Supreme Court of Nevada Decisions 2012
Date: December 27, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 65
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondents brought an action against Appellants, alleging breach of contract and fraud- and tort-based claims based on their purchase of two furniture stores from Appellants. The district court entered judgment for…
Date: December 27, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 66
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a developer, helped construct a planned development (the "community"). The community HOA sued the developers, sellers, and builders of the development, including Petitioner, on behalf of the individual…
Date: December 27, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 67
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of robbery with the use of a deadly weapon and first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon and was sentenced to death. Appellant subsequently filed numerous post-conviction motions. This…
Date: December 27, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 68
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of burglary, grand larceny, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, first-degree kidnapping, conspiracy to commit murder, and first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon. At…
Date: December 27, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 69
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent purchased a luxury sports car from Desert Audi. Defendant contracted with Nex-Day Auto Transport, Inc. to facilitate delivery of the vehicle to Washington. Nex-Day negotiated with Dynamic Transit…
Date: December 27, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 70
Justia Opinion Summary: After allegations arose of sexual abuse and sexual risk involving A.B., A.B.'s Mother and Father were reported to child protective services. Following an investigation, the Department of Family Services (DFS) filed an…
Date: December 27, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 71
Justia Opinion Summary: While shopping at a Costco membership warehouse store, Appellant tripped and fell over a wood pallet that had been placed in an aisle of the warehouse by a Costco employee. Appellant filed a complaint against Costco for…
Date: December 13, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 62
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit a felony under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act. The State later filed a motion requesting that the justice court grant Respondent immunity in exchange…
Date: December 13, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 63
Justia Opinion Summary: During divorce proceedings between Husband and Wife, Husband sought an interest in Wife's separate property and requested spousal support. After three evidentiary hearings, the district court entered a divorce decree in…
Date: December 13, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 64
Justia Opinion Summary: A dispute between a bank customer (Customer) and her bank (Bank) over missing endorsements was submitted to arbitration through the American Arbitration Association. The arbitrator issued a written award in Bank's favor…
Date: December 6, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 55
Justia Opinion Summary: These consolidated appeals presented specific applications of the question of whether a defendant can, in a single trial, be prosecuted and punished cumulatively for a single act that violates more than one criminal…
Date: December 6, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 56
Justia Opinion Summary: Randy Holcomb, who worked as a construction laborer and automotive mechanic, contracted and died from mesothelioma, typically caused by exposure to asbestos. Before Randy died, he and his wife, Tamara Holcomb…
Date: December 6, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 57
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners, corporate entities and an individual that serviced and brokered loans for the acquisition and development of real property, faced a civil suit and a criminal investigation in connection with an alleged Ponzi…
Date: December 6, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 58
Justia Opinion Summary: Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) filed in district court a petition for writs of mandamus and prohibition regarding a budget dispute with Clark County and its officials (County). SNHD petitioned the court to compel…
Date: December 6, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 59
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant contracted to provide traffic control on a road improvement project coordinated and facilitated by Respondent. The parties' contract required Appellant to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Respondent to the…
Date: December 6, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 60
Justia Opinion Summary: In this divorce action, Appellant Michael Grisham and Respondent Susie Grisham negotiated based on a draft property settlement agreement (PSA). At the end of an uncontested divorce prove-up hearing, the district court…
Date: December 6, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 61
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, a Nevada homeowner, elected mediation pursuant to the Nevada Foreclosure Mediation Program (FMP) to produce a loan modification. When the mediation did not result in a loan modification, Appellant filed a…
Date: October 25, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 52
Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal, the Supreme Court addressed a district court's discretion when resolving a petition for release from a special sentence of lifetime supervision. Nev. Rev. Stat. 176.0931(3), the statutory provision…
