Nevada Appellate Courts Advance Opinions for July 9, 2020

Nevada Appellate Courts Advance Opinions for July 9, 2020

State, Dep’t of Taxation v. Dist. Ct.

  • Does a government entity have possession, custody, or control over the content on the personnel cell phones of former workers hired through a temporary employment agency so as to be required under NRCP 16.1 to disclose that material.

Anthony S. Noonan IRA, LLC v. U.S. Bank

  • Can the entire amount of a homeowner’s association (HOA) yearly assessment be included in the superpriority piece of an HOA’s lien under 116.3116.

Kuptz-Blinkinsop v. Blinkinsop

  • Does NRS 11.190(1)(a), which requires that an action on a divorce decree commence within six years, apply to claims of enforcement of real property distribution in divorce decrees.

Est. of Curtis v. S. Las Vegas Med. Inv’rs

  • Is a nurse’s mistake in administering a drug to one patient, when the drug was prescribed to a different patient, as well as the alleged failure to thereafter monitor the patient, a matter of professional negligence subject to NRS 41A.071’s affidavit requirement.

Matthews v. State

  • Did the court error in denying a defendant’s Batson objection.

State, Dep’t of Corr. v. DeRosa

  • Does NRCP 4.2(a) require personal service of a petition for judicial review of an agency’s decision.

Nelson v. Nelson

  • Are orders denying a request for a joint preliminary injunction pursuant to EDCR 5.157 in a family law matter appealable under NRAP 3AA(b)(3).

Spencer v. Klementi

  • Does Nevada’s absolute privilege that attaches to judicial and quasi-judicial proceedings extend to statements made during the public-comment period of a planning-commission or improvement-district meeting,

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Nevada Appellate Courts Advance Opinions for August 1, 2019

Nevada Appellate Courts Advance Opinions for August 1, 2019

City of Mesquite v. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct.

  • What statute of limitations applies to a local government employee’s complaint alleging both that the employer breached the collective bargaining agreement and that the union breached its duty of fair representation.

First Transit v. Chernikoff

  • Does a common carrier’s heightened duty of care extend to protect passengers from non-transportation risks.

In re Guardianship of Gomez Wittler

  • Is a court order extending a temporary guardianship appealable.

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Nevada Appellate Courts Advance Opinions for February 7, 2019

Nevada Appellate Courts Advance Opinions for February 7, 2019

PASCUA VS. BAYVIEW LOAN SERV., LLC

  • May a decedent’s spouse, who has been appointed as special administrator over the decedent’s estate, elect to participate in the Foreclosure Mediation Program (FMP) regarding the decedent’s residential real property, despite the fact that the property was purchased in the decedent’s name only.

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Nevada Appellate Courts Advance Opinions for December 27, 2018

Nevada Appellate Courts Advance Opinions for December 27, 2018

GONOR VS. DALE

  • Does a deceased party’s actual date of death, or the suggestion of death filed on the record, trigger the 90-day time limitation prescribed in NRCP 25(a)(1) under which a motion to substitute the proper party in place of the deceased party must be filed in order to preclude dismissal.

CAPANNA, M.D. VS. ORTH C/W 70227

  • What constitutes improper jury nullification and golden rule arguments during closing argument.

HARRIS (AMMAR) VS. STATE (DEATH PENALTY-DIRECT)

  • When can gruesome photographs of a victim’s injuries be properly admitted in a criminal case.

BRANCH BANKING & TR. CO. VS. GERRARD, ESQ.

  • When does a litigation malpractice claim accrue.

IN RE: ESTATE OF SARGE

  • Is an order finally resolving a constituent consolidated case immediately appealable as a final judgment even where the other constituent case or cases remain pending.

COOPER (JAMES) VS. STATE

  • What evidence satisfies the prima facie showing of race-based discrimination to determine whether a peremptory challenge is improperly based on race.

