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Salt Equalizer, Vol. 2019, Issue 1, Society Of American Law Teachers

SALT Equalizer

Survey Information and Methodology, at 1.

2018-19 SALT Salary Survey, at 1.

About SALT and SALT Membership, at 3.

Survey Instrument, at 5.

SALT Salary Survey 2017-2018, at 5

Gathrite V. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct., 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 54 (Nov. 7, 2019), Skylar Arakawa-Pamphilon

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

For purposes of NRS 172.135(2), evidence that has been suppressed in justice court proceedings on a felony complaint is not “legal evidence,” and therefore, may not be presented to a grand jury. The Court will grant an exception to this rule if the suppression was reversed before the grand jury proceedings.

Witter V. State, 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 73444 (Nov. 14, 2019), John Bays

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that (1) a judgment of conviction containing a restitution provision must contain the specific amount of restitution required; (2) a judgment of conviction containing an indeterminate restitution provision is not a final judgement for purposes of appeal or for purposes of triggering the deadline for filing a habeas petition; and (3) the principle of finality requires that even when such an error is made, if the defendant treats the judgment as final by litigating, the defendant is estopped from later arguing that judgment was not final and that subsequent proceedings were null and void for lack of …

Artemis Exploration Company V. Ruby Lake Estates Homeowner’S Association, 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 48, Austin Wood

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that (1) implied payment obligations for common elements, contained in the property declaration, can provide adequate notice and create a common-interest community; and (2) NRS 116.3101(1) does not apply to common-interest communities formed before 1992, therefore the unit-owners’ association does not need to be organized before or at the time the first unit is conveyed.

State, Bd. Of Architecture V. Dist. Ct., 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 49, Melissa Yeghiazarian

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court had two holdings in this case. First, a final decision for purposes of judicial review must contain a detailed finding of facts and conclusions of law by an administrative agency. Second, when a petition for judicial review is filed prematurely, it does not vest jurisdiction in the district court.

Richard Kilgore V. Eleni Kilgore, 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 47 (Oct. 3, 2019), Aariel Williams

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

NRS 286.510 provides that the eligibility depends on an employee spouse’s effective date of membership in Nevada Public Employees’ Retirement System (“PERS”), profession, number of years served, and age. The Court determined that the time does not depend on whether the employee spouse’s PERS account has fully matured. NRS 125.155 provides district courts with discretion to deny or reduce a non-employee spouse’s request for pension payments before the employee spouse’s retirement. Further, under NRS 125.150(3), a party can seek adjudication of an asset mistakenly omitted from the divorce decree within three years of discovering the mistake. The Court determined that …

Newson V. State, 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 50 (Oct. 10, 2019), Richard Young

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined although the district court has broad discretion to settle jury instructions, the failure to instruct the jury on a defendant’s theory of a case that is supported by any evidence warrants reversal unless the error was harmless.

Marcus A. Reif V. Aries Consultants, Inc., 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 51 (Oct. 10, 2019), Joseph Adamiak

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that, under NRS 11.258(1), a complaint is only void if it is served without a concurrent filing of attorney affidavit and export report.

State Bd. Of Parole Comm’Rs V. Second Judicial Dist. Court, 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 53 (Oct. 24, 2019) (En Banc), Dallas Anselmo

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court confronted several issues in this methodical decision. The Court addressed standing and discretionary review in the context of writ petitions. It next analyzes and determines the applicable version of a particular NRS section. Finally, the Court interprets the applicable version of the statute. The opinion culminates in the granting of a writ of mandamus petition for the Parole Board to correct an inaccurate application of law at the district court level.

Mcnamee V. Eighth Judicial District Court, 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 52 (Oct. 17, 2019), Alfa Alemayehu

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court overruled Barto v. Weishaar, partly granted the petitioner’s writ of mandamus, and held that if a suggestion of death is properly served, the 90-day deadline to file a motion to substitute is triggered regardless of which party files it and whether it identifies the deceased party’s successor or representative.

