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State Dep’T Of Corr. V. Ludwick, 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 12 (May 2, 2019), Tayler Bingham

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that (1) a hearing officer must also give deference to the agency’s determination that a crime is so serious that termination serves the public good, even when the agency has no published regulation dictating that outcome, and (2) an administrative hearing officer committed a clear error of law in relying, in any way, upon an invalid regulation to review an agency’s determination to terminate for a first-time disciplinary action.

Spar Bus. Serv.'S, Inc. Vs. Olson, 135 Nev. Adv. Opn. No. 40 (2019), Misha Ray

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

As a matter of first impression, the Court found that the 45-day service requirement for review of administrative decisions is not a jurisdictional requirement because the statute allows for extension based on good cause. However, in the present case, appellant did not show good cause for late service. Thus, the Court affirmed the lower court’s dismissal of the petition.

Demaranville V. Cannon Cochran Mgmt. Serv.’S, Inc., 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 35 (Sept. 5, 2019), Anya Lester

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that the last injurious exposure rule determines the liability for occupational disease which is conclusively presumed to have resulted from past employment. Additionally, the Court held that death benefits are based on the employee’s wages earned while working for the employer to which the occupational disease is causally connected.

N. Lake Tahoe Protection Dist. V. Bd. Of Admin., 134 Nev. Adv. Op. 93 (Dec. 6, 2018) (En Banc), Hannah Nelson

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that NRS 616B.578(4) does not require an employer to know the precise medical terminology for an employee’s permanent physical impairment before the subsequent injury. However, the statute requires that an employee’s preexisting permanent physical impairment be fairly and reasonably observed from a written record and the impairment must amount to at least 6% whole person impairment.

O’Keefe V. State Of Nev. Dep’T Of Motor Vehicles, Nev. Adv. Op. 92 (Dec. 6, 2018) (En Banc), Jacqueline Cope

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court reviewed de novo whether a classified employee violated a law or regulation when she challenged a challenges a state agency’s decision to terminate. Moreover, the Court applied a deferential standard of reasonableness to the agency’s decision to terminate the employee in service of the public good.

State Of Nev. Local Gov’T Emp. Mgmt. Bd., V. Educ. Support Emp. Ass’N, 134 Nev. Adv. Op. 86 (Nov. 8, 2018), Amanda Netuschil

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that the plain language application of NRS § 288.160 and Nevada Administrative Code (NAC) 288.110 states that the vote-counting standard is to be determined by the majority of members of the bargaining unit and not by a majority of the votes cast.

Sarfo V. State Bd. Of Medical Examiners, 134 Nev. Adv. Op. 85 (Nov. 1, 2018), Nathaniel Saxe

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that when a complaint is filed with the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners against a physician, the physician’s due process rights do not attach to the fact-finding role of the administrative agency.

Zenor V. State, Dep't Of Transp., 134 Nev. Adv. Op. 14 (Mar. 1, 2018), Brianna Stutz

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court held that NRS 233B.130 prohibits attorney fees in petitions for judicial review of agency determinations.

K-Kel, Inc. V. State Dep't Of Taxation, 134 Nev. Adv. Op. 10 (Mar. 10, 2018), Casey Lee

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The court determined that (1) the district court does not have jurisdiction over a petition for judicial review of an administrative agency decision when the appellants do not file the petition according to statutory requirements, (2) that district court orders in a case where it does not have jurisdiction are void, and (3) that administrative agency decisions made in compliance with void court orders do not grant district court jurisdiction.

Felton V. Douglas County, 134 Nev. Adv. Op. 6 (Feb. 15, 2018), Joshua Garry

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that when an uncompensated volunteer, who has concurrent private employment and is injured during the course of volunteer work, shall have their average monthly wage for the purposes of workers’ compensation benefits to be the aggregate of the “deemed wage” provided by statute along with their earnings from the concurrent private employment.

Heat & Frost Insulators & Allied Workers Loc. 16 V. Lab. Comm’R; Univ. Of Nev., Reno; & Core Constr., 134 Nev. Adv. Op. 1 (Jan. 4, 2018), Alma Orozco

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

NRS 233B.130(2)(c)(1)’s service requirement is mandatory and jurisdictional. Further, under NRS 233B.130(5), the district court has jurisdiction to extend time for service for good cause, either before or after the 45-day service period has run.

Game Of Drones: Rolling The Dice With Unmanned Aerial Vehicles And Privacy, Rebecca L. Scharf

Scholarly Works

This Article offers a practical three-part test for courts and law enforcement to utilize when faced with drone and privacy issues. Specifically addressing the question: how should courts analyze the Fourth Amendment’s protection against ‘unreasonable searches’ in the context of drones?

