USA – NEVADA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Leon F Mead, Mead Law Group
ry and location ‒ of all documents, electronically stored information (ESI) and tangible things that the disclosing party has in its possession, cus- tody or control and that may be used to support its claims or defences, including impeachment and rebuttal. The disclosure must also include a computation of damages – a copy of any insur- ance policy that may provide coverage for the matter giving rise to the lawsuit. In a personal injury action, the plaintiff must also provide the identity of any medical service provider. The actual items for disclosure must be pro- duced within 30 days of the disclosure being served. In some cases where records may be voluminous, the parties may stipulate extended timeframes or a specific protocol for ESI or other particulars. A case conference report is prepared for sub- mission to the court, which includes listing of the various items shown in Rule 16.1(c)(2) of the NRCP. Notably, some judicial districts in Nevada have varied, additional requirements for com- plying with Rule 16.1 of the NRCP. By way of example, in the Eighth Judicial District Court for Clark County, Nevada, cases can be docketed to “business court” judicial departments or oth- er specialty dockets based on complexity and other factors. In such situations, litigation counsel is required to comply with additional or varied procedures ‒ such as appearing at a second early case con- ference before the judge ‒ prior to a scheduling order being issued. Electronic filing Effective as of 26 July 2024, the Nevada Supreme Court issued Administrative Order ADKT No 615, which repealed and replaced the rules for elec- tronic filing of pleadings and other documents
with the various courts in the State of Nevada. The rules apply to any court that adopts a local “electronic filing system”. The larger courts of the Eighth Judicial District (Clark County), the First Judicial District (Washoe County) and oth- ers have adopted these electronic filing systems and thus the new rules will apply. Other courts covering smaller populated counties may not have adopted an electronic filing system and so the new rules may not apply. Critically for out-of-state counsel, any counsel admitted pro hac vice will need to register for use of the electronic filing system, which covers filing and service of all documents in a matter. Supplemental disclosures Rule 26 of the NRCP discusses a party’s obliga- tion to supplement disclosures of initial docu- ments and witnesses as well as expert designa- tions or reports. The initial disclosure completed 14 days after the early case conference is a fluid document that must be periodically updated with additional and new information once it is discovered and/ or once damages have a good faith basis to be revised. Failure to properly dis- close damage calculation revisions ‒ as well as supplemental information, identification of wit- nesses, and/or documents ‒ in good time can be cause for exclusion of evidence and even the limitation of damages. A large part of this requirement relates to the disclosure of expert witnesses’ designation and the production of reports by those designated. Pursuant to Rule 16.1(a)(2) of the NRCP, expert witness’ identities and reports must be disclosed pursuant to any scheduling order issued by the court or – if the court does not specify a date in the issued scheduling order – 90 days before the discovery cut-off date (at the very latest).
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