Justia Nevada Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court denying Appellant's request for a declaration that Nev. Rev. Stat. 42.021 precluded Respondent from recovering its workers' compensation payments from Appellant's medical malpractice settlement proceeds, holding that the statute applies only to situations in which a medical malpractice defendant introduces evidence of a plaintiff's collateral source benefits.Appellant brought this action against Respondent asserting claims for declaratory and injunctive relief and claiming that Nev. Rev. Stat. 42.021(2) prohibited Respondent from asserting a lien against her settlement proceeds and seeking an injunction requiring Respondent to continue paying her workers' compensation benefits. The district court denied Appellant's motion for partial summary judgment and granted Respondent's Nev. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(5) motion, concluding that section 42.021's plain language applied only to actions where third-party payments were introduced into evidence and did not apply to cases that settled before trial. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the plain language of sections 42.021(1) and (2) prohibits a payer of collateral source benefits from seeking reimbursement from a medical malpractice plaintiff only when the medical malpractice defendant introduces evidence of those payments. View "Harper v. Copperpoint Mutual Insurance Holding Co." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court held that traditional standing requirements may not apply when an appropriate party seeks to enforce a public official's compliance with Nevada's separation of powers clause, provided that the issue is likely to recur and there is a need for future guidance.Appellant filed a complaint alleging that Respondents' dual service as members of the state legislature and as employees of the state or local government violated the separation of powers clause in the Nevada Constitution. The district court dismissed the complaint for lack of standing, concluding that Appellant did not allege a personal injury for traditional standing and did not satisfy the requirements of the public importance exception to standing. The Supreme Court reversed after limitedly expanding the public importance exception in Nevada to cases such as the instant case, holding that the constitutional separation of powers challenge at issue met the requirements for the public-importance exception to standing. View "Nevada Policy Research Institute, Inc. v. Cannizzaro" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part Defendant's convictions for multiple charges and sentence of death for the murder of two people, holding that cumulative error deprived Defendant of a fair penalty hearing and that no relief was warranted on Defendant's claims regarding the guilt phase.On appeal, Defendant argued that the district court erred by prohibiting him from arguing during the penalty phase that if a single juror determines that there are mitigating circumstances sufficient to outweigh the aggravating circumstances, the jury must consider imposing a sentence other than death. The Supreme Court agreed, holding (1) the district court abused its discretion by prohibiting Defendant's argument, and this error, in conjunction with other errors that occurred in the penalty phase, cumulatively deprived Defendant of a fair penalty hearing; but (2) no relief was warranted on Defendant's claims regarding the guilt phase. View "Barlow v. State" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court determining that Respondent judgment creditor timely domesticated a foreign judgment in Nevada and that Respondent's accomplishment of actual service of the domestication notice on a later date did not affect the judgment's enforceability, holding that there was no error.Respondent domesticated the foreign judgment within the rendering state's statute of limitations but did not perfect service of the domestication notice on Appellant judgment debtor under the rendering state's limitations period for judgment enforcement had passed. The district court denied Appellant's motion to set aside the judgment. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) under the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgment Act, a foreign judgment is enforceable in Nevada if the judgment domesticates the judgment according to the provisions of the Act within the rendering state's limitations period and complies with the statutory notice provisions of the Act; and (2) enforcement of the foreign judgment did not violate due process. View "Flangas v. Perfekt Marketing, LLC" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court on a defense verdict in this personal injury case, holding that Plaintiffs were not entitled to relief on any of their claims of error.Plaintiffs Gavin Cox and Minh-Hahn Cox sued David Copperfield, both individually and through his corporation, for negligence and other tort claims for injuries that Gavin allegedly suffered at a magic show. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Defendants. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in the proceedings below and that Plaintiffs failed to show reversible error. View "Cox v. MGM Grand Hotel, LLC" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court denied a petition for rehearing of an order affirming the judgment of the district court in the underlying quiet title action, holding that this Court did not overlook or misapprehend any material fact in the record.Nev. Rev. Stat. 106.240 provides that ten years after a debt secured by a lien on real property has become "wholly due" and has remained unpaid, "it shall be conclusively presumed that the debt has been regularly satisfied and the lien discharged." At issue was what effect a notice of rescission has on the statute's ten-year time frame when it is recorded after a notice of default. