In this case, we primarily consider whether intangible property, in particular a contractor’s license, can be the subject of a claim in tort for conversion. In doing so, we adopt the California definition of “property rights” and the Restatement (Second) of Torts rule defining conversion of “intangible personal property,” and expressly reject the notion that personal property must be ta... More...   $0 (10-02-2008 - NV)

This original proceeding stems from an appeal in a case concerning a complaint for partition or sale of certain Clark County real property. In that case, this court reversed the district court’s judgment transferring the property from petitioners to real parties in interest through a judicial sale and remanded the matter to the district court for further proceedings. When petitioners took step... More...   $0 (10-03-2008 - NV)

On May 29, 2008, this court issued an opinion in this matter affirming in part and reversing in part the district court’s order and remanding with instructions. Subsequently, appellants filed a petition for rehearing of that decision. On July 17, 2008, this court withdrew the prior opinion pending resolution of the petition for rehearing. After reviewing the rehearing petition, as well as the... More...   $0 (09-11-2008 - NV)

This appeal and cross-appeal from a district court order in a breach of contract and tort action arising from improper foreclosure proceedings involve several compensatory and punitive damage award issues. With respect to compensatory damages, since respondents/cross-appellants’ actual losses did not exceed the damages that they incurred to their real and personal property, we conclude that the... More...   $0 (09-11-2008 - NV)

In this appeal, we consider whether water rights may be transferred separately from the property to which they are appurtenant without prior severance under NRS 533.040. We also consider whether the anti-speculation doctrine adopted by this court in Bacher v. State Engineer[2] limits the ability to acquire a security or ownership interest in a water right separately from the land to which the rig... More...   $0 (09-11-2008 - NV)

NRS 108.237(1) entitles a prevailing mechanic’s lien claimant to the enforcement proceedings’ costs, including reasonable attorney fees. This appeal concerns three issues with regard to that statute. First, we consider whether NRS 108.237(1) contains within its scope attorney fees that are incurred after the district court enters a judgment determining the lienable amount and foreclosing upo... More...   $0 (09-18-2008 - NV)

In this original petition we consider two primary issues with regard to petitioner’s NRCP 25 motion to dismiss a deceased plaintiff’s loss of consortium claim. First, we address whether a defendant party who files a suggestion of death on the record is required to name a successor or personal representative for the deceased plaintiff to trigger NRCP 25’s 90-day limitation period. We clarif... More...   $0 (07-31-2008 - NV)

Plaintiff claimed that California tax authorities wrongfully claimed he was a California resident in 1991 and part of 1992, and assessed millions of dollars in income taxes for those years, plus penalties. The 70-year-old Hyatt's a millionaire electrical engineer and inventor with more than 70 U.S. patents. He moved to Las Vegas from La Palma, California, in September 1991.... More...   $388000 (08-19-2008 - NV)

In this appeal, we consider, for the first time, multiple sections of Nevada’s Uniform Act on Rights of the Terminally Ill (the Act), codified in NRS 449.535 through 449.690. The Act authorizes the use of three procedures by which terminally ill patients or their families can legally implement their wishes with regard to withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment. First, an individua... More...   $0 (07-03-2008 - NV)

NRS Chapter 706 defines fully regulated common motor carriers as including persons who hold themselves out to the public as willing to be employed to transport household goods by vehicle within Nevada. Nevada law further defines the "transportation of household goods" as including the movement of such household goods by use of a rented vehicle that is driven by someone associated with an entity t... More...   $0 (05-01-2008 - NV)

This appeal presents us with the opportunity to clarify the circumstances under which the unclean hands doctrine will bar a party from obtaining an equitable remedy. We now conclude that the unclean hands doctrine should only apply when the egregiousness of the party's misconduct constituting the party's unclean hands and the seriousness of the harm caused by the misconduct collectively weigh aga... More...   $0 (05-11-2008 - NV)

On his day off, respondent David Murphy, at his employer's request, delivered equipment from his employer's construction yard to his employer's job site. After departing from the job site, he was injured in an automobile accident. In this opinion, we consider whether the injuries of an employee who, like Murphy, is involved in a vehicular accident while on the return journey of a spe... More...   $0 (05-11-2008 - NV)

Plaintiff-appellant Nationwide Transport Finance (Nationwide) appeals the district court's judgment following a jury verdict in favor of defendant-appellee Cass Information Systems, Inc. (Cass) on Nationwide's claims for intentional interference with contractual relationship, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, breach of implied contract, and account stated. We have... More...   $0 (04-30-2008 - NV)

