Justia Nevada Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Appellant, on behalf of her daughter, Sarah, filed a wrongful death action under Nev. REv. Stat. 41.085(4) against Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. after Sarah’s father was fatally assaulted in a Wal-Mart parking lot. The district court dismissed Plaintiff’s action against Wal-Mart, concluding that claim preclusion barred the case because the decedent’s estate, along with three of the decedent’s heirs, had already filed a wrongful death lawsuit under 41.085(5) against Wal-Mart and lost. The Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal but on issue preclusion grounds, holding that Appellant was barred from relitigating the issue of Wal-Mart’s negligence because it had already been established, in the case brought by the estate on her behalf, that Wal-Mart was not negligent and thus, not liable. View "Alcantara v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc." on Justia Law

Plaintiffs filed a civil complaint against The Power Company, Inc. (“TPCI”) and TPCI’s president, Rick Rizzolo. Less than five years after Plaintiffs filed their action, they entered into a settlement agreement with TPCI and Rizzolo providing that Plaintiffs would receive $9 million upon the sale of Crazy Horse Too, which TPCI owned. More than five years after Plaintiffs filed their complaint, TPCI and Rizzolo filed two motions to dismiss Plaintiffs’ action under Nev. R. Civ. P. 41(e) for want of prosecution. The district court denied the motions. After the Crazy Horse Too sold at a foreclosure sale, Plaintiffs filed a third motion to reduce the settlement agreement to judgment. The district court granted the motion. TPCI and Rizzolo appealed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Rule 41(e)’s provision requiring dismissal for want of prosecution does not apply to an action in which the parties enter into a binding settlement agreement before Rule 41(e)’s five-year deadline has expires, and therefore, the district court properly denied TPCI and Rizzolo’s motions to dismiss for want of prosecution; and (2) the district court did not err in reducing the parties’ settlement agreement to judgment. View "The Power Co., Inc. v. Henry" on Justia Law