Supreme Court of Nevada Decisions 2018

Harris v. State  
Date: December 27, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 107
Docket Number: 69509

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of conviction, pursuant to a jury verdict, of three count of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon and other offenses, holding that the admission of photographs of…

Capanna v. Orth  
Date: December 27, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 108
Docket Number: 69935

Justia Opinion Summary: In this medical malpractice suit, the Supreme Court affirmed the final judgment of the district court entering judgment on the jury verdict and the district court’s orders awarding fees and costs and dismissed the…

Cooper v. State  
Date: December 27, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 104
Docket Number: 72091

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed and remanded this criminal case for a new trial, holding that the district court clearly erred when it found that Defendant had not made out a prima facie case of discrimination in challenging…

Gonor v. Dale  
Date: December 27, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 109
Docket Number: 72949

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s order dismissing the underlying proceeding filed by the plaintiff’s attorney seeking to substitute for the deceased plaintiff where the defendant filed the suggestion of…

In re Estate of Sarge  
Date: December 27, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 105
Docket Number: 73286

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court overruled the holding in Ballin v. Farmers Insurance Exchange, 797 P.2d 978, 980 (Nev. 1990), that an order that resolves fewer than all claims in a consolidated action is not appealable as a final…

Branch Banking & Trust Co.  
Date: December 27, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 106
Docket Number: 73848

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s order dismissing this litigation malpractice suit as time-barred, holding that a litigation malpractice claim accrues upon the issuance of remittitur from the Supreme Court…

State v. Brown  
Date: December 20, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 102
Docket Number: 75184

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed the State’s interlocutory appeal from a district court order granting a motion to suppress evidence, holding that the State failed to demonstrate “good cause” as contemplated by Nev. Rev.…

Flores v. Las Vegas-Clark County Library District  
Date: December 13, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 101
Docket Number: 72462

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a library district, holding that Senate Bill 175 (SB 175) does not preempt a library district from banning the possession of firearms…

Century Surety Co. v. Andrew  
Date: December 13, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 100
Docket Number: 73756

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court answered a certified question submitted by the United States District Court for the District of Nevada by holding that, under Nevada law, an insurer’s liability where it breaches its contractual duty to…

O’Keefe v. State, Department of Motor Vehicles  
Date: December 6, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 92
Docket Number: 68460

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s order granting a petition for review of a decision of a hearing officer to reinstate a classified employee after that employee was terminated by the Department of Motor…

North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District v. Board of Administration of Subsequent Injury Account for Associations of Self-Insured Public or Private Employers  
Date: December 6, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 93
Docket Number: 70592

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was the correct interpretation of Nev. Rev. Stat. 616B.578, under which an employer may qualify for reimbursement on a workers’ compensation claim if the employer proves that it retained its employee after…

State v. Second Judicial District Court  
Date: December 6, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 94
Docket Number: 72456

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court denied the State’s petition for a writ of prohibition or mandamus, holding that the district court had authority to order the State to share criminal history information obtained from databases to which…

Rodriguez v. State  
Date: December 6, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 95
Docket Number: 73154

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s judgment of conviction, pursuant to a guilty plea, of battery resulting in substantial bodily harm committed against an older person, holding that the district court did not…

State v. Second Judicial District Court  
Date: December 6, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 96
Docket Number: 73475

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court denied the State’s petition for a writ of mandamus or prohibition challenging the district court’s decision finding Nev. Rev. Stat. 176A.290(2) unconstitutional and striking the unconstitutional…

MCGOWEN VS. DIST. CT. (CRYSTAL)
Date: November 21, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 89
Docket Number: 73312
Patin v. Lee  
Date: November 15, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 87
Docket Number: 69928

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that the district court did not err in denying Defendant’s special motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s complaint filed under Nev. Rev. Sta. 41.660(1), Nevada’s anti-SLAPP statute, holding that an…

State v. Plunkett  
Date: November 15, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 88
Docket Number: 74169

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the order of the district court granting Respondent’s motion to dismiss the indictment charging him with violating Nev. Rev. Stat. 212.165(4), holding that that a person who is not a prisoner…

State, Local Government Employee-Management Relations Board v. Education Support Employees Ass’n  
Date: November 8, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 86
Docket Number: 70586

Justia Opinion Summary: In this dispute between two labor unions over which entity has the right to represent Clark County School District employees as the exclusive bargaining representative, the Supreme Court affirmed the order of the…

Sarfo v. State Board of Medical Examiners  
Date: November 1, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 85
Docket Number: 73117

