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Las Vegas Dragon Hotel, Llc v. Dist. Ct. (Crawford)

2022-08-18

Summary

Holding. The petition for a writ of mandamus or prohibition was denied.

The Las Vegas Dragon Hotel sought an extraordinary writ from the Nevada Supreme Court to overturn a district court order that denied its motion to dismiss in a tort action involving numerous plaintiffs. The Supreme Court declined to intervene, finding that the hotel had not met the stringent requirements for such extraordinary relief. The court noted that a normal appeal following final judgment would provide an adequate remedy, and the hotel's delay in seeking the writ, combined with incomplete filings, did not justify the court's exceptional intervention.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Whether extraordinary writ relief was warranted to challenge an interlocutory order denying a motion to dismiss
  • Whether an appeal from final judgment constitutes an adequate remedy precluding writ relief
  • Whether petitioner's delay and incomplete record justified extraordinary court intervention

Procedural posture

The hotel filed an original petition seeking a writ of mandamus or prohibition from the Nevada Supreme Court to challenge the district court's denial of its motion to dismiss.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

majority opinion

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEVADA

LAS VEGAS DRAGON HOTEL, LLC, A No. 85081

NEVADA LIMITED LIABILITY

COMPANY, D/B/A ALPINE MOTEL

APARTMENTS,

Petitioner,

vs. FILED

THE EIGHTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT

AUG 1 8 2622

COURT OF THE STATE OF NEVADA,

IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF ELIZABETH A. BROWN

CLERK O SU.-cEME COURT

CLARK; AND THE HONORABLE By \\

DEPUTY CLERK

MARIA A. GALL, DISTRICT JUDGE,

Respondents,

and

DEBORAH CIHAL CRAWFORD,

INDIVIDUALLY AND AS HEIR TO THE

ESTATE OF TRACY ANN CIHAL;

JOHN DOE ADMINISTRATOR, AS

SPECIAL ADMINISTRATOR OF THE

ESTATE OF TRACY ANN CIHAL;

DIANE ROBERTS, INDWIDUALLY

AND AS HEIR TO THE ESTATE OF

DONALD KEITH BENNETT; MIA

LUCILEE BENNETT, INDIVIDUALLY

AND AS HEIR TO THE ESTATE OF

DONALD KEITH BENNETT, BY AND

THROUGH HER GUARDIAN AD

LITEM DIANE ROBERTS; DONALD

ROBERTS, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS

HEIR TO THE ESTATE OF DONALD

KEITH BENNETT; JOHN DOE

ADMINISTRATOR, AS SPECIAL

ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE

OF DONALD KEITH BENNETP;

FRANCIS LOMBARDO, III,

INDIVIDUALLY AND AS HEIR TO THE

ESTATE OF FRANCIS LOMBARDO,

JR.; JOHN DOE ADMINISTRATOR, AS

SPECIAL ADMINISTRATOR OF THE

SUPREME COURT

OF

NEVADA

(0 , I , l47A

pig -A5-1357

ESTATE OF FRANCIS LOMBARDO,

JR; RICHARD AIKENS; MICHELLE

AIKENS; MICHAEL AIKENS, A MINOR

BY AND THROUGH HIS NATURAL

PARENTS, RICHARD AIKENS AND

MICHELLE AIKENS; BRIANNA

AIKENS, A MINOR BY AND THROUGH

HER NATURAL PARENTS, RICHARD

AIKENS AND MICHELLE AIKENS;

DEJOY WILSON; JOHNATHAN

WILSON; RETOR JONES, JR.; HELEN

CLARK; VICTOR COTTON;

CHRISTINA FARINELLA; HAILU

ADDIS; DENICIA JOHNSON; PAUL

WISE; CARMAN MCCANDLESS;

PARALEE MINTER; ATJDREY

PALMER; SARA RACHAL; KELVIN

SALYERS; JOE AGUILERA;

DAYSHENA THOMAS; ANDREW

THOMAS, A MINOR BY AND

THROUGH HIS NATURAL PARENT,

DAYSHENA THOMAS; SANDRA

JONES; TIACHERELL DOTSON;

A'LAYNA DOTSON, BY AND

THROUGH HER NATURAL PARENT,

TIACHERELL DOTSON; CLEA

ROBERTS; NELSON BLACKBURN;

FLOYD GUENTHER; DOYLE MYERS;

LAURA EDWARDS; ROY BACKHUS;

JIMMY BROWN-LACY; DELMARKAS

COMBS; CHARLES COUCH;

STEPHANIE COUCH; ASHLEY

ROGERS, A MINOR BY AND

THROUGH HER NATURAL PARENT,

CHERYL ROGERS; CHERYL ROGERS;

MATTHEW SYKES; THELMA SYKES;

DAVID BARBARA; EDDIE ELLIS; C.

EUGENE FRAZIER; JEREMY GORDON

SCOTTI HUGHES; TOMMY

CALDERILLA; AND KAREN KELLY,

CLARK COUNTY PUBLIC GUARDIAN

SUPREME COURT

Of

NEVADA

2

FOR CHRISTIAN SPANGLER,

Real Parties in Interest.

ORDER DENYING PETITION

This original petition for a writ of mandamus or, alternatively,

prohibition challenges a district court order denying a motion to dismiss in

a tort action.

This court has original jurisdiction to issue writs of mandamus

and prohibition, and the issuance of such extraordinary relief is solely

within this court's discretion. See Nev. Const. art. 6, § 4; D.R. Horton, Inc.

v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, 123 Nev. 468, 474-75, 168 P.3d 731, 736-37

(2007). Petitioners bear the burden to show that extraordinary relief is

warranted, and such relief is proper only when there is no plain, speedy,

and adequate remedy at law. See Pan v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, 120

Nev. 222, 224, 228, 88 P.3d 840, 841, 844 (2004). An appeal is generally an

adequate remedy precluding writ relief. Id. at 224, 88 P.3d at 841. Even

when an appeal is not irnmediately available because the challenged order

is interlocutory in nature, the fact that the order may ultimately be

challenged on appeal from a final judgrnent generally precludes writ relief.

Id. at 225, 88 P.3d at 841.

Having considered the petition, we are not persuaded that our

extraordinary intervention is warranted for several reasons. To begin,

petitioner has not demonstrated that an appeal from a final judgment would

not be a plain, speedy, and adequate remedy. This court typically will not

entertain a writ petition challenging the denial of a motion to dismiss,

especially where, as here, issuance of the requested writ relief would not

dispose of the entire action. See Archon Corp. v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court,

133 Nev. 816, 824-25, 407 P.3d 702, 709-10 (2017). Further, our

SUPREME C OURT

OF

NEVADA

3

1( II 941.-\\

extraordinary intervention is not warranted given the substantial amount

of time that has elapsed since the district court issued the order being

challenged, petitioner's failure to provide an explanation for its delay in

seeking writ relief, and petitioner's failure to include records in its appendix

that are essential to this court's understanding of the matters set forth in

the petition, including records pertaining to the procedural posture of the

proceedings below. See NRAP 21(a)(4). Accordingly, we

ORDER the petition DENIED.

Parraguirre V)

J. A44G.,0

Hardesty Stiglich

CC: Hon. Maria A. Gall, District Judge

Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LL1?/Las Vegas

Hall Jaffe & Clayton, LLP

Panish Shea & Boyle, LLP/Las Vegas

Eglet Adams

Murdock & Associates, Chtd.

Leach Kern Gruchow Anderson Song/Las Vegas

Eighth District Court Clerk

SUPREME COURT

OF

NEVADA

4

l'447A