The Supreme Court’s Fourth Amendment jurisprudence produced an intricate framework to address issues arising out of the intersection of technology and privacy interests. In prominent decisions, including United States v. Katz, California v. Ciraolo, Kyllo v. United States, and most notably, United States v. Jones, the Court focused on whether the use of a single …

Toward Universal Deportation Defense: An Optimistic View, Michael Kagan

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One of the most positive responses to heightened federal enforcement of immigration laws has been increasing local and philanthropic interest in supporting immigrant legal defense. These measures are tentative and may be fleeting, and for the time being are not a substitute for federal support for an immigration public defender system. Nevertheless, it is now possible to envision many more immigrants in deportation having access to counsel, maybe even a situation in which the majority do. In this paper, Professor Michael Kagan makes no real predictions. Instead, he offers a deliberately-perhaps even blindly optimistic assessment of how concrete steps that …

Loud And Soft Anti-Chevron Decisions, Michael Kagan

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This Article proposes a methodology for interpreting the Supreme Court's long-standing inconsistency in the application of the Chevron doctrine. Developing such an approach is important because this central, canonical doctrine in administrative law is entering a period of uncertainty after long seeming to enjoy consensus support on the Court. In retrospect, it makes sense to view the many cases in which the Court failed to apply Chevron consistently as signals of underlying doctrinal doubt. However, to interpret these soft anti-Chevron decisions requires a careful approach, because sometimes Justices are simply being unpredictable and idiosyncratic. However, where clear patterns can be …

Dep’T Of Health & Human Serv.’S V. Samantha Inc., 133 Nev. Adv. Op. 100 (Dec. 14, 2017), Sara Schreiber

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Under the Nevada Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the right to petition for judicial review is limited to contested cases. When Nevada’s Department of Health and Human Services (the Department) denies an applicant a registration certificate to operate a medical marijuana dispensary, it is not a contested case under the APA. Since it is not a contested case, the applicant cannot petition the court for judicial review.

State Engineer V. Eureka County, 133 Nev. Adv. Op. 71 (Sep. 27, 2017), Michelle Harnik

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

In an en banc appeal from a district court order, the Court affirmed the district court’s order granting the existing holders of water rights’ petition for judicial review and vacating a limited liability company’s permits to appropriate water as proper and in compliance with the Court’s prior mandate.

City Of Sparks Vs. Reno Newspapers, Inc., 133 Nev. Adv. Op. 56 (August 3, 2017), Brittni Griffith

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court reviewed an appeal to determine whether an appellant: (1) “properly sought the disclosure of public records by a writ of mandamus,” and (2) whether medical marijuana establishments (“MMEs”) business license identifying information must be disclosed pursuant to the Nevada Public Records Act. The Court held that NRS 239.011 provides the specific means by which to challenge the disclosure of public records, and thus Respondent properly filed a petition for a writ of mandamus. Additionally, pursuant to NRS 453A.370(5), the Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Public and Behavior Health (“Division”) has the proper authority to adopt …

Comm’N On Ethics Of Nev. V. Hansen, 133 Nev. Adv. Op. 39 (Jun. 29, 2017), Wesley Lemay Jr.

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

An attorney for a public body, such as the Nevada Commission on Ethics, must obtain authorization from the client in a public meeting before filing an appeal of a district court decision. Failure to obtain authorization results in a defective, invalid notice of appeal.

Malfitano V. County Of Storey, 133 Nev. Adv. Op. 40 (June 29, 2017), Brent Resh

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The term “satisfactory”, as used in county code providing for liquor licensing, was not unconstitutionally vague where the provision was not related to any civil or criminal penalty. Additionally, Respondents did not violate Appellant’s due process rights by denying his application for a liquor license because Appellant had no cognizable property interest in or entitlement to the license. Finally, Appellant’s equal protection rights were not violated because Respondents had a rational basis for denying Appellant’s application.

Simmons V. Briones, 133 Nev. Adv. Op. 9, Annie Avery

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

A judgment for penalty attorney fees and costs against a driver in an action that arises out of a motor vehicle accident is not a “judgment . . . upon a cause of action” arising out of the use of a motor vehicle such that its nonpayment may result in the suspension of driving privileges under NRS § 485.302.

Poremba V. S. Nev. Paving, 133 Nev. Adv. Op. 2 (Jan. 26, 2017) (En Banc), Christopher Kelly

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that (1) an administrative officer must first determine whether to reopen a worker’s compensation benefits claim, pursuant only to the requirements of NRS 616C.390, before considering whether the insurer is entitled to reimbursement due to a third party settlement; and (2) that insurers may be entitled to reimbursement for funds an injured party receives in third party settlements that are also covered by workers’ compensation, but are not entitled to reimbursement from the portion of the settlement designated for remedies outside the definition of “compensation” in NRS 616A.090, including pain and suffering and lost wages.