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that a physician’s due process rights do not attach at the investigative stage of a complaint made to the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners (Board), thereby extending the holding in Hernandez…

Williams v. State  
Date: October 25, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 83
Docket Number: 70868

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant’s judgment of conviction and remanded this case for further proceedings, holding that the district court erred by denying Defendant’s Batson challenge and by categorically excluding…

Clark County School District v. Las Vegas Review-Journal  
Date: October 25, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 84
Docket Number: 73525

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court granting Las Vegas Review-Journal’s amended petition for a writ of mandamus under the Nevada Public Records Act requesting that the district court compel the…

Public Employees’ Retirement System of Nevada v. Nevada Policy Research Institute, Inc.  
Date: October 18, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 81
Docket Number: 72274

Justia Opinion Summary: In this public records request matter, the Supreme Court held that the Nevada Public Records Act requires the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Nevada (PERS) to disclose certain employment and pension payment…

Mulkern v. Eighth Judicial District Court  
Date: October 18, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 82
Docket Number: 76399

Justia Opinion Summary: In this matter where the adoptive family of a young child sought to have Nev. Rev. Stat. 432B.550(5)(a)’s rebuttable presumption that a dependent child’s placement with a sibling is in the child’s best interes- applied…

Rodriguez v. Fiesta Palms, LLC  
Date: October 4, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 78
Docket Number: 72098

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed a district court order denying a pro se plaintiff’s (Plaintiff) motion to set aside the judgment under Nev. R. Civ. P. 60(b) that was filed five months and three weeks after the court dismissed…

Dolorfino v. University Medical Center of Southern Nevada  
Date: October 4, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 79
Docket Number: 72443

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the district court’s dismissal of Plaintiff’s lawsuit, holding (1) the tooth injury that Plaintiff sustained during an emergency hysterectomy was not “directly involved” or “proximate” to her…

Howard v. Hughes  
Date: October 4, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 80
Docket Number: 72685

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the district court ruling that the parties in this case were joint tenants with equal ownership interests in certain property, taking the opportunity of this case to clarify…

Valley Health System, LLC v. Estate of Jane Doe  
Date: September 27, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 76
Docket Numbers: 71045, 70083

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court sanctioning a party for discovery violations and finding that the party’s attorneys violated Nevada Rule of Professional Conduct (RPC) 3.3(a)(1) by making a…

Warren v. Eighth Judicial District Court  
Date: September 27, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 77
Docket Number: 73963

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court denied Petitioner’s petition for writ of certiorari, holding that Nev. Rev. Stat. 177.015(1)(a) authorizes the State to file an appeal to the district court form a justice court decision dismissing a…

Rosenberg Living Trust v. MacDonald Highlands Realty  
Date: September 13, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 69
Docket Number: 69399

Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal and cross-appeal from a final judgment in an action arising from the purchase of real property, the Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the district court, holding that…

Ibarra v. State  
Date: September 13, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 70
Docket Number: 69617

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction for larceny from the person stemming from his act of stealing a cell phone from a woman sitting next to him at a bus stop, holding that the evidence was sufficient to…

Baiguen v. Harrah’s Las Vegas, LLC  
Date: September 13, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 71
Docket Number: 70204

Justia Opinion Summary: In this workers’ compensation case, the Supreme Court affirmed the summary judgment entered in favor of Employer, holding that an injury arising from Employer’s failure to provide medical assistance to Employee suffering…

Bank of America, N.A. v. SFR Investments Pool 1, LLC  
Date: September 13, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 72
Docket Number: 70501

Justia Opinion Summary: In this quiet title dispute between the buyer at a homeowners association (HOA) lien foreclosure sale and the holder of the first deed of trust on the subject property, the Supreme Court reversed the district court’s…

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Radecki  
Date: September 13, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 74
Docket Number: 71405

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s determination that Appellant’s deed of trust was extinguished by a valid foreclosure sale, holding that the district court properly concluded that the foreclosure sale…

Montoya v. Ahern  
Date: September 13, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 73
Docket Number: 71577

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court declining to enforce a no-contest clause of a 1972 Trust against Respondent, a trustee-beneficiary, holding that a trust beneficiary does not forfeit interest…

Dunham v. State  
Date: September 6, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 68
Docket Number: 73143

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction under Nev. Rev. Stat. 205.067 of home invasion, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in instructing the jury and that the sentence was…

Richard v. State  
Date: August 23, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 64
Docket Number: 70542