Date: October 25, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 53
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose when debtor Fontainebleau Las Vegas Holdings, LLC filed for bankruptcy while seeking to construct and develop and $2.8 billion hotel-casino resort. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court certified questions to the…
Date: October 25, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 54
Justia Opinion Summary: In this opinion, the Supreme Court addressed the constitutionality of a county's code of ordinance provisions establishing coroner's inquests into an officer-involved death. Appellants, five highway patrol officers,…
Date: October 4, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 49
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, Inc. (ACORN) hired voter registration canvassers in Las Vegas. Under an incentive program, ACORN paid canvassers $5 a bonus if the canvasser returned…
Date: October 4, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 50
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent was adjudicated delinquent and committed to a state facility. While there, he allegedly battered a group supervisor. The State charged him as an adult with battery by a prisoner under Nev. Rev. Stat.…
Date: October 4, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 51
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent was in custody in county jail when officers discovered a cell phone hidden in a box beneath his bed. The State charged Respondent under Nev. Rev. Stat. 212.093(1), which, in pertinent part, prohibits…
Date: September 27, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 47
Docket Number: 57084
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent issued an eminent domain action against Appellants. The district court awarded Respondent possession of the property, and the jury found Respondent owned Appellants $4.4 million in just compensation.…
Date: September 27, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 48
Docket Number: 57430
Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal, which arose out of Nevada's Foreclosure Mediation Program (FMP), the Supreme Court examined the note-holder and beneficial-interest status of a party seeking to foreclose. The Court concluded (1) to…
Date: September 27, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 46
Docket Number: 57752
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose out of the recent energy crisis. Appellants alleged that Respondents, in violation of Nevada antitrust laws, conspired with the now-defunct Enron Corporation to drive up the price of natural gas in the…
Date: September 13, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 45
Docket Number: 57645
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court in this case centered on whether NRS 616B.227 allows an average monthly wage calculation for workers' compensation benefits to include untaxed tip income that an employee reports to…
Date: August 31, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 44
Docket Number: 57746
Justia Opinion Summary: Several issues came before the Supreme Court in this case concerning a termination-of-parental-rights proceeding: (1) whether an objection to the admission of the entire juvenile file as hearsay preserved the issue for…
Date: August 9, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 35
Docket Number: 54603
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent/cross-appellant Precision Construction, Inc. solicited bids from subcontractors for the design and installation of an early suppression, fast response sprinkler system. Certified Fire Protection, Inc.…
Date: August 9, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 36
Docket Number: 55542
Justia Opinion Summary: In consolidated appeals, the Supreme Court addressed whether a claim for fraud in the inducement was available when the basis for the claim contradicts the very language of the contract at issue in the parties’ dispute.…
Date: August 9, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 40
Docket Number: 56253
Justia Opinion Summary: In March 2006, the Washoe County Board of Equalization adjusted the property tax values of approximately 300 Incline Village and Crystal Bay taxpayers based on a determination that those properties' taxable values had…
Date: August 9, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 37
Docket Number: 56542
Justia Opinion Summary: In the second of two lawsuits brought by appellant Francie Bonnell against her daughter and son-in-law, respondents Sabrina and Steven Lawrence, Appellant appealed the grant of summary judgment from the first suit, along…
Date: August 9, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 38
Docket Number: 57107
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court centered on the duty of care owed by a medical facility when performing nonmedical functions. The Court took the opportunity of this case to recognize that when a medical facility…
Date: August 9, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 41
Docket Number: 57312
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Arthur E. Mallory was Churchill County's district attorney. Appellant John O'Connor is an elector and registered voter within Churchill County. In this appeal, the issue before the Supreme Court was the narrow…
Date: August 9, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 42
Docket Number: 57461
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, Mandalay Corporation entered into a contract with petitioner Rolf Jensen & Associates, Inc., whereby Rolf Jensen would provide consulting services regarding construction of an expansion to the Mandalay Bay…
Date: August 9, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 43
Docket Number: 58128
