Brandon K. Kuykendall v. New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission

CourtDistrict Court, D. New Mexico
DecidedFebruary 9, 2026
Docket2:25-cv-00608
StatusUnknown

This text of Brandon K. Kuykendall v. New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission (Brandon K. Kuykendall v. New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Mexico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brandon K. Kuykendall v. New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission, (D.N.M. 2026).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO

BRANDON K. KUYKENDALL,

Plaintiff,

v. Civ. No. 2:25-608 JB/GJF

NEW MEXICO JUDICIAL STANDARDS COMMISSION,

Defendant.

PROPOSED FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDED DISPOSITION ON DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS1

This case arises from a June 4, 2020 determination by Defendant New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission (“Defendant” or “the Commission”) that no action be taken on a complaint that Plaintiff brought against then-New Mexico State District Judge Kea W. Riggs. See Compl., Dkt. No. 1-1. Judge Riggs had presided for a time over a domestic custody proceeding brought by Mr. Kuykendall in New Mexico State Court, Brandon K Kuykendall v. Kristen Weger, D-504- DM-200500548 (“State Custody Case”). See Compl. 2, Dkt. No. 1-1. On July 2, 2025, Defendant filed in the present case a Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim Upon Which Relief Can Be Granted (Dkt. No. 4). Plaintiff, who is proceeding pro se, did not file a timely response to the motion, and Defendant filed a notice of completion of briefing on August 5, 2025 (Dkt. No. 10). More than four months later, on December 19, 2025, Plaintiff filed the following motions: (i) Motion Confirming Preservation of Jury Trial Right Following Transfer to Federal Jurisdiction (Dkt. No. 12) (“Motion for Jury Trial”); (ii) Motion for Evidentiary Hearing on Jurisdictional Record (Dkt. No. 13) (“Motion for Evidentiary

1 The undersigned files this Proposed Findings and Recommended Disposition (“PFRD”) pursuant to the presiding judge’s Order of Reference on August 8, 2025. Order, Dkt. No. 11. Hearing”); (iii) Motion to Stay and Enjoin State Proceedings and Enforcement Pending Jurisdictional Determination (Dkt. No. 14) (“Motion to Stay”); and (iv) Motion for Judicial Notice of Official State Court Records and Absence of Jurisdictional Transcript (Dkt. No. 15) (“Motion for Judicial Notice”). On December 22, 2025, Plaintiff belatedly filed a response to the motion to dismiss (Dkt. No. 16). Defendant thereafter filed a reply (Dkt. No. 18) and an amended notice of

completion of briefing (Dkt. No. 19). Without leave of the Court, Plaintiff filed a sur-reply (Dkt. No. 20) in opposition to the motion to dismiss on January 23, 2026. Defendant did not file responses to Plaintiff’s motions and the deadlines for submitting any have passed. This matter is therefore ready for decision on all pending motions. Having considered the motion to dismiss, the briefs in support and opposition, Plaintiff’s motions, the complaint, and relevant law, the Court recommends that the motion to dismiss be granted. The Court further recommends that Plaintiff’s Motion for Judicial Notice (Dkt. No. 15) be granted only to the limited extent the Court considers the state court record in ruling on the motion to dismiss, but it should otherwise be denied. Finally, the undersigned recommends that

Plaintiff’s Motion for Jury Trial (Dkt. No. 12), Motion for Evidentiary Hearing (Dkt. No. 13), and Motion to Stay (Dkt. No. 14) be denied as moot. I. BACKGROUND2 Beginning in 2005, Plaintiff was a petitioner in a paternity, custody and child support case in state court in Chaves County, New Mexico. See Kuykendall v. Weger, D-504-DM-200500548,

