Case library
Nevada family-law decisions, briefed for practice.
22 decisions, organized by topic. Practitioner summaries with key holdings, posture, disposition, and the statutes cited - up front, where you need them. Every summary links to the full opinion.
Case Library = case briefs of the decisions themselves. For long-form explainers of the governing law, Guides; for the exact quotable passages, verified verbatim, the Canon.
22 cases · counsel of record Marshal S. Willick
BACKMAN VS. GELBMAN (CHILD CUSTODY) C/W 91070
Jun 16, 202688482-COA · Nevada (SCOTN/COA)
Affirmed. ("we ORDER the judgments of the district court AFFIRMED.")**Standard of review.** The court reviewed child-custody determinations, including parenting-time decisions, for abuse of discretion, affirming factual findings supported by substantial evidence and leaving credibility…
GILL VS. GILL (CHILD CUSTODY)
Mar 5, 2026142 Nev. Adv. Op. 19 (2026) · 89753 · Nevada Supreme Court
Reversed and remanded.Standard of review: subject matter jurisdiction is reviewed de novo; factual findings receive deference and are upheld if not clearly erroneous and supported by substantial evidence. Ogawa v. Ogawa, 125 Nev. 660,…
POSEY VS. WALKENHORST (CHILD CUSTODY)
Jul 3, 202525-29113 · 89500-COA · Nevada (SCOTN/COA)
Affirmed in part and vacated in part.The Court of Appeals reviewed the district court's legal custody determination for abuse of discretion, citing Ellis v. Carucci, 123 Nev. 145, 149, 161 P.3d 239, 241 (2007), and Mack-Manley v. Manley, 122 Nev. 849, 858,…
CONTE VS. CONTE
Jun 25, 202525-27917 · 87945-COA · Nevada (SCOTN/COA)
Judgment of the district court reversed, the sanctions award vacated, and the matter remanded to the district court for proceedings consistent with the order.The Court of Appeals reviewed the statutory-interpretation question de novo, citing Martin v. Martin, 138 Nev. 786, 789, 520 P.3d 813, 817 (2022), and applied the plain-language rule from Leven v. Frey, 123 Nev. 399,…
AREVALO (JESUS) VS. DIST. CT. (DELAO) (FAMILY)
Jun 5, 202525-25010 · 90266-COA · Nevada (SCOTN/COA)
Petition for writ of mandamus and/or prohibition denied.The Court of Appeals addressed an original writ petition seeking mandamus and/or prohibition. It set out the governing framework: mandamus is available to compel the performance of an act the law requires as a duty…
EINIGER VS. DIST. CT. (EINIGER) (FAMILY)
May 22, 202525-22827 · 90055-COA · Nevada (SCOTN/COA)
Petition granted. The court directed the clerk to issue a writ of mandamus instructing the district court to comply with NRS 14.015(5) by ordering the expungement of the notice of lis pendens.This is an original writ proceeding. A writ of mandamus is available to compel the performance of an act the law requires or to control a manifest abuse or an arbitrary or capricious exercise of discretion (NRS 34.160;…
MARTINEZ VS. MARTINEZ (CHILD CUSTODY)
Nov 27, 2024140 Nev. Adv. Op. 73, 559 P.3d 863 (2024) · 84148 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded with instructions.Standard of review. Child support determinations are reviewed for abuse of discretion under Flynn v. Flynn, 120 Nev. 436, 440, 92 P.3d 1224, 1227 (2004), but questions of law - including statutory and regulatory…
HERRMANN VS. HERRMANN (CHILD CUSTODY)
Sep 20, 202424-34792 · 88635-COA · Nevada (SCOTN/COA)
Affirmed. ("we ORDER the judgment of the district court AFFIRMED.")The Court of Appeals reviewed subject matter jurisdiction under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) de novo, citing Kragen v. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct., 140 Nev., Adv. Op. 49, ___ P.3d ___…
IN RE: PETITION OF KATHERINE ANNE P.