Village League V. State Bd. Of Equalization, 133 Nev., Adv. Op. 1 (January 26, 2017), Yolanda Carapia

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that (1) NRS 361.395 does not provide the State Board with authority to order reappraisals; and (2) the 2010 regulation purporting to provide the State Board with such authority does not apply retroactively to the tax years at issue in this case.

On Health, Law, And Religion, Stacey A. Tovino

Scholarly Works

The Supreme Court recently decided a number of cases involving health, law, and religion, including Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, Zubik v. Burwell, and Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. These cases were important for understanding constitutional undue burden limitations and the boundaries of religious exercise during the Obama Administration. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court's recent opinions addressing health, law, and religion have little value for many health law professors and most practicing health care attorneys. These individuals, tasked with teaching and applying the thousands of federal and state statutes, regulations, and government guidance documents that address a wide …

Of Mice And Men: On The Seclusion Of Immigration Detainees And Hospital Patients, Stacey A. Tovino

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With a special focus on federal provisions strictly regulating Medicare-participating hospitals' use of seclusion, this Article uses developments in health law as a lens through which the uses and abuses of seclusion in immigration detention centers might be assessed and through which the standards governing detention centers might be improved. In particular, this Article argues that the unenforceable standards governing seclusion in immigration detention, including the most recent version of ICE's Performance-Based National Detention Standards, were incorrectly modeled on correctional standards developed for use in jails and prisons with respect to convicted criminals. This Article asserts that correctional standards are …

Tom V. Innovative Home Systems, Llc, 132 Nev. Adv. Op. 15 (Mar. 10, 2016), Adrienne Brantley

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determine that the decision of the State Contractors’ Board closing homeowners’ complaint and directing contractor to make repairs to residence was not a final decision resolving a contested case, as required to preclude a homeowner from relitigating whether contractor was required to have an electrical license. The Court also determine that genuine issues of material fact existed as to whether the contractor needed an electrical license and genuine issues of material fact existed as to whether the contractor completed its contractual obligations to homeowner.

Complying With The Hipaa Privacy Rule: Problems And Perspectives, Stacey A. Tovino

Scholarly Works

Twenty years ago, President Clinton signed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) into law. Over the past two decades, the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has published several sets of rules implementing the Administrative Simplification provisions within HIPAA as well as the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical (HITECH) Act within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). These rules include a final rule governing the use and disclosure of protected health information by covered entities and their business associates (Privacy Rule).

This Article addresses the question of what it means for …

Crafting Comment Letters: Teach Policy, Develop Skills, And Shape Pending Regulation, Benjamin P. Edwards, Nicole G. Iannarone

Scholarly Works

Professor Benjamin Edwards joins his colleague, Professor Nicole Iannarone, in this essay, unpacking the regulatory comment letter process and how to incorporate it into the law school curriculum. Participating in live rulemaking offers unique opportunities for students including mastering the substantive area of law, developing critical thinking skills, and developing their professional identities. The authors describe their own experiences in incorporating students into the regulatory rulemaking process. Because of the focus on securities law, their students review and comment on proposed actions by securities regulators - the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). After providing …

Benson V. State Engineer, 131 Nev. Adv. Op. 409 (Sep. 24, 2015), Cassandra Ramey

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court held that NRS § 533.395 requires a party seeking relief from the cancellation of a water permit to exhaust all available administrative remedies before seeking judicial review, even if the State Engineer is not authorized to provide the particular remedy that the party seeks. If the State Engineer is authorized by NRS § 533.395 to provide a party with a remedy, then the doctrine of futility does not apply to excuse the NRS § 533.394(4) exhaustion requirement. Therefore, the party must first show that the administrative process would afford him or her “no relief at all” before seeking …

Tate V. State, Bd. Of Med. Exam’Rs, 131 Nev. Adv. Op. 67 (Sep. 10, 2015), Nancy Snow

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court considers an appeal from a district court order denying an injunction challenging the constitutionality of a statute prohibiting stay of Board of Medical Examiners decision. The Court revered and remanded the district court’s order because the statute prohibiting district courts from entering a stay of a decision of the Board of Medical Examiners pending judicial review violates the separation of powers doctrine as a matter of first impression.

Veil V. Bennett, 131 Nev. Adv. Op. 22 (Apr. 30, 2015), Jaymes Orr

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court held that, although a sheriff has a duty to diligently execute arrest warrants, he is within his discretion to determine how to best execute the arrest warrants. The statute does not impose a duty to enter the warrant information into an electronic database.