Justia Opinion Summary: In clarifying the definition of statutory nonhearsay pursuant to Nev. Rev. Stat. 51.035, the Supreme Court held that in order for a statement to be excluded from the definition of hearsay either as a prior inconsistent…

Mathews v. State  
Date: August 23, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 63
Docket Number: 72701

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant’s conviction of child abuse, neglect or endangerment with substantial harm, holding that the district court abused its discretion in excluding Defendant’s expert witness and in…

Rippo v. State  
Date: August 2, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 53
Docket Number: 53626

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part the district court’s denial of Appellant’s second postconviction petition for a writ of habeas corpus in a death penalty case, holding that an…

Hubbard v. State  
Date: August 2, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 54
Docket Number: 66185

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this criminal case was whether the defense must place intent or absence of mistake at issue before prior act evidence may be admitted under Nev. Rev. Stat. 48.045(2). Defendant was convicted of conspiracy to…

Nevada Recycling & Salvage, Ltd. v. Reno Disposal Co., Inc.  
Date: August 2, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 55
Docket Number: 71467

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of Respondents on Appellants’ claim that Respondents conspired with a third party to obtain exclusive franchise agreements with the…

In re Parental Rights as to S.L.  
Date: August 2, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 59
Docket Number: 71873

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that although parents in a termination of parental rights proceeding cannot be compelled to admit to abuse of their children, they can be required to engage in meaningful therapy designed to ensure…

Clark County v. HQ Metro, LLC  
Date: August 2, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 56
Docket Number: 71877

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this eminent domain proceeding was whether HQ Metro, LLC or Clark County was entitled to compensation for a permanent easement to the installation of electrical transmission lines on property that was owned…

Northern Nevada Homes, LLC v. GL Construction, Inc.  
Date: August 2, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 60
Docket Number: 71899

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s order awarding attorney fees and costs to Defendant on its counterclaim after the court determined Defendant to be the “prevailing party” following bifurcated trials, in…

Granda-Ruiz v. Eighth Judicial District Court  
Date: August 2, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 57
Docket Number: 72446

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that double jeopardy did not prohibit Defendant’s retrial under the circumstances of this case because Defendant impliedly consented to the district court’s declaration of a mistrial, and the…

Shores v. Global Experience Specialists, Inc.  
Date: August 2, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 61
Docket Number: 72716

Justia Opinion Summary: In this dispute over a noncompete agreement (NCA) the Supreme Court reaffirmed its previous holdings that an NCA must be limited to the geographical areas in which an employer has particular business interests and…

SFR Investments Pool 1, LLC v. Bank of New York Mellon  
Date: August 2, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 58
Docket Number: 72931

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court answered in the affirmative a certified question from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada, holding that, even before the October 1, 2015 amendment to Nev. Rev. Stat. 116.31168,…

Coles v. Bisbee  
Date: August 2, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 62
Docket Number: 74707

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that the Parole Board’s use of the Static-99R recidivism risk assessment comports with Nev. Rev. Stat. 213.1214’s assessment requirements, that changes to parole procedures do not constitute an ex…

Cooper v. State  
Date: July 26, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 52
Docket Number: 71402

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was whether the Supreme Court should adopt a rule of admissibility that would limit the use of a probationer’s testimony at a revocation hearing in a subsequent criminal proceeding. The issue stemmed from the…

LaBarbera v. Wynn Las Vegas, LLC  
Date: July 19, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 51
Docket Number: 71276

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court in favor of Wynn Las Vegas, LLC in its breach of contract action to collect $1 million in unpaid casino markers from Appellant, holding that the district…

State v. Second Judicial District Court  
Date: July 19, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 50
Docket Number: 73389

Justia Opinion Summary: When a plea agreement allows a defendant to plead guilty to a first offense for a second domestic battery conviction, it is reasonable for the defendant to expect first-offense treatment of the conviction for all…

In re N.J.  
Date: June 28, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 48
Docket Number: 70220

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that the juvenile court did not abuse its discretion in admitting uncharged acts as evidence in this juvenile proceeding. The State filed a delinquency petition in juvenile court charging N.J.…

West Sunset 2050 Trust v. Nationstar Mortgage, LLC  
Date: June 28, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 47
Docket Number: 70754

Justia Opinion Summary: The foreclosure sale in this case was not invalid due to a lack of notice. At issue was the competing interests of the purchase of property at a homeowners association (HOA) foreclosure sale and the beneficiary of a…