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants Consipio Holding, BV; Ilan Bunimovitz; Tisbury Services, Inc.; and Claudio Gianascio (collectively, Consipio) are shareholders of Private Media Group, Inc. (PRVT). In August 2010, Consipio filed a complaint…
Date: August 9, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 39
Docket Number: 58649
Justia Opinion Summary: Marie Liapis filed a complaint for divorce against petitioner Theodore Liapis, in which she also sought disposition of the couple's property, permanent spousal support, and her attorney fees and costs. Theodore answered…
Date: August 2, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 34
Docket Number: 57470
Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal, the Supreme Court reviewed a district court order granting a preliminary injunction prohibiting appellants State of Nevada Department of Business and Industry, the Financial Institutions Division, and its…
Date: June 28, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 30
Docket Number: 54126
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal involved the interpretation of a claims-made professional liability insurance policy that Appellant Physicians Insurance Company of Wisconsin, Inc., d.b.a. PIC Wisconsin (PIC), issued to nonparty dentist…
Date: June 28, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 33
Docket Number: 55121
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court was whether proof of California workers’ compensation payments could be admitted into evidence in a personal injury action in Nevada. Because Nevada, the forum state, and California,…
Date: June 28, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 29
Docket Number: 56281
Date: June 28, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 31
Docket Number: 57115
Justia Opinion Summary: In this opinion, the issue before the Supreme Court centered on the applicability of NRS 62B.330(3)(e)(2), a statutory provision that divests a juvenile court of jurisdiction over a person who commits a class A or B…
Date: June 28, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 32
Docket Number: 57233
Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal, the issue before the Supreme Court was the relationship between two statutory provisions, enacted in 2009, that govern the extent of the juvenile court’s jurisdiction: NRS 62B.330(3)(e)(1) and NRS…
Date: June 14, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 28
Docket Number: 53182
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case the Supreme Court addressed several issues arising from a dispute over a series of property transactions. Plaintiffs sued Defendants under various theories of liability, including breach of contract and…
Date: June 14, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 26
Docket Number: 54187
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this appeal was whether the "mode of operation" approach to premises liability, under which the plaintiff does not have to prove the defendant's knowledge of a particular hazardous condition if the plaintiff…
Date: June 14, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 27
Docket Number: 56570
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case Supreme Court settlement judge Nicholas Frey was disqualified from representing Respondent Amador Stage Lines, In. Pursuant to Nevada Rules of Professional Conduct 1.12(c), Frey's disqualification was…
Date: May 31, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 22
Docket Number: 52963
Justia Opinion Summary: This case concerned State Engineer Ruling 5823, which allocated groundwater rights in the Dayton Valley Hydrographic Basin, which lay wholly within Lyon County. Appellants Churchill County and the Pyramid Lake Paiute…
Date: May 31, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 23
Docket Number: 54251
Justia Opinion Summary: On December 14, 2006, Robert Winn's daughter, Sedona, suffered an extensive brain injury during a heart surgery. On February 3, 2009, Winn filed a medical malpractice suit against the hospital, doctors, and perfusionists…
Date: May 31, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 25
Docket Number: 54537
Justia Opinion Summary: David Zinni was injured when his car was struck by a taxicab driven by Appellant Sun Cab's employee. Zinni filed a personal-injury action against Sun Cab. During discovery, Sun Cab learned that Respondent Dr. Gary…
Date: May 31, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 24
Docket Number: 55865
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Jonathon Whitehead pleaded guilty to DUI causing death and DUI causing substantial bodily harm and subsequently filed a post-conviction petition for writ of habeas corpus. A panel of the Supreme Court affirmed…
Date: May 17, 2012
Docket Number: 57641
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners Club Vista Financial Services and others (Club Vista) entered into a real estate development project with real parties in interest Scott Financial Corporation and others (Scott Financial). When a loan…
Date: May 3, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 20
Docket Number: 56508
Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal the Supreme Court considered whether the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), an act that governs the disposition of failed financial institutions' assets, divests…
Date: April 26, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 19
Docket Number: 50953
Justia Opinion Summary: Charles Huebler was convicted, pursuant to a guilty plea, of lewdness with a child under fourteen years of age. Huebler subsequently filed an untimely post-conviction petition for writ of habeas corpus, alleging that he…
Date: April 26, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 18
Docket Number: 57748
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants Michael and Analisa Jones purchased a home with a loan from a mortgage company, which assigned the note and deed of trust to SunTrust Mortgage. After the Joneses defaulted on their mortgage, the Joneses…
