The New Nevada Rules of Appellate Procedure
Learn them, if you haven't already.
In June 2024, the Nevada Supreme Court entered an order amending the Nevada Rules of Appellate Procedure. The new rules became effective on August 15, 2024. They apply not only to cases filed after that date but also to pending cases as of that date.1 And the new rules control if in conflict with any other court rules.
The changes vary in degree. Some are as minor as changing “shall” to “must.” Others are more significant such as allowing parties to now cite Nevada Court of Appeals unpublished orders dated on or after August 15, 2024. And others are even more significant such as a new basis for rehearing: when a new rule of law is announced after the judgment. But all are worth a look.
Here are many of the changes:
Rule 3 (Appeal—How Taken)
(c)(2): Notices of appeal “may identify multiple separately appealable determinations issued in the same underlying matter.”
(f)(3)(K): A case appeal statement must note whether the “primary issue on” on appeal includes “guardianship of minors” or “parenting time.”
Rule 3A (Civil Actions: Standing to Appeal; Appealable Determinations)
(b)(2): An appeal may be taken from an order granting or denying a motion “under NRCP 50(b), 52(b), or 52, provided all such motions are resolved as required by Rule 4(a)(5).”
(b)(7): “A final order that did not arise in a juvenile court and that pertains to child custody, guardianship of minors, parenting time, visitation, or relocation of a minor, whether from initial proceedings or proceedings after the first final order. An order will be deemed final when all pending issues of child custody, guardianship of minors, parenting time, visitation, or relocation of a minor are resolved.”
(b)(8): “A special order entered after final judgment, including a post-judgment order awarding or refusing attorney fees or costs or granting or denying relief under NRCP 60(b), or any other post-judgment order affecting the rights of a party incorporated in the judgment."
Rule 4 (Appeal—When Taken)
(a)(2): “A notice of appeal filed after the court announces a decision or order—but before the entry of the judgment or order—is treated as filed on the date of and after the entry.”
Rule 5 (Certification of Questions of Law)
(a): The Nevada Supreme Court “may in its discretion answer questions of law certified to it by the Supreme Court of the United States United States court of appeals for any circuit, a United States district or bankruptcy court, the highest appellate court of any state, territory, or theDistrict of Columbia, or the highest court of a federally recognized Indian tribe. . . Certification ordinarily will not be accepted if facts material to the question of law certified are in dispute.”
(c)(6): A certification order must include “[a] brief statement explaining how the certified question of law may be determinative of the cause then pending in the certifying court[.]”
(c)(7): A certification order must include “[a] brief statement setting forth relevant decisions, if any, of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals and the reasons why such decisions are not controlling[.]”
Rule 8 (Stay or Injunction Pending Appeal or Resolution of Original Writ Proceedings)
(a)(1)(C): “If a district court stays an order or judgment to permit application to the appellate court for a stay pending appeal or resolution of an original writ petition, an application for such stay must be filed with the clerk of the Supreme Court within 14 days after issuance of the district court’s stay.”
Rule 9 (Requests for and Preparation of Transcripts)
(b)(4)(C): “The party requesting the transcript may, within 7 days of entry of an order granting a motion to extend the time for delivering a transcript, file a request to extend the briefing schedule by an equivalent amount granted for transcript preparation.”
Rule 16 (Settlement Conferences in Civil Appeals)
(b): “The parties may file a motion or stipulation to proceed with a private mediator that is hired by the parties. Any such motion must identify the mediator the parties wish to use and demonstrate that the mediator possesses the requisite qualifications to act as a mediator.”
(e)(1): “Sections 1-4 of the settlement statement must be served on the settlement judge and counsel for all other parties. Sections 5-10 must only be served on the settlement judge.”
(e)(2): “A settlement statement is limited to 4,667 words, unless otherwise directed by the settlement judge, and must concisely state: (1) relevant facts and procedural history; (2) legal issues and arguments related to this dispute;(3) past settlement discussions; (4) names and representative capacities of attendees; (5) goals and interests of the party filing the settlement statement; (6) the weakest points of the party’s position on appeal; (7) a settlement proposal that the party believes would be fair or would be willing to make in order to conclude the matter; (8) perceived goals and interests of the other parties; (9) obstacles to settlement and proposals to overcoming them; and (10) any other matters requested by the settlement judge or that may assist the settlement judge in conducting the settlement conference.”
Rule 17 (Division of Cases Between the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals)
(a): The Supreme Court no longer retains “[m]atters raising as a principal issue a question of first impression involving the United States or Nevada Constitutions or common law.”
(b)(6): “Cases involving a contract dispute where the amount in controversy is less than $150,000” are presumptively assigned to the Court of Appeals.
Rule 25 (Filing and Service)
(a)(5): Filings no longer need an original signature of at least one attorney of record. “A filing made through a person’s electronic-filing account and authorized by that person, together with that person’s name on a signature block, constitutes the person’s signature.”
Rule 30 (Appendix to the Briefs)
(c): “Documents filed electronically must be filed in a searchable Portable Document Format (PDF), except that exhibits and attachments to a filed document that cannot be imaged in a searchable format may be scanned.”
Rule 32 (Form of Briefs, the Appendix and Other Papers)
(a)(5)(A): “A proportionally spaced typeface (e.g., Century Schoolbook,
Times New Roman, Garamond, Georgia, and Palatino) must be 14-point or larger.
(a)(9)(B): “If a brief does not contain the certification [of compliance], it will be stricken unless such a certification is provided within 14 days after the omission is called to the filer’s attention.”
(a)(9)(C): “The Court may impose sanctions for an incomplete or inaccurate certificate [of compliance].”
Rule 34 (Oral Argument)
(b): “Unless the case is submitted for decision on the briefs under Rule 34(f) or the court otherwise orders, each side will be allowed 15 minutes for argument.”
(c): An appellant is no longer required to file a reply brief to by default get “a concluding or rebuttal argument.”
Rule 36 (Entry of Judgment)
(c)(3): “A party may cite for its persuasive value, if any, an unpublished
disposition issued by the Supreme Court on or after January 1, 2016, or by the
Court of Appeals on or after August 15, 2024.”
Rule 39 (Costs)
(b)(5): “The maximum amount of costs taxable . . . is $750.”
Rule 40 (Petition for Rehearing)
(a)(3): “When a new rule of law, directly controlling on the disposition of the
issues in the case, has issued after the court announced its order or opinion but within the time fixed for filing a petition for rehearing.”
Time frames starting before August 15, 2024, are calculated under the old rules; time frames starting on or after August 15, 2024, are calculated under the new rules.
Any opinions on Nevada’s Appeal(s) are mine alone. Articles aren’t legal advice; if you have a legal issue, consult an attorney.
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