Carrington Mortgage Holdings LLC v. R Ventures VIII, LLC  
Date: June 14, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 46
Docket Number: 71437

Justia Opinion Summary: The district court erred in awarding Respondent costs and attorney fees pursuant to Nev. Rev. Stat. 116.3116(8) after Respondent successfully obtained a judgment quieting title against Appellant. After acquiring…

Guerrina v. State  
Date: June 7, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 45
Docket Number: 71444

Justia Opinion Summary: A criminal defendant’s request to represent himself was properly denied as “untimely” when the request was made twenty-four hours prior to the scheduled trial date. Defendant was convicted of burglary while in…

Montage Marketing, LLC v. Washoe County ex rel. Washoe County Board of Equalization  
Date: May 31, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 39
Docket Number: 59063

Justia Opinion Summary: Neither Nev. Rev. Stat. 361.227(2)(b) nor Nev. Rev. Stat. 361.227(5)(c) required the Washoe County Assessor to value fully developed but unsold condominium units as a single unit or to apply the discounted cash flow…

State Commission on Ethics v. Hansen  
Date: May 31, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 40
Docket Number: 69100

Justia Opinion Summary: An attorney for a public body must have authorization from the client in a public meeting prior to filing a notice of appeal. Fred Voltz filed an ethics complaint, termed a request for opinion (RFO), against two…

MDC Restaurants, LLC v. Eighth Judicial District Court  
Date: May 31, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 41
Docket Number: 71289

Justia Opinion Summary: The Minimum Wage Amendment (MWA) to the Nevada Constitution requires an employer who provides health benefits and pays one dollar per hour less in wages than an employer who does not provide health benefits to provide a…

Prevost v. State, Department of Administration  
Date: May 31, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 42
Docket Number: 71472

Justia Opinion Summary: The failure to name a party of record in the caption of a petition for judicial review is not jurisdictionally fatal under Nev. Rev. Stat. 233B.130(2)(a) where the party is named in the body of the petition and is…

Degraw v. Eighth Judicial District Court  
Date: May 31, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 43
Docket Number: 72528

Justia Opinion Summary: While the parties in this child custody dispute asked the Supreme Court to decide the constitutionality of Nev. Rev. Stat. 1.310, the Court declined to do so because the issues between the parties had been resolved, and…

Bautista v. Picone  
Date: May 31, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 44
Docket Number: 72713

Justia Opinion Summary: Granting a parenting coordinator authority to make substantive changes to the parents’ custody arrangement is an improper delegation of the district court’s judicial authority. Renelyn Autista and James Picone agreed to…

Moore v. State  
Date: May 17, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 35
Docket Number: 66652

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s denial of Appellant’s postconviction petition for a writ of habeas corpus as procedurally barred without conducting an evidentiary hearing. Appellant was convicted of…

Saticoy Bay LLC Series 9641 Chrstine View v. Federal National Mortgage Ass’n  
Date: May 17, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 36
Docket Number: 69419

Justia Opinion Summary: In this quiet title action, the Supreme Court held (1) a regulated entity like the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) has standing to assert 12 U.S.C. 4617(j)(3) - the Federal Foreclosure Bar (the FFB) -…

Eureka County v. Seventh Judicial District Court  
Date: May 17, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 37
Docket Number: 72317

Justia Opinion Summary: Due process requires junior water rights holders in the Diamond Valley Hydrographic Basin No. 153 (Diamond Valley) be given notice and an opportunity to participate in the district court’s consideration of the request of…

MEI-GSR Holding, LLC v. Peppermill Casinos, Inc.  
Date: May 3, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 31
Docket Number: 70319

Justia Opinion Summary: Nev. Rev. Stat. 600A.030 does not preclude a defendant from demonstrating that certain information is readily ascertainable and not a trade secret even where the defendant acquired the information through improper…

Morgan v. State  
Date: May 3, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 27
Docket Number: 70424

Justia Opinion Summary: Striking a prospective juror based on sexual orientation is impermissible under the United States and Nevada Constitutions. The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction for robbery and misdemeanor battery, holding…

Coleman v. State  
Date: May 3, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 28
Docket Number: 71052

Justia Opinion Summary: Nev. Rev. Stat. 200.604, which prohibits a person from knowingly and intentionally capturing an image of another person’s private area without her consent under circumstances in which she has a reasonable expectation of…

Cotter v. Eighth Judicial District Court  
Date: May 3, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 32
Docket Number: 71267

