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EmailThe Nevada Supreme Court is the court of last resort. The court is made up of seven justices divided into two three justice panels and plus the Chief Justice.
Nevada has no intermediate court of appeals.
District Court (Court of General Jurisdiction):
* Ten Judicial Districts broken down geographically
* However, from a venue perspective, you can file any case in any District in Nevada.
* Civil Jurisdictional from $10,000 to unlimited
* Two most active Districts are the Second (nine civil department and six family departments in Reno) and the Eighth (32 civil departments and 20 family court departments in Las Vegas)
* All judges face popular election.
* Reno and Las Vegas have a mandatory Alternative Dispute Resolution for cases of a value of $50,000 or less. The most common ADR option is non-binding arbitration.
* Mandatory arbitration awards can be set aside by requesting a trial de novo. Sanctions apply if you request a trial de novo and fail to improve your position at trial by more than 20%.
* In lieu of arbitration, parties can stipulate to participate in a “Short Trial” which resolves the case in less than six months. Short trials are heard before a four to six person jury with a one day trial.
Justice Court
* Civil Jurisdiction from $0 – $10,000.00.
* You can request a Jury Trial of six jurors.
* Attorney’s fees awarded as costs in Justice Court.
* Appeals from Justice Court go to the District Court Judges.
Small Claims:
* A division of Justice Court.
* Civil Jurisdiction of $7,500.00 and under.
* Usually heard by a referee who makes recommendations of Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law.