In this appeal, we examine whether a landowner may assert a cause of action for precondemnation damages that arise when a municipality announces its intent to condemn a parcel of land and then unreasonably delays instituting an eminent domain action.[1] We conclude that a municipality's announcement of intent to condemn a parcel of land may give rise to a cause of action by the landowner for dama... More...   $0 (04-18-2008 - NV)

In this appeal, we address whether baseball stadium owners and operators have a duty to protect spectators against injuries caused by foul balls that are errantly projected into the stands. We conclude that stadium owners and operators have a limited duty to protect against such injuries and that respondent satisfied its duty as a matter of law under the facts presented in this case. Accordingly... More...   $0 (04-18-2008 - NV)

In this original petition for extraordinary relief, we examine statutory provisions that afford remedies to whistleblowers who are retaliated against for lawfully disclosing information regarding purportedly fraudulent activity in furtherance of Nevada's False Claims Act[1] (FCA). In particular, we address whether the FCA's anti-retaliation remedies are limited to those whistleblower ... More...   $0 (03-31-2008 - NV)

The family and estate of Charla Mack sued Darren Mack on a wrongful death theory. Darren Mack was convicted of killing his wife and shooting Washoe County Family Court Judge Chuck Weller. Mrs. Mack was suing her wealth pawn shop owner husband at the time of the shooing. Mack entered an Alford plea and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 36 years in 2007. Mack ad... More...   $590000000 (03-19-2008 - NV)

This appeal concerns claims of negligence per se and fraud based on alleged misconduct by notaries public. Appellants Leonard and Shelly Torrealba filed a complaint for damages against two notaries public, respondents Laurie Kesmetis and Emily Herrera, and the notaries' employer, respondent J.M.K. Investments, Ltd., claiming that the notaries were negligent as a matter of law under re... More...   $0 (03-12-2008 - NV)

This appeal presents the question of whether directors of a nonprofit organization or independent volunteer producers may be considered employees within the meaning of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq., and the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12,101 et seq. We conclude that they may not, and we affirm the district court's grant of summary jud... More...   $0 (01-19-2008 - NV)

In Onossian v. Block, we applied the Supreme Court's decision in County of Sacramento v. Lewis, 523 U.S. 833 (1998), and held that a police officer in a high-speed chase - whether he injures the fleeing suspect or a bystander - is entitled to qualified immunity unless his behavior "shocks the conscience" because it demonstrates an intent "to cause harm unrelated to the legitimate object o... More...   $0 (01-19-2008 - NV)

In this appeal, we consider the primary issue of whether a district court has the authority to bifurcate the legal and equitable claims presented in a single action, conduct a bench trial on an equitable claim, and then use the findings of fact and conclusions of law from that bench trial to dispose of the case. On this issue of first impression, we conclude that Nevada district ... More...   $0 (12-27-2007 - NV)

In this appeal, we determine whether this court should adopt equitable exceptions to the law of the case doctrine. We also revisit the prior decision we issued in the first appeal of this airspace takings case, given our intervening decision in McCarran International Airport v. Sisolak,[2] which set forth a new scheme for analyzing airspace takings claims. We conclude that, in s... More...   $0 (01-09-2008 - NV)

This appeal arises from a storm-induced flood that occurred in Sparks, Nevada, on January 1, 1997. During the storm, respondent City of Sparks (the City) evacuated appellants' businesses, barricaded the street entrance to their businesses, and denied them access to their businesses. Consequently, appellants were unable to remove their property before the flood waters destroyed it.... More...   $0 (01-09-2008 - NV)

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms ("ATF") denied the petitioners-appellants Bruce L. Jennings' ("Jennings") and B.L. Jennings, Inc.'s ("B.L. Jennings") application for renewal of B.L. Jennings' federal firearms license ("FFL"). The ATF denied the renewal application because Jennings had been convicted in California of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence ("MCDV"); in addi... More...   $0 (12-27-2007 - NV)

In this appeal, involving a deficient record, we reiterate our oft-stated rule that appellant bears the responsibility of ensuring an accurate and complete record on appeal and that missing portions of the record are presumed to support the district court's decision. As appellants have failed to provide, in the record, their opposition to the summary judgment motion, we necessarily affirm the ... More...   $0 (12-23-2007 - NV)

cess server, who found and served Shaw with a copy of the SEC complaint at Shaw's foreign business address in England. Shaw failed to appear, and the district court entered final judgment against him. More than thre... More...   $0 (12-11-2007 - NV)

Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe of Indians (Pyramid) appeals the district court's order affirming the decision of the Nevada State Engineer which granted the transfer of water rights from the parcels of property to which they were then appurtenant to new parcels. All of the water rights are within the boundaries of the Newlands Reclamation Project.1 Pyramid asserts that the rights could not b... More...   $0 (12-09-2007 - NV)

