Judge Sets Trial Date in Lawsuit Block Declared "Resolved" — Case Heads to Court in 2027

Alamogordo NM- A 12th Judicial District Court judge has set a four-day civil trial for March 30 through April 2, 2027, in the lawsuit between state Rep. John P. Block IV and his former domestic partner — a case Block publicly declared "resolved amicably between the parties" 103 days ago, on his official Facebook page, as a sitting New Mexico state legislator.

Judge Lori L. Gibson Willard denied both of Block's motions for summary judgment at a July 13, 2026 hearing in Otero County, finding that breach-of-contract claims are viable and must proceed to trial. The ruling means the case — which Block characterized in an April 2, 2026 Facebook post as a settled "private property dispute" — will instead be decided by a judge after four days of testimony, evidence, and argument in early 2027. Far from "settled!"

Block, representing House District 51 in Alamogordo, is Ranking Minority Member of the House Consumer & Public Affairs Committee, the legislative panel with jurisdiction over consumer protection, debt collection, and lending regulation in New Mexico. He is represented by Albuquerque attorney Michael J. Seibel, who also operates Canvasback Financial Services LLC, a debt purchasing and receivables management firm regulated by the same consumer protection laws Block's committee oversees.

Block faces a contested race in the November 3, 2026 general election. Grace A. Nagamine, a lifelong Alamogordo resident and founder of Royal Angels, has qualified for the November ballot as an Independent candidate for House District 51. Nagamine filed her declaration of candidacy with the New Mexico Secretary of State, gathered the required nominating petition signatures, and met the petition filing deadline, qualifying her for the general election under New Mexico law. Her campaign committee — Grace for Neighbors Committee — is registered with the NM Secretary of State and listed as Compliant and Active, with a last filing date of July 7, 2026. Her platform focuses on veterans and Holloman Air Force Base, seniors and disability services, children and family welfare, homelessness and mental health, economic growth, and infrastructure. Nagamine's campaign website is graceforhd51.org. 

The April 2 Statement and What the Court Record Shows

On April 2, 2026, Block published a statement on his official Facebook page — identified as the public page of a sitting New Mexico state representative — stating: 'The lawsuit referenced in these posts has been mischaracterized. It was a private property dispute that has since been resolved amicably between the parties, and any claims otherwise are false.'

The official court record tells a different story. As of the July 13, 2026 hearing, the case is set for trial, Block is listed in court documents as both Defendant and Counter-Plaintiff — meaning he has filed his own claims against Melton — and Judge Gibson Willard has ordered a scheduling order, commissioner appointment proceedings, and discovery to be completed before the March 2027 trial date.

Court records show the case number is D-1215-CV-2025-00757, filed in the 12th Judicial District Court, Otero County. Melton's breach-of-contract claim arises from the dissolution of their domestic partnership and a written agreement signed November 7, 2024, regarding shared property in Alamogordo.

What the Judge Ruled July 13

At the July 13 hearing, Judge Gibson Willard addressed multiple pending motions. Her rulings, as documented in the official court audio log:

The denial of both summary judgment motions is a significant development. Summary judgment — which allows a court to resolve a case without trial when there are no genuine disputes of material fact — is typically Block's most powerful tool for ending the litigation short of a full hearing. Both attempts failed.

On the breach-of-contract claim, the judge found that while Block has a right to the items he removed from the shared residence, the breach-of-contract claim related to that removal survives and Melton has a right to the property or its equivalent value. That determination will be made at trial.

Block's Attorney: A Debt Collector Who Donated to His Campaign

Seibel, who has represented Block throughout the proceedings, is identified in court filings as 'Attorney for Defendant Block.' His law firm, Michael J. Seibel & Associates, is located at 8500 Menaul Blvd. NE, Suite A-410, Albuquerque. Court records confirm he has appeared on Block's behalf at multiple hearings from 2025 thru July 13, 2026.

Seibel's LinkedIn profile describes him as 'primarily handling collection of Personal and Business accounts' with 'over 20,000 collection matters and over 6,000 foreclosures.' He is the Managing Member of Canvasback Financial Services LLC, registered with the New Mexico Secretary of State in June 2022, which he describes as a 'receivables management firm operating in New Mexico... purchasing portfolios.'

Campaign finance records published by MoneyTrailNM.com — which draws data directly from the New Mexico Secretary of State's Campaign Finance Information System — show Seibel made two contributions to Block's campaign: $500.00 on December 30, 2021, and $156.15 on April 13, 2022, for a combined total of $656.15. Both contributions predated Block's assumption of office in January 2023.