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment in this case consistent with its unpublished decision in Glass v. Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc., No. 78325, 2020 WL 3604042 at *1 (Nev. July 1, 2020). Appellant sought rehearing. The Supreme Court denied rehearing, holding that the Court did not overlook or misapprehend any material facts. View "SFR Investments Pool 1, LLC v. U.S. Bank N.A." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed Appellant's conviction of multiple child sexual assault and abuse counts, holding that the district court's decision denying Appellant's motion to substitute counsel violated his Sixth Amendment right to counsel.In this twenty-two-count criminal matter Appellant retained Mitchell Posin as defense counsel. On the eve of trial, Appellant filed a motion to substitute counsel, alleging that Posin failed adequately to prepare the defense. The district court denied the motion, and a jury convicted Appellant of most of the counts. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the district court applied the wrong test in deciding Appellant's motion to substitute counsel because Posin was retained, not appointed; and (2) under the appropriate test, the district court abused its discretion by denying the motion to substitute counsel. View "Brass v. State" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the district court's grant of summary judgment with respect to Appellant's claim for declaratory relief and as to Appellant's accompanying violation of property rights claim, holding that public policy favors the adoption of sections 6.7 and 6.9 of the Restatement (Third) of Property: Servitudes.At issue was the scope of a common-interest-community homeowners association's power to adopt rules restricting the design and use of individually-owned properties. In the instant case, Appellant argued that Respondent did not have any express power to adopt the architectural guidelines in question and argued that the district court should interpret an association's implied to adopt rules under Nev. Rev. Stat. Chapter 116 as being limited, consistent with sections 6.7 and 6.9. The district court ruled in favor of Respondent. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that this Court expressly adopts sections 6.7 and 6.9 of the Restatement (Third) of Property: Servitudes, the subject association possess the authority to adopt design-control restrictions for individually-owned property, but it must exercise that power reasonably. The Court remanded the case for the parties to address this issue. View "Moretto v. Elk Point Country Club Homeowners Ass'n" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court held that the district court erred by disqualifying a district court judge because her impartiality could reasonably be questioned after she reviewed notes, produced in discovery, that the Supreme Court later determined to be privileged, holding that the district court erred by disqualifying Judge Sturman.Lawrence and Heidi Canarelli, along with attorney Edward Lubbers, served as former trustees of an irrevocable trust. Lubbers, who later became sole trustee, entered into a purchase agreement to sell the trust's ownership in the former trustees' business entities. Scott Canarelli petitioned to compel Lubbers to provide an accounting related to the purchase agreement. Lubbers died before Scott could depose Lubbers. Because the former trustees had disclosed documents containing Lubbers' notes, they attempted to claw back the documents. Judge Sturman allowed Scott to retain portions of the notes, but the Supreme Court held that the notes were privileged and undiscoverable. The former trustees moved to disqualify Judge Sturman as biased because she reviewed the privileged notes. The motion was denied. The Supreme Court granted writ relief, holding that the district court improperly disqualified Judge Sturman where the record did not show that Judge Sturman's review of the notes created bias or prejudice against the former trustees that would prevent fair judgment. View "Canarelli v. Eighth Judicial District Court" on Justia Law

In this construction contract action, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing Helix Electric of Nevada, LLC's claims for retention against APCO Construction, Inc. and the award of attorney fees for APCO pursuant to Nev. R. Civ. P. 68 for less than APCO's requested amount.Gemstone Development West, Inc. sought to construct condominiums and hired APCO as its general contractor. APCO subcontracted with Helix at Gemstone's direction. Helix was paid less than it billed, and the difference, $505,021, was withheld in retention. Under the subcontract, the retention would be released only upon the occurrence of several conditions. Later, the relationship between the parties soured, and the project was terminated. APCO, Helix, and other subcontractors recorded mechanics' liens against the property. After a trial, the district court dismissed Helix's claims for retention against APCO and granted attorney fees. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court correctly concluded that a subcontract provision conditioning the payment of funds on APCO first being paid was unenforceable, but the unenforceablity of the pay-if-paid condition did not also invalidate the remaining conditions precedent for obtaining the retention payment; and (2) none of the remaining arguments on appeal warranted reversal. View "Helix Electric of Nev., LLC v. APCO Construction, Inc." on Justia Law