In this appeal, we examine whether a county is authorized, under its governmental police powers, to regulate construction waste, and particularly whether Douglas County properly enacted an ordinance granting an exclusive franchise to appellant Douglas Disposal, Inc. (Disposal), for construction waste collection and disposal within the county. Since we conclude that construction waste regulatio... More...   $0 (12-01-2007 - NV)

In this appeal, we consider whether NRS 690B.012 grants private rights of action to medical... More...   $0 (12-01-2007 - NV)

In this case, we primarily reexamine our decision in Sandy Valley Associates v. Sky Ranch Estates,[1] which states that attorney fees as damages are available in cases clarifying or removing a cloud on title to property. We now retreat from that statement and hold that in cases concerning title to real property, attorney fees are only allowable as special damages in slander of title actions, n... More...   $0 (12-01-2007 - NV)

At issue in this appeal is whether a physician is qualified to testify as to the proper standard of care in a malpractice action against a nurse when the allegedly negligent act implicates the physician's realm of expertise. We conclude that a physician or other medical care provider is qualified to testify as to the accepted standard of care for a procedure or treatment if the physician's or ... More...   $0 (11-08-2007 - NV)

Larry E. Dillon sued West Publishing Company claiming he suffered damages because of unlawful age bias under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). Dillon, who was earning approximately $280,000 a year as a senior sales representative, alleged that he was discharged at the age of 53 as a result of a conflict between two divisions of West Publishing. Dillon asserted that his ag... More...   $3700000 (10-16-2007 - NV)

Jeraldine Scofield, 75, of Fallon, Nevada; Arlene Rowatt, 67, of Incline Village, Nevada; and Pamela Forrester, 64, of Yerington, Nevada sued Wyeth on a products liability theory claiming that Wyeth's hormone-replacement drugs had caused them to develop breast cancer. The plaintiffs testified that they had started taking Premarin, an estrogen replacement, and Prempro, a combination of estrogen ... More...   $123500000 (10-18-2007 - NV)

In this petition, we address an important issue regarding access to justice - we consider whether a non-English speaking litigant is entitled to have a volunteer interpreter appointed to assist him or her in a justice court small claims proceeding. And, when no volunteer interpreter is available, we consider whether the justice court has discretion to appoint a state-registered interpreter, at... More...   $0 (09-20-2007 - NV)

This case comes to us by way of an original petition for a writ of mandamus or prohibition. In granting this petition in part, we consider and determine the scope of Nevada's residential constructional defect statutes, contained within NRS Chapter 40 from NRS 40.600 through NRS 40.695. In general, this legislation sets forth rights and remedies of homeowners, developers, and building contrac... More...   $0 (09-20-2007 - NV)

In March 2004 plaintiff-appellant David Dent accepted overtime compensation that was owed to him by his former employer, MC Communications, pursuant to a settlement supervised by the Department of Labor ("DOL") in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), 29 U.S.C. § 216(c). Dent signed a WH-58 standard form "Receipt for Payment of Lost or Denied Wages, Employment Benefits,... More...   $0 (09-19-2007 - NV)

Appellant James Tinnell developed a liquid solution to treat lesions caused by the herpes virus. He applied for a patent on the treatment and acquired a defunct corporation, now named Zila, as a vehicle for marketing and selling the product, now called Zilactin. Tinnell subsequently entered an agreement with Zila that assigned all rights in his invention to the company in return for roy... More...   $0 (09-05-2007 - NV)

This product liability case arises from the death of threeyear- old Walter White, the son of plaintiffs Ginny and Jimmie White, who was killed when Mr. White's parked Ford F-350 pickup truck rolled over him in the family's driveway. The case is before us for the second time following a remand for a new trial on punitive damages. See White v. Ford Motor Co., 312 F.3d 998 (9th Cir. 2002) ("... More...   $2305435 (08-31-2007 - NV)

In this appeal, we consider the constitutionality of NRS 41.440, which imposes vicarious liability on motor vehicle owners who loan their vehicles to immediate family members. We also consider whether, under the facts of this case, the district court erred in concluding, as a matter of law, that a stepfather and a biological mother are the immediate family members of an adult son for purpose... More...   $0 (06-28-2007 - NV)

In this appeal, we consider whether a judgment creditor in a domesticated foreign judgment may add a nonparty to a final judgment, under the alter ego doctrine, simply by moving to amend the judgment. We conclude that such a procedure violates the due process rights of the nonparty whom the creditor seeks to add. Instead, to observe the requisite attributes of due process, a judgment credito... More...   $0 (06-28-2007 - NV)