A July 8, 2026 court filing by Melton — Plaintiff's Notice of Updated Repair Status and Continuing Preservation Issue — contains as Exhibit H an email chain between Melton and Seibel. The email chain shows Seibel conducting Block's legal defense communications from the email address mikecanvasback2014@___.com — a personal mail account bearing the name of his Canvasback Financial business.

Block has voted against every consumer protection bill that came before the House Consumer & Public Affairs Committee during the 2023, 2024, and 2025 legislative sessions. Official nmlegis.gov roll-call records document more than 14 such votes. Seibel's debt collection practice and Canvasback Financial's debt purchasing operations are directly regulated by the consumer protection framework that Block's committee oversees.

Block has made no public disclosure of the attorney-client relationship with Seibel, the campaign contributions, or any connection between the two relationships. ATN has requested confirmation from the New Mexico House of Representatives and the New Mexico Ethics Commission as to whether any disclosure was made through official channels. [

What the Court Sealed — and What It Didn't

At the July 13 hearing, Judge Gibson Willard granted Block's motion to strike and seal a specific filing — a May 22, 2026 Motion for Limited Discovery and Inspection, which had attached text communications as Exhibit A. The judge found the text messages were not appropriate attachments to a discovery motion.

The judge explicitly defined the scope of the sealing order from the bench: 'Not sealing entire case, not sealing future motions; just saying be careful what you attach.' The order applies to that specific motion and its exhibits. The case itself remains open and public. All other filings, including the June 23 Seibel motion and the July 8 and July 13 documents, remain in the public record.

The judge also noted at 10:42 a.m.: 'Would not allow these text messages to be in a pleading even if it wasn't Mr. Block who was an elected official' — indicating the ruling was based on evidentiary and procedural grounds applicable to any litigant, not on a finding that the underlying facts were false nor that prior reporting on the motion was improper.

ATN published reporting on the Discovery Motion and its contents before the sealing order was entered. Established First Amendment precedent holds that publication of information from public court records prior to a subsequent sealing order does not create liability for that prior publication. See United States v. Antar, 38 F.3d 1348 (3d Cir. 1994); Furgason v. Clausen, 109 N.M. 382 (N.M. Ct. App. 1989).

What Comes Next

Following the July 13 hearing, the case enters a formal discovery phase. The judge ordered a scheduling order to be submitted by the following week. Both parties were required to submit three names each for independent commissioners to be appointed to evaluate and potentially sell jointly-owned property; the judge indicated she would select from those names if not provided by July 17.

The trial is set for March 30 through April 2, 2027, at the 12th Judicial District Court in Alamogordo, with an option for Google Meet participation. The judge indicated the date will not be moved.

The attorney's fees question — Seibel's request for $5,000 in sanctions plus all fees and costs related to the discovery dispute — was deferred to the final hearing at trial and was not decided at the July 13 hearing. That issue remains open.

Background: A Lawsuit That Became a Broader Story

The Melton v. Block case has been the subject of reporting by ATN since fall 2025, based on records obtained through the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act and official court filings. ATN's prior coverage includes reporting on the filing of the lawsuit, the May 15, 2026 status hearing, the May 22, 2026 discovery motion, and Block's April 2, 2026 Facebook press release characterizing the case as resolved — a characterization the court record has consistently contradicted. Links to prior ATN coverage are available at AlamogordoTownNews.com.

The case has also been covered independently by Eddy and Lea County Exposed, a Facebook-based news and accountability publication serving Eddy and Lea counties in southeastern New Mexico with approximately 16,000 followers. That publication reported on the June 23, 2026 Seibel filing on July 1, 2026 — eight days after it was filed — under the headline 'Now Rep. John Block Wants the Court to Hide the Receipts?' Eddy and Lea County Exposed independently obtained the public court document and published its own analysis. ATN's coverage followed the same evening.

Eddy and Lea County Exposed has no documented connection to Melton, Edwards, or ATN. Its coverage was based entirely on the same public court record available to any member of the public or any journalist.

The legal threat in this matter has been directed exclusively at ATN and Edwards.

On April 2, 2026 — the same day Block published his 'resolved amicably' press release — Seibel transmitted a cease-and-desist letter to ATN and publisher Chris Edwards demanding removal of articles, cessation of further publication about Block, written retraction, identification of all confidential sources, and written confirmation of compliance within 10 days. 

As of publication date, no similar legal demand has been directed at Eddy and Lea County Exposed or any other publication that has covered the same court proceedings nor Block's record as a state representative.

