Estate of Smith v. Mahoney’s Silver Nugget

Allen Smith was fatally shot by Daniel Ott after an altercation in the lounge of the Silver Nugget. Smith's Estate filed suit against the Silver Nugget asserting negligence, wrongful death, and loss of consortium. The district court granted summary judgment for the Silver Nugget on the ground that it did not owe Smith a duty of care under Nev. Rev. Stat. 651.015. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the duty element of a negligence cause of action must be determined as a matter of law by considering whether the wrongful act that precipitated the plaintiff's injury was foreseeable; (2) section 651.015's definition of "foreseeable" provides the appropriate framework for conducting this inquiry in the context of innkeeper liability by codifying the common-law approach that was set forth in Doud v. Las Vegas Hilton Corp.; and (3) because the district court properly applied section 651.015 in determining that the act leading to the victim's death was not foreseeable, Silver Nugget did not owe the victim a duty as a matter of law, and the district court properly granted summary judgment in favor of the Silver Nugget.