City Of Reno V. Joy Yturbide, 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 14 (May 2, 2019), Gabrielle Boliou

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court held that a compensation insurer may not reduce the 25 percent limit on lump-sum payments for an employee’s permanent disability award on different subsequent injuries. The court affirmed the district court’s denial of appellants’ petition for judicial review.

Kim V. Dickinson Wright, Pllc, 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 20, 442 P.3d 1070 (Jun. 13, 2019), Elizabeth Davenport

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court reversed the district court’s order granting the motion to dismiss and determined 28 U.S.C. § 1367(d), the statute of limitations for a state-law claim filed in federal court, stops running only while the claim is pending in federal court and for 30 days after the state-law claim’s dismissal. Further, Nevada’s litigation malpractice rule, which does not apply to non-adversarial or transactional representation, or before the attorney files a complaint, tolls a litigation malpractice claim’s statute of limitations until the underlying litigation is resolved and damages are certain, preserving the statute of limitations under NRS 11.207(1) which requires a …

(In Re Guardianship Of Carmen Wittler) Wittler V. Wittler, 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 31 (Aug. 01, 2019), Mckay Holley

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

No abstract provided.

Bowser V. State Of Nevada, 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 15 (May 16, 2019), Andrew Brown

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court overruled precedent which held that a presumption of vindictiveness applies when a judge imposes a longer sentence after a new trial.

Resources Group, Llc V. Nevada Association Services, Inc., 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 8 (Mar. 14, 2019), Alfa Alemayehu

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that each party in a quiet title action has the burden of demonstrating superior title. Further, once a bid is accepted and payment is made, the foreclosure sale is complete and title vests in the purchaser, and the person conducting the sale does not have discretion to refuse issuing the foreclosure deed. Lastly, the correct standard for determining whether to set aside a sale on equitable grounds is whether there has been some showing of fraud, unfairness, or oppression affecting the sale.

Castillo V. State, 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 16 (May. 30, 2019), E. Sebastian Cate-Cribari

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that (1) a defendant is death-eligible in Nevada once the State proves beyond a reasonable doubt the elements of first-degree murder and at least one statutory aggravating circumstance; and (2) the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard does not apply to the weighing of aggravating and mitigating circumstances.

In Re Fund For Encouragement Of Self Rel., 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 10 (Apr. 25, 2019), Skylar Arakawa-Pamphilon

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

NRS § 163.556 does not permit a court to disregard trustees' objections and appoint half of a wholly charitable trust’s assets to a new trust when, pursuant to the trust instrument’s terms, all trustees must consent before distributing half of the trust’s assets.

Daisy Trust V. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 135 Nev. Adv. Op.30 (Jul. 25, 2019), Julia Armendariz

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that (1) NRS § 106.210 and NRS § 111.325 do not require a beneficiary to be identified on the publicly recorded deed of trust to establish ownership interest in the subject loan and (2) a loan service agreement or an original promissory note is not required to by the loan servicer to assert the Federal Foreclosure Bar on another’s behalf so long as properly authenticated business records can establish the ownership interest and (3) The Federal Foreclosure Bar preempts NRS § 116.3116(2) and prevents an HOA foreclosure sale from extinguishing the first deed of trust.

Tricarichi V. Coöperatieve Rabobank, 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 73175 (May 2, 2019), John Bays

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that (1) Walden v. Fiore did not overrule Davis v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, meaning that Nevada, under its long-arm statute, recognizes conspiracy-based theory personal jurisdiction and utilizes the conspiracy jurisdiction test as laid out in Gibbs v. Prime Lending and (2) Tricarichi failed to establish personal jurisdiction under either specific or conspiracy theory personal jurisdiction due to an inability to provide sufficient evidence connecting the respondents actions to Nevada.

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.

The Original Roofing Co., Llc V. Chief Admin. Officer Of The Occupational Safety And Health Admin., 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 18 (Jun. 6, 2019), Riley Coggins

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court held that supervisors’ knowledge that their own conduct, or that of an employee under their supervision, violates NOSHA safety laws cannot be attributed to the employer unless the impermissible actions were foreseeable.

