Judge Orders More Plaintiffs in Rio Rancho Ordinance Case Involving Candidate Rios

U.S. Magistrate Judge Jerry Ritter issued an opinion and order Oct. 10 directing the remaining plaintiffs in Corrine Rios’ federal lawsuit to either formally enter the case, retain an attorney, or show cause within 21 days, failure to comply would allow Presiding District Judge Sarah Davenport to dismiss their claims without prejudice, potentially narrowing Rios’ challenge to five Rio Rancho ordinances.

Rios filed the federal complaint July 3 after a Sandoval County judge failed to rule on her state case, citing not only the state court’s inaction but the need to "conserve judicial resources" and avoid numerous lawsuits. Rios, a Rio Rancho resident and known local activist who does not practice law, originally brought 14 other plaintiffs onto her case, but four later withdrew.

In her federal complaint, Rios asks the court to overturn the ordinances, order the city to refund the money collected by them, and require Rio Rancho to adopt new procedures requiring all future ordinances to have a sponsor. Rios is also identified in source material as a former New Mexico House of Representatives candidate and one of the six candidates running for mayor of Rio Rancho in the March 3, 2026 municipal election.

Magistrate Judge Ritter struck down several of Rios’ motions and notices in the case, filed July 3, stating that she repeatedly violated a court rule that requires all plaintiffs to sign onto litigation if the person who brings the case is not an attorney. Ritter criticized the procedural lapses but stopped short of ruling on the merits of whether the city lawfully adopted or is enforcing the five ordinances at issue.

The supplied reporting does not include key case details needed to track the litigation: no federal docket number or year for the Oct. 10 order, no names of the remaining plaintiffs, no ordinance numbers or descriptions of the five ordinances, no dollar amounts tied to the requested refunds, and no statement from the City of Rio Rancho or counsel. The materials also included an unrelated list of Sanford Duke web links with timestamps such as 2026-02-17T02:27:13.984Z that bear no connection to the Rio Rancho case.

Excluding Rios, Ritter has ordered the remaining plaintiffs to either enter the case, retain an attorney to do it for them, or show cause why they are unable to do so within 21 days. If not, Ritter added, Presiding District Judge Sarah Davenport would dismiss their claims without prejudice. That procedural 21-day clock will shape whether the group stays in the lawsuit as Rios pursues remedies that could affect city policy ahead of the March 3, 2026 municipal election.