Date: April 5, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 13
Docket Number: 54968
Justia Opinion Summary: Employee was injured while working for Employer. An MRI revealed evidence of previous back surgeries, which was the first record provided to Employer of Employee's previous permanent physical impairment. Employer…
Date: April 5, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 14
Docket Number: 56413
Justia Opinion Summary: After a seven-day jury trial, Kevin Rodriguez was found guilty of multiple criminal counts. Rodriquez appealed, arguing that the district court erred (1) in overruling his objection to the admission of twelve text…
Date: April 5, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 15
Docket Number: 56723
Justia Opinion Summary: After a trial, the district court entered a summary order terminating Father's parental rights to his minor child. The district court's written order, drafted by the State, closely followed the termination petition…
Date: April 5, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 16
Docket Number: 57437
Justia Opinion Summary: Warren West's wife gave birth to a girl born with severe brain damage due to oxygen deprivation. West's wife died during the procedure. West relinquished the infant for adoption and subsequently retained attorney…
Date: April 5, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 17
Docket Number: 57502
Justia Opinion Summary: Real parties in interest Laura and Edward Rehfeldt filed a complaint for medical malpractice against Defendants, a hospital and health care practitioners. Accompanying the Rehfeldts' complaint was an opinion letter from…
Date: March 29, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 12
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Beau Maestas pleaded guilty to several charges, and a jury sentenced him to death for first-degree murder. Appellant subsequently sought a new penalty trial based on allegations of juror misconduct and bias,…
Date: March 1, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 5
Docket Number: 51631
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal addressed the factors a district court must consider when determining whether to grant a motion for a preferential trial date to avoid the expiration of Nev. R. Civ. P. 41(e)'s five-year period for bringing a…
Date: March 1, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 6
Docket Number: 54520
Justia Opinion Summary: When Employee left his employment, Employee and Employer entered into a consulting agreement containing restrictive covenants prohibiting Employee from disclosing Employer's confidential information. After Employee…
Date: March 1, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 7
Docket Number: 54703
Justia Opinion Summary: Matt Richards and Donny Palma were patrons on Cafe Moda's premises. During an altercation between the two, Richards stabbed Palma repeatedly. Palma brought suit against Richards and Cafe Moda, pursuing an…
Date: March 1, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 8
Docket Number: 55153
Justia Opinion Summary: This was an appeal and cross-appeal from a district court judgment awarding appellant homebuyer treble damages against respondent seller, a limited liability company, but refusing to find that the individual respondent,…
Date: March 1, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 9
Docket Number: 55200
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Michael Stewart and appellant Rolland Weddell entered into a business relationship concerning a number of different projects. After their business relationship collapsed, Weddell filed a complaint asserting…
Date: March 1, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 10
Docket Number: 57558
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Donald Bigpond was charged with battery constituting domestic violence. Before trial, the State filed a motion to admit evidence of prior incidents of domestic violence involving Bigpond and the victim. The…
Date: March 1, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 11
Docket Number: 58774
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed a complaint against Defendants, health care practitioners and health care facilities, alleging claims for medical negligence, wrongful death, and statutory abuse and neglect arising from the care of…
Date: February 16, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 4
Docket Number: 55634
Justia Opinion Summary: The State and Testator's heirs disputed Testator's $3 million estate. Testator, by way of a handwritten will, attempted to disinherit all of his heirs but was unsuccessful in otherwise affirmatively devising his estate.…
Date: January 26, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 1
Docket Number: 55403
Justia Opinion Summary: Michael Pohlabel pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of Nev. Rev. Stat. 202.360. In doing so, he reserved the right to argue on appeal, as he did unsuccessfully in the district court,…
Date: January 26, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 2
Docket Number: 55541
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother voluntarily relinquished her parental rights to her two children in the district court. The district court ordered that the tribal social services have custody over the children. The tribal court then ordered the…
Date: January 26, 2012
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 3
Docket Number: 53687
Justia Opinion Summary: Under a 1998 divorce decree granted to Husband and Wife, Husband was obligated to pay wife $1,300 a month in child support. Husband voluntarily ceased paying child support in 2000. In 2007, Wife filed a motion to…
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