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Nevada Appellate Courts Advance Opinions for December 21, 2017

Nevada Appellate Courts Advance Opinions for December 21, 2017

ARCHON CORP. VS. DIST. CT. (HABERKORN)

  • When is it appropriate for the Supreme Court of Nevada to grant extraordinary relief in the form of advisory mandamus.

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Nevada Appellate Courts Advance Opinions for November 22, 2017

Nevada Appellate Courts Advance Opinions for November 22, 2017

BRADLEY VS. DIST. CT. (HUDSON)

  • Does NRS 49.209’s privilege between a psychologist and patient apply when a criminal defendant seeks records related to a patient who is court-ordered to partake in therapy.

NATIONSTAR MORTG., LLC VS. SATICOY BAY LLC SERIES 2227 SHADOW CANYON

  • Is commercial reasonableness a relevant inquiry in an HOA foreclosure sale of real property.

YU VS. YU

  • When can a post-judgment vexatious litigant determination be challenged on appeal.

GARDNER VS. DIST. CT. (HENDERSON WATER PARK, LLC)

  • Does the alter ego doctrine apply to limited liability companies.

COLLINS (LESEAN) VS. STATE

  • Were a defendant’s constitutional rights violated on the first day of trial when the district court barred him from the courtroom for disruptive conduct for a two-hour period, during which it excused individual jurors for hardship, statutory ineligibility, and language barrier reasons.
  • Can a witness offer an opinion as to a defendant’s guilt.
  • When is a defendant entitled to a jury instruction on a lesser-included offense of voluntary manslaughter.

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Can the State appeal an order granting a prejudgment motion for a new criminal trial?

State v. Harris (Nev. Supreme Ct. – July 30, 2015)

The issue is whether the Nevada Supreme Court has jurisdiction to review the State’s appeal from an order granting a prejudgment motion for a new trial in a criminal matter.

On October 2, 2013, a jury returned verdicts finding Harris guilty of first-degree murder, child abuse and neglect with the use of a deadly weapon, and two counts of child abuse and neglect. Prior to sentencing, Harris filed a timely motion for a new trial, which the district court granted. Pursuant to NRS 177.015(1)(b), the State appealed from the order granting the motion for a new trial. In State v. Lewis, 124 Nev. 132, 178 P.3d 146 (2008), the Nevada Supreme Court previously held that NRS 177.015(1)(b) only permits appeals from district court orders resolving post-conviction motions for a new trial. Therefore, the Nevada Supreme Court in this case ordered the State to show cause why the appeal should not be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.

The State argued that the Lewis holding was based on a rationale that has no application to its right to appeal in a criminal case. The State, therefore, requested the Court to revisit Lewis as it related to appeals from orders granting prejudgment motions for a new trial.

The plain language of NRS 17.015

NRS 177.015(1)(b) provides, in relevant part, that any aggrieved party, whether it is the State or the defendant, may appeal “from an order of the district court. . . granting or refusing a new trial.” Thus, the Court determined that the plain language of NRS 177.015(1)(b) clearly authorized an appeal from an order granting a motion for a new trial and did not limit the right to an appeal based on when the motion was filed or when the order resolving it was entered.

State v. Lewis and NRS 177.015(1)(b)

The Court explained that the Nevada Supreme Court has had a prior opportunity to consider the State’s right to appeal pursuant to NRS 177.015(1)(b) from a prejudgment order granting relief. The Lewis court held that the State did not have a statutory right to appeal from an order granting a presentence motion to withdraw a guilty plea. In reaching this decision, the Lewis court observed that Nevada Rule of Appellate Procedure NRAP 3A, which governs civil appeals, used language similar to the provision in NRS 177.015(1)(b) regarding an appeal from an order granting or refusing a new trial and that the language in NRAP 3A had been interpreted to only allow for an appeal from an order denying a post-judgment motion for a new trial. Noting these similarities and that the Nevada Supreme Court had treated a motion to withdraw a guilty plea as tantamount to a motion for a new trial, the Lewis court stated that it saw no reason to construe the same language in NRS 177.015(1)(b) in an inconsistent manner.

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