2 Plaintiff attached to his complaint a portion of the docket sheet of the official court record from the State Custody Case. See Ex. A, Dkt. No. 1-1 at 6 of 7. He also attached the June 4, 2020 letter from the Commission regarding its consideration of his complaint to the Commission. See Ex. B, Dkt. No. 1-1 at 7 of 7. A court may consider on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion information that is subject to proper judicial notice or documents incorporated into the complaint by reference and central to the plaintiff’s claim, unless their authenticity is questioned. See Tellabs, Inc. v. Makor Issues & Rights, Ltd., 551 U.S. 308, 322 (2007); Pace v. Swerdlow, 519 F.3d 1067, 1072 (10th Cir. 2008) (quoting Utah Gospel Mission v. Salt Lake City Corp., 425 F.3d 1249, 1253-54 (10th Cir. 2005)). Accordingly, the following factual allegations are taken from Plaintiff’s complaint, the exhibits attached thereto, and the state court record in Kuykendall v. Weger, D-504-DM-200500548. New Mexico Courts Case Lookup, https://caselookup.nmcourts.gov/caselookup/app. On July 8, 2015, then-state District Judge Kea W. Riggs presided over the case and entered an Order to Show Cause requiring Mr. Kuykendall to attend an August 17, 2015 hearing. See id.; Ex. A, Dkt. No. 1- 1 at 6 of 7. Service on Mr. Kuykendall for the hearing did not occur. See id.; Compl. ¶ 4, Dkt. No. 1-1. Judge Riggs held the August 17, 2015 hearing, despite Mr. Kuykendall not being present. See

Ex. A, Dkt. No. 1-1 at 6 of 7; Compl. ¶ 5, Dkt. No. 1-1. Afterwards, she entered an order to withhold his income. See Ex. A, Dkt. No. 1-1 at 6 of 7; Compl. ¶ 5, Dkt. No. 1-1. Litigation continued in the case, including significant motion practice by Mr. Kuykendall, and the case was reassigned to another judge on November 9, 2016. See Kuykendall, D-504-DM- 200500548. Judgment was entered in the case on November 18, 2019. Id. Mr. Kuykendall appealed both the judgment and an order holding him in civil contempt for failing to comply with the judgment giving the mother permanent legal and physical custody of their child and ordering him to pay both child support arrearages and monthly child support. Kuykendall v. Weger, No. A-1- CA-38705, 2021 WL 4077547, at *1 (N.M. Ct. App. Sept. 8, 2021) (unpublished). The New

Mexico Court of Appeals dismissed his appeal. Id. The New Mexico Supreme Court denied certiorari. See Kuykendall v. Weger, S-1-SC-39035, 547 P.3d 698 (N.M. Nov. 24, 2021). Meanwhile, in 2018, Plaintiff filed a complaint with the Commission “regarding extrinsic fraud and civil rights violations committed by Kea W. Riggs in her ‘official capacity’” arising out of her finding him in contempt of Court and awarding child support against him during an ex parte hearing, even though he had not been properly served with the order to show cause. See Compl. ¶¶ 3-5, Dkt. No. 1-1. While Plaintiff’s complaint was under review, Judge Riggs was appointed to the federal bench. See id. ¶ 7. By letter dated June 4, 2020, the Chair of the Commission informed Plaintiff that it decided that no action should be taken on the complaint, and the inquiry would be closed. Ex. B, Dkt. No. 1-1 at 7 of 7. In the letter, the Commission explained the reasons for its final decision: his allegations concerned issues that can only be addressed by a court; there were insufficient facts or evidence to establish a violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct; and/or allegations concerned someone not subject to the Commission’s jurisdiction, which is limited to currently sitting justices or judges on one of the state courts. See id.

Nearly five years later, on May 13, 2025, Plaintiff filed suit against the Commission in state court.3 Plaintiff asserts the following claims against the Commission: obstruction of justice, extrinsic fraud and fraud upon the court, violations of due process, violation of the Thirteenth Amendment and crimes against humanity, and violations of the New Mexico Civil Rights Act (“NMCRA”), N.M. Stat. Ann. §§ 41-4A-1 to -13 (2021). Compl. ¶¶ 18-23, Dkt. No. 1-1. Following removal to this Court, Defendant moved to dismiss all claims based on judicial or quasi-judicial immunity, failure to state a plausible claim for relief, and failure to file the claims within the respective statute of limitations period. See Def.’s Mot. 3-11, Dkt. No. 4.

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