Justia Opinion Summary: Here, the Supreme Court adopted the common interest rule that allows attorneys to share work product with third parties that have common interest in litigation without waiving the work-product privilege. Petitioner…

Las Vegas Development Group, LLC  
Date: May 3, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 33
Docket Number: 71875

Justia Opinion Summary: The time limitations set forth in Nev. Rev. Stat. 107.080(5)-(6) do not apply to an action challenging a Nev. Rev. Stat. chapter 107 nonjudicial foreclosure where it is alleged that the deed of trust had been…

Dolores v. State, Department of Employment Security Division  
Date: May 3, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 34
Docket Number: 72126

Justia Opinion Summary: Where the record showed that, when faced with a resign-or-be-fired option, Appellant’s decision to resign was freely given and stemming from his own choice, such a resignation was voluntary pursuant to Nev. Rev. Stat.…

Fitzgerald v. Mobile Billboards, LLC  
Date: May 3, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 30
Docket Number: 72803

Justia Opinion Summary: The common law absolute privilege has been abrogated by the statutory conditional privilege in Nev. Rev. Stat. 616D.020 in the context of defamatory statements in a workers’ compensation claim to which section 616D.020…

Philip R. v. Eighth Judicial District Court  
Date: May 3, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 29
Docket Number: 73198

Justia Opinion Summary: A familial placement preference survives the termination of parental rights, but the placement preference is then governed by Nev. Rev. Stat. 128.110(2) rather than Nev. Rev. Stat. 432B.550(5). These consolidated…

U.S. Home Corp. v. Michael Ballesteros Trust  
Date: April 12, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 25
Docket Number: 68810

Justia Opinion Summary: In this construction defect action brought by Homeowners, the Supreme Court reversed the order of the district court denying Defendant’s motion to compel arbitration, holding that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) did…

Cain v. Price  
Date: April 12, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 26
Docket Number: 69333

Justia Opinion Summary: One party’s material breach of a contract releases the non-breaching party’s contractual obligation to a third-party beneficiary. The promisor in this case failed to fulfill its contractual obligations to Appellants…

Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner v. Las Vegas Review-Journal  
Date: April 12, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 24
Docket Number: 75095

Justia Opinion Summary: Nev. R. Civ. P. 62(d) must be read in conjunction with Nev. R. Civ. P. 62(e) such that, upon motion, state and local government appellants are generally entitled to a stay of a money judgment pending appeal without being…

Kirsch v. Traber  
Date: April 5, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 22
Docket Number: 70854

Justia Opinion Summary: A Nevada district court’s order denying a motion dismiss was not a final judgment on the issue of demand futility. Therefore, it was proper for the district court to accord preclusive effect to a subsequent final…

State v. Sample  
Date: April 5, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 23
Docket Number: 71208

Justia Opinion Summary: The district court erred in invalidating a search warrant for an evidentiary blood draw and suppressing the blood draw evidence because there was probable cause to support the search warrant. After failing a preliminary…

Nuleaf CLV Dispensary, LLC v. State Department of Health & Human Services, Division of Public & Behavioral Health  
Date: March 29, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 17
Docket Number: 69909

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was Nev. Rev. Stat. 453A.322(3)(a)(5)’s requirement that an applicant seeking to obtain a medical marijuana establishment registration certificate must obtain approval from the local government where the…

King v. St. Clair  
Date: March 29, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 18
Docket Number: 70458

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the district court overruling the State Engineer’s decision denying Rodney St. Clair’s application for a permit to temporarily change the point of diversion of the underground…

Comstock Residents Ass’n v. Lyon County Board of Commissioners  
Date: March 29, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 19
Docket Number: 70738

Justia Opinion Summary: The grounds on which the district court denied a petition for a writ of mandamus to compel disclosure of records where members of the Lyon County Board of Commissioners conducted county business on private cellphones and…

Southworth v. Eighth Judicial District Court  
Date: March 29, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 20
Docket Number: 73655

Justia Opinion Summary: The time to appeal outlined in the Justice Court Rules of Civil Procedure (JCRCP), specifically the five-day period set forth in JCRCP 98, is jurisdictional and mandatory, therefore removing for the district court’s…

Miller v. Miller  
Date: March 15, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 16
Docket Number: 69353

Justia Opinion Summary: Here the Supreme Court provided guidance on how to calculate child support where both parents share joint physical custody of one child but one parent has primary physical custody of the other child. Upon their divorce,…

Jeremias v. State  
Date: March 1, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 8
Docket Number: 67228