Jun 6, 2024140 Nev. Adv. Op. 37 (2024) · 86192 · Nevada Supreme Court
Reversed.Standard of review. The Court reviews NRCP 60(b) rulings for abuse of discretion, citing Cook v. Cook, 112 Nev. 179, 181-82, 912 P.2d 264, 265 (1996), and Skender v. Brunsonbuilt Constr. & Dev. Co., 122 Nev. 1430, 1435,…
ANSELL VS. ANSELL
May 28, 202424-18595 · 83916-COA · Nevada (SCOTN/COA)
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, vacated in part, and remanded.**Standard of review.** The court reviewed determinations made in a divorce decree for abuse of discretion, citing Devries v. Gallio, 128 Nev. 706, 709, 290 P.3d 260, 263 (2012). Interpretation and construction of…
FALCONI VS. DIST. CT. (MINTER)
Feb 15, 2024140 Nev. Adv. Op. 8, 543 P.3d 92 (2024) · 85195 · Nevada Supreme Court
Petition granted.The court exercised its discretion to entertain an original writ petition under NRS 34.160 and NRS 34.170, citing Gardner v. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct., 133 Nev. 730, 405 P.3d 651 (2017); Int'l Game Tech., Inc. v. Second…
HERRMANN VS. HERRMANN (CHILD CUSTODY)
Feb 8, 202424-04791 · 86246-COA · Nevada (SCOTN/COA)
Dismissed in part and affirmed in part.The court addressed jurisdiction, then reached the merits of three challenges. As to jurisdiction over the order setting a vexatious litigant hearing, the court held that no statute or court rule authorizes an appeal…
MARTINEZ VS. MARTINEZ (CHILD CUSTODY)
Mar 23, 202323-08966 · 84148-COA · Nevada (SCOTN/COA)
"ORDER the judgment of the district court AFFIRMED."Standard of review: child-custody determinations, including parenting-time schedules, are reviewed for an abuse of discretion, Rivero v. Rivero, 125 Nev. 410, 428, 216 P.3d 213, 226 (2009), overruled on other grounds by…
MARTIN VS. MARTIN C/W 82517
Dec 1, 2022138 Nev. Adv. Op. 78, 520 P.3d 813 (2022) · 82517 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed.The court reviewed de novo the questions of law presented: interpretation of caselaw, statutory construction, and federal preemption. See Liu v. Christopher Homes, LLC, 130 Nev. 147, 151, 321 P.3d 875, 877 (2014); Wyeth…
MARTIN VS. MARTIN C/W 82517
Dec 1, 2022138 Nev. Adv. Op. 78, 520 P.3d 813 (2022) · 81810 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed.The court reviewed questions of law - interpretation of caselaw, statutory construction, federal preemption, and application of res judicata - de novo, citing Liu v. Christopher Homes, LLC, 130 Nev. 147, 321 P.3d 875…
LUONG VS DIST. CT. (VAHEY)
Aug 29, 202222-27042 · 84743-COA · Nevada (SCOTN/COA)
Petition granted in part and denied in part; writ of mandamus directed to issue, writ of prohibition denied.The court addressed a petition for extraordinary writ relief under the familiar framework: mandamus is available to compel an act the law requires as a duty or to control an arbitrary or capricious exercise of…
BLOUNT VS. BLOUNT (CHILD CUSTODY)
Jul 7, 2022138 Nev. Adv. Op. 52, 512 P.3d 1254 (2022) · 82095 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed.This is a matter of first impression interpreting NRS 125A.465, Nevada's UCCJEA registration provision. The court applied de facto plain-meaning statutory construction, citing Washoe Med. Ctr. v. Second Judicial Dist.…
SENJAB VS. ALHULAIBI (CHILD CUSTODY)
Oct 21, 2021137 Nev. Adv. Op. 64, 497 P.3d 618 (2021) · 81515 · Nevada Supreme Court
Reversed and remanded.The court reviewed both subject-matter jurisdiction and statutory interpretation de novo, citing Ogawa v. Ogawa, 125 Nev. 660, 667, 221 P.3d 699, 704 (2009), and Young v. Nev. Gaming Control Bd., 136 Nev. 584, 586, 473…
VAILE VS. VAILE C/W 62797
Jun 22, 2017133 Nev. Adv. Op. 30 (2017) · 61415 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed.The Nevada Supreme Court resolved two questions on review: (1) the controlling child support order under UIFSA when a Nevada decree and a later Norway administrative order coexist, and (2) appellate jurisdiction over…
Doan v. Wilkerson
Jun 26, 2014130 Nev. Adv. Op. 48 (2014) · 56591 · Nevada Supreme Court
Reversed.Standard of review: "This court reviews district court decisions concerning divorce proceedings for an abuse of discretion." Shydler v. Shydler, 114 Nev. 192, 196, 954 P.2d 37, 39 (1998). Rulings supported by…
Friedman v. Eighth Judicial District Court Ex Rel. County of Clark
Nov 23, 2011127 Nev. 842, 264 P.3d 1161 (2011) · 57245 · Nevada Supreme Court
Petition granted.**Standard of review and writ standards.** Unless the jurisdictional facts are disputed — and they were not here — subject matter jurisdiction under the UCCJEA presents questions of law reviewed de novo. Ogawa v. Ogawa,…
Mason v. Cuisenaire
Feb 9, 2006122 Nev. 43, 128 P.3d 446 (2006) · 40338 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded with instructions.Full faith and credit. The court restated that "[t]he full faith and credit clause of the United States Constitution requires that a final judgment entered in a sister state must be respected by the courts of this state…
Every summary is independently verified against the source opinion; summaries are informational research aids, not legal advice, and no substitute for reading the decision. Topic groupings are derived automatically from each case’s category tag and cited statutes; a case may appear under two topics.