Judge allows lawsuit over Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners’ Project Jupiter vote to continue
By Danielle Prokop
Source NM
March 20, 2026
… On Friday, Sixth Judicial District Judge Jennifer DeLaney struck down Doña Ana County’s motion to toss the New Mexico Environmental Law Center’s October lawsuit against its Board of County Commissioners, which alleges the body acted inappropriately when it approved the massive data center development despite missing application pages. DeLaney allowed the lawsuit to continue, though she also denied NMELC’s motion to pause the county’s actions until the suit was resolved.
“We’re not asking this court to determine whether Project Jupiter will benefit or harm the county and its constituents. This isn’t a case about that,” NMELC attorney Kacey Hovden said during Friday’s hearing. “This is a case about whether the local decision maker — the government body — followed the laws it was supposed to.”
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