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions of one count each of conspiracy to commit robbery and burglary while in possession of a deadly weapon and two counts each of robbery with the use of a deadly weapon and…

Dezzani v. Kern & Associates, Ltd.  
Date: March 1, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 9
Docket Number: 69410

Justia Opinion Summary: The Dezzanis own a condominium and are members of the Homeowners' Association (HOA). Kern, an attorney, represents the HOA and advises its governing board. In a dispute regarding an extended deck on the Dezzani unit, the…

K-Kel, Inc. v. State, Department of Taxation  
Date: March 1, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 10
Docket Number: 69886

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the order of the district court denying Appellants’ petitions for judicial review challenging a 2007 decision by the Nevada Tax Commission regarding a tax refund request, holding that the…

State of Nevada Department of Business and Industry, Financial Institutions Division v. Dollar Loan Center., LLC  
Date: March 1, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 15
Docket Number: 70002

Justia Opinion Summary: Enacted in 2005, in response to the "debt treadmill," NRS Chapter 604A regulates the payday loan industry, including deferred deposit loans and loans with an annual interest rate greater than 40 percent. If a borrower…

Pawlik v. Deng  
Date: March 1, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 11
Docket Number: 71055

Justia Opinion Summary: Deng defaulted on special assessments on Las Vegas residential real property, which entered delinquency and underwent a duly noticed and authorized sale (NRS Chapter 271). On January 27, 2014, Pawlik purchased the…

Andrews v. State  
Date: March 1, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 12
Docket Number: 71214

Justia Opinion Summary: Nev. Rev. Stat. 453.3385 creates a separate offense for each schedule I controlled substance. The State charged Defendant with trafficking in a controlled substance after discovering two bags of heroin totaling 9.445…

State v. Eighth Judicial District Court  
Date: March 1, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 13
Docket Number: 71621

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant in this case had “an adequate opportunity” (see Chavez v. State, 213 P.3d 476, 482 (Nev. 2009)) to cross-examine a witness when, immediately after the State’s direct examination at the preliminary hearing,…

Zenor v. State of Nevada Department of Transportation  
Date: March 1, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 14
Docket Number: 71790

Justia Opinion Summary: Zenor was employed by the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) when he injured his wrist on the job. Eleven months later, Zenor underwent an examination and received an evaluation by his treating physician, Dr.…

Las Vegas Review-Journal v. Eighth Judicial District Court  
Date: February 27, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 7
Docket Number: 75073

Justia Opinion Summary: The district court’s preliminary injunction order enjoining media outlets from reporting on a redacted, anonymized autopsy report that they and other members of the media obtained through a Nevada Public Records Act…

Felton v. Douglas County  
Date: February 15, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 6
Docket Number: 70497

Justia Opinion Summary: Felton, then employed by Hewlett-Packard, sustained a minor injury to his knee while volunteering on a Douglas County search and rescue team. Felton sought insurance benefits from Douglas County and its workers'…

Quinn v. Eighth Judicial District Court  
Date: February 8, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 5
Docket Number: 74519

Justia Opinion Summary: A Nevada district court does not have the authority to compel an out-of-state attorney to appear in Nevada for a deposition as a nonparty witness in a civil action pending in Nevada state court where the attorney has…

Castillo v. United Federal Credit Union  
Date: February 1, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 3
Docket Number: 70151

Justia Opinion Summary: Castillo entered into a vehicle and security agreement with the Credit Union. The Credit Union repossessed and sold the vehicle and notified Castillo that she owed a deficiency balance of $6,841.55. Castillo filed a…

SFR Investments Pool 1, LLC v. First Horizon Home Loans  
Date: February 1, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 4
Docket Number: 71325

Justia Opinion Summary: Two days after Silver Springs Homeowner's Association recorded a notice of foreclosure sale, First Horizon Home Loans recorded its own notice of foreclosure sale. First Horizon was the first to hold its foreclosure sale…

Okada v. Eighth Judicial District Court  
Date: January 11, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 2
Docket Number: 74326

Justia Opinion Summary: The gaming privilege in Nev. Rev. Stat. 463.120(6), which was enacted in 2017 through Senate Bill 376 and protects certain information and data provided to the gaming authorities, applies prospectively only and does not…

Heat & Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 16 v. Labor Commissioner  
Date: January 4, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 1
Docket Number: 71848

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was whether untimely service of a petition for judicial review on the Attorney General mandates dismissal of the petition. The Supreme Court held (1) while service of a petition for judicial review on the…

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