Justia Nevada Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court compelling an estate's claims to arbitration pursuant to an arbitration agreement signed during the decedent's admission to El Jen Convalescent Hospital and Retirement Center (El Jen), holding that a nonsignatory heir's wrongful death claim is not bound to an agreement like the arbitration agreement in his case that does not implicate the viability of the underlying personal injury claim.Following the death of her husband, Gary Tyler, Stacy Tyler brought this action against El Jen, asserting negligence, wrongful death, and survivorship claims individually and on behalf of Gary's estate and their minor child, and was joined by two adult statutory heirs. The district court (1) compelled the estate's claims to arbitration pursuant to the arbitration signed during Gary's admission to El Jen; and (2) concluded that the statutory heirs were not bound by the agreement because they did not sign it. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court (1) properly rejected Plaintiffs' challenge to the arbitration agreement's validity; and (2) did not err in holding that the heirs were not bound by the agreement because they were nonsignatories who were pursuing their own individual claims. View "El Jen Medical Hospital, Inc. v. Tyler" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court declining to backdate the parties' marriage in this case to the date they would have been married but for Nevada's unconstitutional ban on same-sex marriage, holding that "the effective date of a marriage will not predate the solemnized marriage itself for property division purposes in a divorce, even if a party asserts that the couple would have married earlier but for the later-held-to-be-unconstitutional ban on marriage between same-sex couples."Appellant and Respondent formally married in California in 2008, when Nevada did not permit same-sex marriages or recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages. In 2021, in seeking a divorce, Appellant argued that the district court should backdate the start of his marriage to Respondent to the date their relationship became serious. The district court refused to backdate the marriage and relied on 2008 as the date of the marriage. At issue was the retroactive effect of Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015). The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Obergefell does not require Nevada courts to backdate a marriage before the couple solemnized their union; and (2) the district court's order accorded with this Court's holdings. View "Candelaria v. Kelly" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the ruling of the district court that Appellant, a bank, did not comply with Nev. Rev. Stat. 17.214(3) in seeking to collect on a renewed judgment, holding that the district court did not err.In 2015, Appellant obtained a judgment against Respondents and recorded the judgment. Appellant later sued Respondents in a separate suit alleging that they fraudulently transferred assets to avoid liability. Because Appellant had not collected on the 2015 judgment, Appellant filed an affidavit of renewal of judgment, recorded the affidavit, and electronically served Respondents' counsel. Because Appellant notified Respondents by certified mail of the affidavit of renewal after the 2015 judgment expired Respondents moved to vacate the affidavit of renewal and declare the judgment void. The district court granted the motion, concluding that Appellant did not comply with Nev. Rev. Stat. 17.214(3). The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that a judgment creditor must follow section 17.214(3) to renew a judgment and that a judgment creditor must strictly comply with section 17.214(3)'s certified mail method-of-notice requirement. View "BMO Harris Bank, N.A. v. Whittemore" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court held that a commercial property insurance policy did not provide coverage for the economic losses JGB Vegas Retail Lessee, LLC suffered when COVID-19 forced JGB to shut down abruptly.JGB was insured under a policy with Starr Surplus Lines Insurance Co. amidst the closures and accompanying financial troubles of the COVID-19 pandemic, JGB filed a claim with Starr seeking coverage for lost business income, extra expenses, and other applicable coverage. When Starr did not respond JGB brought suit, claiming that the presence of COVID-19 on the property created the requisite "direct physical loss or damage" covered under the policy. Starr moved for summary judgment, which the district court granted in part. Thereafter, Starr filed the instant petition seeking a writ of mandamus challenging the denial of summary judgment on the remaining claims. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court erred in denying summary judgment because JGB's claims for losses resulting from COVID-19 were excluded from coverage. View "Starr Surplus Lines Insurance Co. v. District Court" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court granting Defendant's motion to dismiss the charge against him for violation of his due process rights, holding that Defendant's due process rights were violated, but the district court abused its discretion in granting the extreme remedy of dismissal under the facts of this case.After Defendant was charged with sexual assault the district court found him to be incompetent to stand trial and ordered him remanded to a psychiatric hospital for competency restoration treatment. After a delay of over 160 days during which he remained in jail, Defendant was transferred to the hospital. Defendant moved to dismiss the complaint on the ground that his continued detention in jail violated his due process rights. The district court granted the motion to dismiss. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) this Court's precedent did not support the district court's conclusion that aggravated circumstances warranted dismissing the complaint against Defendant with prejudice; and (2) the district court neglected to balance the deterrent objectives of dismissal against society's interest in prosecuting criminal acts. View "State v. Gonzalez" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing a petition for judicial review challenging a decision by the Nevada Employment Security Division's (NESD) Board of Review, holding that, based on its plain language, Nev. R. Civ. P. 6(d)'s three-day mailing rule does not apply to extend the time period for filing a petition for judicial review under Nev. Rev. Stat. 612.531(1).After she was denied unemployment benefits Appellant filed a petition for judicial review in the district court. The district court granted NESD's motion to dismiss, concluding that it lacked jurisdiction over the petition because Appellant had filed it a day late. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Rule 6(d) did not apply in this case, and the district court correctly dismissed the untimely petition for lack of jurisdiction. View "Jorrin v. State, Employment Security Division" on Justia Law

In this appeal from a district court order denying a motion to modify alimony and to reinstate child support the Supreme Court held that the district court erred in finding the it did not have jurisdiction to reinstate support as to a handicapped child beyond the age of majority but that the court did not abuse its discretion in denying the request to modify alimony in this case.Citing Nev. Rev. Stat. 125C.0045(1)(a), the district court concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to award support for the parties' adult handicapped child because he had reached the age of majority and because support payments had already ceased. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding (1) the district court has jurisdiction to award adult child support after the age of majority under Nev. Rev. Stat. 125B.110; (2) the district court failed to make the necessary findings under section 125B.110; and (3) Appellant did not demonstrate that there was a change in circumstances to warrant modifying the parties' alimony agreement. View "Davitian-Kostanian v. Kostanian" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court denied Petitioner's petition for a writ of certiorari or mandamus in this matter arising from district court orders holding Petitioner, the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health, in contempt for vacating competency court orders, holding that Petitioner failed to meet its burden of demonstrating the need for extraordinary relief.The competency orders were issued in relation to eleven criminal defendants in Nevada who were all deemed incompetent to assist in their own defense and ordered to psychiatric treatment (collectively, Defendants). Defendants moved to dismiss their cases or, alternatively, for Petitioner to show cause as to why it should not be held in contempt after significant delays in accepting Defendants for treatment. The district court found Petitioner in contempt for failing to comply with the court orders and issued sanctions. Petitioner then filed the instant petition. The Supreme Court denied relief, holding that the district court had jurisdiction to hold Petitioner in contempt and did not manifestly or capriciously abuse its discretion in doing so. View "State, Dep't of Health v. District Court" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the district court denying Appellants' return-of-property motion and Appellants' request to quash and unseal search warrants, holding that Nevada's return-of-property statute, Nev. Rev. Stat. 179.085, allows a property owner to seek the return of privileged materials that were seized pursuant to a valid search warrant even when the government has an ongoing investigation.Appellants moved under section 179.085 for the return of the various documents and electronic devices seized at Appellants' business establishments on the basis that the property contained privileged materials. Appellant also sought to quash and unseal the warrants. The district court denied the motion, determining that it was not unreasonable for LVMPD to retain the property during an ongoing investigation and that the search protocol proposed by LVMPD was a reasonable resolution of the privilege issue. The Supreme Court reversed in part, holding that the district court (1) properly denied Appellants' request to quash and unseal the warrants; (2) erred when it denied Appellants' return-of-property motion without giving Appellants an opportunity to demonstrate privilege; and (3) erred by adopting LVMPD's proposed search protocol. View "In re Search Warrants re Seizure of Documents" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's conviction on one lewdness count as redundant to sexual assault involving the same episode but otherwise affirmed his convictions, holding that the two other errors identified by Defendant on appeal were harmless.Following a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of seven counts of sexual assault against a child under fourteen and three counts of lewdness with a child under fourteen. The district court imposed the maximum sentence allowed by law for an aggregate total of 275 years to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court reversed in part and affirmed in part, holding (1) the lewdness convictions must be reversed as redundant to a sexual assault involving the same episode; (2) the district court erred in admitting two uncharged bad acts, but the error was harmless; (3) the district court erred in issuing a jury instruction defining "lewdness" separate from the statutory definition provided by Nev. Rev. Stat. 201.230, but the error was harmless; (4) the sentence imposed was within statutory limits and was not constitutionally disproportionate; and (5) Defendant was not entitled to relief on his cumulative error claim. View "Alfaro v. State" on Justia Law