Supreme Court of Nevada Decisions 2018
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Date: December 20, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 103
Docket Number: 73048
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant’s conviction for exploitation of a vulnerable person and theft, holding that the district court erred by instructing the jury that a person’s status as a joint account holder does not…
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.…
Date: December 13, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 97
Docket Number: 71536
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed an order of the district court awarding attorney fees against a police department ordered to return a large amount of cash and other property seized pursuant to a criminal search warrant,…
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…
Date: December 13, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 98
Docket Number: 73698
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the determination of the district court that Glenn Miller Doolin was not entitled to the application of credit to his parole eligibility and minimum term for a sentence imposed pursuant to Nev.…
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…
Date: December 13, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 99
Docket Number: 74743
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Defendant’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus as procedurally barred, holding that the district court did not err by finding that Defendant failed to…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Date: November 21, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 90
Docket Number: 71401
Date: November 21, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 91
Docket Number: 72352
Date: November 21, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 89
Docket Number: 73312
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Date: September 27, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 75
Docket Number: 72879
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this civil lawsuit was whether a stipulation to a discovery schedule that expressly waived the usual requirement that written reports be produced and exchanged summarizing the anticipated testimony of all…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Date: August 30, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 67
Docket Number: 71789
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that district court cannot deny attorney fees otherwise allowed by agreement, rule, or statute because a lawyer representing a client on a contingency fee basis does not provide proof of hourly…
Date: August 30, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 65
Docket Number: 72736
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the district court to deny Defendant’s motion to suppress evidence discovered during a search of his bedroom after Defendant’s mother opened his locked bedroom door while a law…
Date: August 30, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 66
Docket Number: 73239
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that law enforcement officers cannot justify a warrantless search of a bedroom inside a home by relying on the consent of a third party when the third party did not have authority to consent and…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
Date: July 19, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 49
Docket Number: 70988
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that the district court erred by granting summary judgment based upon discretionary-act immunity in this action arising from a vehicular accident involving a police officer responding to an…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Date: May 24, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 38
Docket Number: 71731
Justia Opinion Summary: A party waives the right to challenge on appeal a juror’s presence on the jury where the party’s appellate argument is based on facts known to the party during voir dire, the party consciously elected not to pursue - or…
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…
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) -…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Date: April 5, 2018
Citation: 134 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 21
Docket Number: 72454
Justia Opinion Summary: The district court in this custody modification and child relocation action abused its discretion by granting a motion in limine to exclude evidence of domestic violence under McMonigle v. McMonigle, 887 P.2d 742 (Nev.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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.…
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…
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'…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
