Justia Nevada Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

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The Supreme Court upheld the distribution decisions of the district court in the underlying divorce action to resolve community property disputes over property held in a revocable inter vivos trust and affirmed its decree of divorce, holding that there was no error.At issue before the Supreme Court was whether a revocable inter vivos trust holding community property must be named as a necessary party in a divorce action where the divorcing spouses are co-trustees, co-settlors, and beneficiaries. The Supreme Court affirmed the district court, holding (1) the revocable inter vivos family trust was not a necessary party to the divorce action and that the district court had the authority to distribute the trust's assets; and (2) the district court did not abuse its discretion in distributing the trust's assets between the parties as community property. View "Lopez v. Lopez" on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment by substituting other remedies in place of an equitable lien placed by the bankruptcy court on real property located at 10512 Loma Portal Avenue, holding that, based on the preclusive effect of prior court orders, an equitable lien was the only available remedy to satisfy Respondent's interest concerning the property.At issue before the Supreme Court was the preclusive effect of the multiple court orders in this case and the equitable remedies available under those orders. The Supreme Court remanded the case for further proceedings, holding (1) an equitable lien placed on property to satisfy a debt permits the lien holder to enforce the value of the equitable lien against the debtor's property even where that property has been subsequently transferred to a nondebtor spouse during divorce proceedings; (2) the district court erred by substituting other remedies in place of the equitable lien; and (3) genuine issues of material fact remained as to the value of the equitable lien placed on the property, as well as the value of the property itself. View "Holland v. Barney" on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court dismissing the underlying tort action for failure to timely effect service of process, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying a request for enlargement of time to serve and dismissing the action.Appellants sued Respondent for personal injuries following a car collision. Because Appellants failed to serve the summons and complaint on Respondent within 120 days the district court issued an order to show cause, and the summons and complaint were served. Respondent moved to quash the service of process and to dismiss the complaint. The district court denied Appellants' untimely motion for an extension of time to serve process and granted the motion to dismiss. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court properly denied Appellants' untimely motion for an extension of time and properly dismissed the case under Nev. R. Civ. P. 4(e)(2). View "Sabater v. Razmy" on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court reversed the order of the district court as to Appellants' motions to compel arbitration and remanded the case, holding that "where the nonsignatory seeking to compel arbitration demonstrates both the right to enforce the contract and that compelling another nonsignatory to arbitration is warranted under standard principles of contract law or estoppel, compelling arbitration is appropriate."At issue was whether a nonsignatory to a contract containing an arbitration clause can be compelled to participate in arbitration by another signatory. The district court denied both Appellants' first and second motions to compel arbitration. The Supreme Court reversed as to Appellants' first and second motions to compel arbitration, holding where a nonsignatory to a contract containing an arbitration provision moves to compel another nonsignatory to arbitrate, the nonsignatory seeking to compel arbitration must demonstrate the right to enforce the arbitration agreement and show that compelling the other nonsignatory to arbitration is warranted. View "RUAG Ammotec GmbH v. Archon Firearms, Inc." on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court reversed the order of the district court enforcing a noncompete covenant against three of its former employees (collectively, Respondents) on the basis that the covenant was unenforceable due to procedural unconscionability, holding that the court erred in invalidating the covenant based on procedural unconscionability and in failing adequately to consider whether the overbroad scope of the covenant could be modified.In determining that the noncompete agreement was unenforceable, the district court called into question whether employees could readily ascertain its terms and found that the noncompete covenant was overbroad. The court, however, declined to modify the covenant, stating that it could be redrafted in a manner to allow for injunctive relief. The Supreme Court reversed the portion of the order denying injunctive relief as to the noncompete provision, holding that the district court (1) erred in invalidating the noncompete covenant as procedurally unconscionable and therefore unenforceable as a matter of law; and (2) failed properly to analyze whether the noncompete covenant could be revised under Nev. Rev. Stat. 613.195(6). View "Tough Turtle Turf, LLC v. Scott" on Justia Law