ATN declined all demands on April 8-9, 2026, citing New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964), Furgason v. Clausen, 109 N.M. 382 (N.M. Ct. App. 1989), and New Mexico's Anti-SLAPP statute, NMSA 1978 § 38-2-9.1. 

The matter was forwarded to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. No defamation suit has been filed against ATN or Edwards as of publication date, more than three months after the cease-and-desist was transmitted. ATN is well prepared, if a suit is to be filed, and will continue to seek additional support from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, New Mexico Press Association and the ACLU, as allies to open government and first amedment press protections. 

EDITOR'S NOTE — DISCLOSURE

ATN editor in cheif, Chris Edwards is referenced by name in court filings in Melton v. Block, No. D-1215-CV-2025-00757, 12th Judicial District Court, Otero County, New Mexico. Specifically, Edwards is named in a section heading of a June 23, 2026 filing by Seibel, acting as attorney for Block, in connection with allegations about coverage of the case. Edwards has also filed a formal ethics complaint against Rep. Block with the New Mexico Ethics Commission (Case No. 2026-016), which is a separate and independent governmental proceeding. All reporting in this article is sourced from official court records, public campaign finance filings, and legislative roll-call votes published by the New Mexico Legislature. ATN maintains that its reporting is accurate and sourced from public records, and stands by all prior coverage of this matter and or around Mr. Block's legislative record. 

SOURCES

[1] Block Facebook post, April 2, 2026, 3:41 PM Mountain Time — official public page as sitting NM State Representative.

[2] 12th Judicial District Court audio log, Gibson Willard 07/13/26 BJL, ALAD Recording Room D, filed July 13, 2026.

[3] 12th Judicial District Court audio log, July 13, 2026, pp. 2-5 of 5 — all rulings cited.

[4] MoneyTrailNM.com — NM In Depth, 'Michael Seibel' contribution search, drawing from NM Secretary of State Campaign Finance Information System (CFIS). Accessible at moneytrailnm.com.

[5] Plaintiff's Notice of Updated Repair Status and Continuing Preservation Issue, filed July 8, 2026, 12:49 PM, 12th Judicial District Court, Otero County. Exhibit H — Gmail thread between Karl Melton (kpmelt93@gmail.com) and Michael Seibel (mikecanvasback2014@gmail.com), June 11 through July 6, 2026.

[6] New Mexico Legislature — nmlegis.gov official roll-call PDFs, 2023, 2024, and 2025 regular sessions. All votes cited are from official government documents.

[7] 12th Judicial District Court audio log, July 13, 2026, 10:42-10:43 AM entries — Judge Gibson Willard's statements on sealing order scope, verbatim.

[8] United States v. Antar, 38 F.3d 1348 (3d Cir. 1994) — retroactive sealing cannot create liability for prior publication of public court records.

[9] Furgason v. Clausen, 109 N.M. 382, 785 P.2d 1118 (N.M. Ct. App. 1989) — accurate reporting from official documents carries absolute privilege under New Mexico law. Decided in Alamogordo.

[10] 12th Judicial District Court audio log, July 13, 2026, 10:53-11:04 AM entries — trial setting and scheduling order.

[11] Cease-and-desist letter, Michael J. Seibel & Associates to Chris Edwards / AlamogordoTownNews.com / 2nd Life Media, April 2, 2026.

[12] ATN formal response to cease-and-desist, Southwestern Trails Cultural Heritage Association, April 8-9, 2026, transmitted via certified mail to Michael J. Seibel & Associates and electronically April 10, 2026. Published at 2ndlifemediaalamogordo.town.news.

[13] New Mexico Ethics Commission, Case No. 2026-016 — separate and independent governmental proceeding. All filings are the complainant's own submissions and do not represent findings of the Commission.

[14] Eddy and Lea County Exposed — Facebook publication, Eddy/Lea counties, NM; ~15,000 followers. Post: July 1, 2026. No legal demand from Block or Seibel directed at this outlet as of publication date.

[15] Grace A. Nagamine — NM Secretary of State CFIS official record: No Party / Independent / Declined to Select; State Representative, Otero County, District 51; Status: Compliant / Active. Declaration of candidacy filed: April 1, 2026. Nominating petition signatures gathered and submitted by June 23, 2026 deadline — candidate confirmed qualified for 2026 General Election ballot per NM SOS. Committee: Grace for Neighbors Committee, 1200 White Sands Blvd #116, Alamogordo, NM 88310; Treasurer: Porsha Berry; Date of Last Filing: July 7, 2026. Source: login.cfis.sos.state.nm.us. Campaign website: graceforhd51.org. Ballotpedia: ballotpedia.org/Grace_Nagamine.

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