Eze et al v. Lunsford et al

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO
PAULETTE EZE and PAMELA EZE SYLVESTRE,
as personal representatives of the ESTATE OF PRESLEY EZE;
ISAAC and LORETTA EZE, parents of PRESLEY EZE;
PETE “OBI” EZE, brother of PRESLEY EZE;
ELENA EZE, spouse of PRESLEY EZE; and
VINCENT J. WARD, as Guardian Ad Litem, of I.E.,
a minor child of decedent PRESLEY EZE,
Plaintiffs,
v. 	No. 2:23-cv-976-KWR-KRS
THE CITY OF LAS CRUCES; and
BRAD JUSTIN LUNSFORD,
in his individual capacity,
Defendants.
ORDER GRANTING [227] PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE MOTION
TO COMPEL LUNSFORD TO ANSWER REQUESTS FOR ADMISSION AND THE
CITY TO RESPOND TO REQUESTS FOR PRODUCTION
Currently before the Court is Plaintiffs’ Motion For Leave to File Motion to Compel
Lunsford to Answer Requests for Admission and the City to Respond to Requests for Production)
(Motion), filed April 13, 2026. (Doc. 227). Defendants filed a response on April 27, 2026 (Doc.
242), and Plaintiffs filed a reply on May 15, 2026 (Doc. 248).
Although the Motion is styled as a motion seeking “leave to file,” Defendants do not oppose
the filing of a motion to compel, but only the discovery at issue in the Motion. Accordingly, the
request in the Motion for leave to file a motion to compel is granted, and the Court will proceed
directly to rule on the question of whether to compel the discovery sought by the Motion, which
both parties addressed in the briefing on the Motion. The Court held a hearing on that issue on
May 26, 2026, at which time it announced its ruling. See (Doc. 257 (Clerk’s Minutes)). For the
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reasons stated at the hearing, the Motion is GRANTED, and Defendants are ORDERED to
answer the Requests for Admission and Requests for Production of Documents at issue in the
Motion. Defendants shall serve their responses to those written discovery requests within thirty
(30) days of entry of this Order.
IT IS SO ORDERED this 28th day of May, 2026.
__________________________________
KEVIN R. SWEAZEA
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Case 2:23-cv-00976-KWR-KRS Document 259 Filed 05/28/26 Page 2 of 2