Posted in: Contracts
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The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction but vacated his sentence as to restitution and the cost of a psychosexual evaluation and remanded this case for resentencing, holding that the district court erred by not undertaking an investigative inquiry prior to ordering Defendant to pay extradition restitution and by not addressing Defendant's alleged inability to pay the psychosexual evaluation cost.Defendant pleaded guilty to one count of attempted lewdness with a child under the age of fourteen years. At the sentencing hearing, the State requested that the court impose restitution for the cost of having Defendant extradited from Michigan to Nevada as well as the cost of Defendant's psychosexual evaluation, to which he agreed in plea negotiations. Defendant objected to both the extradition restitution and psychosexual evaluation cost on the grounds of his inability to pay. The district court imposed both the extradition restitution and psychosexual evaluation cost in full. The Supreme Court reversed in part, holding that the district court (1) erred by imposing extradition restitution without conducting the investigate inquiry required under Nev. Rev. Stat. 179.225(2); and (2) abused its discretion by imposing the cost of the psychosexual evaluation in full before making findings as to Defendant's ability to pay. View "Bolden v. State" on Justia Law

Posted in: Criminal Law
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The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing the complaint brought by a first deed of trust holder against its title insurance company for breach of contract and related claims, holding that there was no error.The insurer in this case denied coverage to a first deed of trust holder for its loss of interest in property following a foreclosed upon a "superpriority piece." At issue was whether the first deed of trust holder could recover for its loss of interest in the subject property by making a claim on its title insurance policy. The district court granted the title insurance company's motion to dismiss as to all claims, concluding that no coverage existed under the policy. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the claims for declaratory judgment, breach of contract, and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing were properly dismissed; and (2) the first deed of trust holder was not entitled to relief on its remaining allegations of error. View "Deutsche Bank National Trust v. Fidelity National Title Insurance Co." on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the district court in the underlying divorce action, holding that while parts of the decree were legally and factually supportable, other portions contained numerous legal and factual deficiencies.Following lengthy divorce proceedings the district court summarily adopted Respondent's proposed findings of fact, conclusions of law, and decree of divorce without making any modifications. On appeal, Appellant argued that the district court committed reversible error in doing so. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding (1) utilizing a party's proposed order does not in and of itself constitute an abuse of discretion; and (2) the district court abused its discretion when it granted financial awards for alimony, attorney fees, and expert fees and when it unequally distributed the parties' community property and debt. View "Eivazi v. Eivazi" on Justia Law

Posted in: Family Law
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The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court dismissing Appellant's complaint alleging that Nev. Rev. Stat. 176.355, Nevada's statute providing that an execution must be effectuated by injection of a lethal drug, is unconstitutional because it gives the Director of the Nevada Department of Corrections discretion to determine the process by which a lethal injection is administered, holding that there was no error.Appellant, a death-row inmate, argued that section 176.355 lacked suitable standards because it afforded the Director complete discretion to determine the types, dosages, and sequencing of drugs to be used in the execution. The district court dismissed the challenge. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the statute, combined with the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, provided the Director with suitable standards to determine the process by which a lethal injection is to be administered. View "Floyd v. State, Dep't of Correction" on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court sua sponte deciding to remove a protected minor's guardian and terminate the minor's guardianship based upon an ex parte communication, holding that the proceedings and resulting order did not comport with due process.Specifically, the Supreme Court held that the district court (1) has authority to sua sponte remove a guardian and terminate a guardianship even in the absence of a petition seeking removal and termination; (2) violated Defendant's right to due process by failing to give proper notice that it was contemplating removal and termination; (3) abused its discretion by failing to apply the applicable statutes and factors for removal and termination; and (4) made unsupported and clearly erroneous factual determinations in reaching its decision. View "In re D.M.F." on Justia Law

Posted in: Family Law