mayor and city councilor salaries), and O22 (short-term rental regulations). The plaintiffs argued the city violated its own procedural rules and, in the federal filing, alleged due process violations under the 14th Amendment.

Rios originally filed the complaint in Sandoval County state court in June 2025. After a state court judge failed to rule, the group refiled in federal court, framing the city's procedural shortcuts as a constitutional violation touching on consent of the governed. Judge Davenport disagreed, granting the city's motion to dismiss on the grounds that a local procedural dispute does not automatically become a federal case.

The practical effect for Rio Rancho residents is that all five ordinances remain fully in force. Ordinance O7's water and wastewater rate adjustments apply to every utility customer in the city. Ordinances O5 and O22, which together impose a lodger's tax and new regulatory requirements on short-term rentals, are now enforceable without any court-ordered pause. A homeowner renting a spare bedroom through a platform like Airbnb faces both the new tax under O5 and the compliance requirements under O22, with nothing standing in the way of enforcement.

City communications specialist Ludella Awad issued a written statement saying the city appreciated the ruling and would continue "to vigorously defend itself against false claims and frivolous litigation," adding the city hoped the matter would no longer distract from municipal business.

Rios pushed back in her own prepared statement, arguing that Davenport's ruling left the core question untouched: whether the Governing Body actually followed the procedural rules it adopted for itself. She said voters remain the ultimate remedy if city officials fail to follow their own rules.

The dismissal does not close every door. Rios and the five co-plaintiffs retain the option to refile in Sandoval County state court, where their original complaint sat unresolved. A federal appeal of Davenport's ruling would need to be initiated within 30 days. With the ordinances now proceeding without legal interruption, the transparency questions Rios raised are likely to resurface as Rio Rancho approaches its next municipal elections.