Rose, Llc., V. Treasure Island, Llc., 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 19 (Jun. 6, 2019), Ben Coonan

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court found that (1) strict compliance with contract notice requirements is unnecessary if the defaulting party receives actual notice and no prejudice resulted from failure to comply strictly with the contract terms; and (2) a party is not necessary under NRCP 19 unless the other parties to the litigation cannot obtain complete relief in that party’s absence.

Boesiger V. Desert Appraisals, Llc, 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 25 (July 3, 2019), Jeff Garrett

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court held that Appellants provided insufficient evidence to show that Respondents had a duty to Appellant or breached their duty to Appellant. The Appellants failed to provide the required expert testimony necessary for a case concerning the professional conduct of a profession whose standards and procedures are not known to the public. Additionally, because the contract between the Appellants and the Respondents did not expressly name the Appellants as third-party beneficiaries, the Appellants do not have standing to request the contract be enforced.

U.S. Bank Nat’L Ass’N Nd Vs. Resources Grp., Llc, 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 26 (July 3, 2019), Christopher Gonzalez

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that (1) previous case law and the NRS require an HOA that is seeking to foreclose a superpriority lien to send the holder of a recorded first deed of trust a notice of default and notice of sale, even when they have not been formally requested. Additionally, they held that (2) the district court would have to decide questions of fact to determine whether Resources Group was a bona fide purchaser.

Yesennia Esmeralda Amaya V Milton Orlando Guerrero Rivera, 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 27 (July 3, 2019), Salma Granich

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that under NRS 3.2203 (1) an order determining physical custody of a child satisfied the dependency or custody prong for Special Immigrant Juvenile predicate findings; and (2) in order to determine predicate findings, the reunification prong is satisfied where the juvenile cannot reunify with at least one parent.

Cameron V. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court In & For Cty. Of Clark, 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 28, 445 P.3d 843, Manuel Gurule

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Timmie Cameron filed a writ of mandamus challenging the district court’s ruling to increase both his bail from $25,000 to $100,000 and his level of monitoring from mid-level electronic monitoring to house arrest.The Court ruled the district court did not establish a good cause to warrant the bail increase and writ relief was granted.

First Transit V. Chernikoff, 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 32 (Aug. 1, 2019), Michael Holthus

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court clarified that (1) the heightened duty of care by common carriers only applies to transportation-related risks, and (2) when a common carrier is aware of a passenger’s disability, reasonable care includes providing safe transport that the circumstances reasonably require based on the disability.

City Of Mesquite V. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct., 135 Nev., Adv. Op. 33, Dylan Lawter

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The City of Mesquite asked the Court to determine which statute of limitations (“SOL”) 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. The City argued that the claims are subject to a six-month limitations period under Nevada’s Local Government Employee-Management Relations Act (“EMRA”). The Court declined to answer the question. Instead, it clarified that there is no private cause of action to enforce a claim against a union for breach of the duty of fair representation in the first instance. But, …

Menendez-Cordero V. State, 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 29 (Jul 25, 2019), Nick Hagenkord

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court concluded that (1) the empanelment of an anonymous jury does not, without actual prejudice, infringe on a defendant’s constitutional rights and the district court satisfied the abuse-of-discretion standard adopted; (2) the district court need not instruct a jury that is responsible for imposing a sentence in a first-degree murder case under NRS 175.552 about the effects of a deadly weapon enhancement; and (3) there was no abuse of discretion in the district court’s decision to admit Menendez-Cordero’s threats as consciousness-of-guilt evidence.

Waste Mgmt. Of Nev., Inc. V. W. Taylor Street, Llc., 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 21 (Jun. 27, 2019), Trisha Delos Santos

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that (1) the district court properly determined that garbage liens are perpetual; (2) that the district court erred in applying the lien perfection requirements contained in NRS 108.226; and (3) erred in applying the two-year statute of limitations contained in NRS 11.190(4)(b) to the foreclosure of those liens under NRS 444.520.Therefore, a garbage lien is not subject to a statute of limitations and a municipal waste management company may foreclose upon such a lien under NRS 444.520(4).