EXPEDITING LITIGATION AND APPEALS
IN REAL ESTATE CASEs

By Micah S. Echols, Esq.

Perhaps just as frustrating as the high cost of litigation is the amount of time it takes to complete the litigation process. In Nevada’s court system, it is not uncommon for a litigation matter to last five or six years. And, if an appeal to the Supreme Court is involved, the process may be even longer. Of course, the longer the litigation process, the more work there is to be done, which in turn means a higher cost of the litigation. So, a shorter litigation process often equates to a lower overall cost. If the facts of your case fit within an exception, there is a possibility that you can ask the District Court to expedite the litigation or even the Supreme Court to expedite an appeal. The basic notion behind expediting litigation or an appeal deals with some event or condition that will happen before the Court has an opportunity to decide the case in the normal course. Even if the facts of your case do no fit exactly within a recognized exception, the Court will often expedite the litigation or the appeal based upon some exigent circumstance by analogy to some other basis for expediting.

In cases involving real property, the Court has expedited litigation when fines and penalties that are accruing against the real property would be significantly higher unless an appeal is expedited. See Board of County Commissioners of Clark County v. Las Vegas Discount Golf & Tennis, 110 Nev. 567, 875 P.2d 1045 (1994). A similar reason for expediting litigation or an appeal occurs when the real property that is the subject of the dispute is in disrepair and will continue to deteriorate during the course of the proceedings.

Additionally, any case that involves some form of injunctive relief can be expedited since a motion for injunctive relief can be combined with a trial on the merits. See NRCP 65(a)(2). Injunctive relief is available when there is some irreparable harm, such as a competing business using your trade secrets, customer lists, and company logos. See NRS 33.010. So, if there is a need for immediate relief, the litigation or an appeal can be expedited. Even when the case is not expedited, the Court has the authority to stay irreparable harm even before the issues are completely resolved.

Another principal reason for expediting litigation or an appeal is the age of any party to the case. By statute, if a party to the litigation is 70 years or older, that individual can request a preferential trial to be scheduled within 120 days. NRS 16.025(1). Regardless of the age of the party, the Court may also grant a preferential trial setting if there is medical evidence to suggest that the party to the litigation will not survive for more than 6 months. NRS 16.025(2). Nevada also specifically allows an appeal to be expedited that is based upon age discrimination in employment actions. NRS 613.435. So, the age or the health of a party to the litigation can warrant the expediting of the matter. Although there is no specific Supreme Court rule allowing for an expedited appeal on the basis of age or health, the Court has allowed appeals to be expedited on the basis of NRS 16.025.

Any party in a construction defect lawsuit under NRS Chapter 40 may also request that litigation be expedited and that the case be assigned a preferential trial date. NRS 40.689. Since the statute does not limit the request to only plaintiffs, contractors and subcontractors alike can request that their disputes based upon construction defects be expedited. Based upon this statute, a party in the Supreme Court could also request that the appeal be expedited.

Most recently, the Supreme Court of Nevada has allowed expedited appeals from election and ballot issues. The Court has keenly recognized that certain appeals need to be expedited due to the various issues surrounding the eligibility of certain candidates, challenges to term limits, and tax initiatives. Because of the expedited nature of these appeals, the issues can be resolved well before the primary and general elections. Otherwise, many of the issues would become moot.

In summary, although a lawsuit will normally be long and expensive, there are certain ways to expedite the litigation and any subsequent appeal in real estate and other cases. The underlying rationale for expediting litigation or an appeal focuses upon the disputed issue potentially becoming moot due to the lapse of a certain event, a deteriorating condition of the subject matter, or the health or age of the parties involved. While your case may not fit perfectly within these recognized exceptions, if the facts of your case satisfy the underlying rationale, it is worth asking the Court to expedite your case to possibly avoid some of the length and expense that go along with lawsuits.