Leyva v. Qbe Ins. Co. ( 2022 )

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEVADA
MOISES A. LEYVA; AND DARREN J. No. 84627
LACH, ESQ.,
Appellants,
vs. 11
:44 .6YAT Et".-9
QBE INSURANCE COMPANY; AND
ERIC BLANK INJURY ATTORNEYS, QV)
Respondents.
cll.Fct. 01' COU:7";
F:•Y
Y a
ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL
This is an appeal from a district court order granting a motion
for reconsideration of an order adjudicating an attorney lien, Eighth
Judicial District Court, Clark County; Erika D. Ballou, Judge.
When initial review of the notice of appeal and documents
before this court revealed a potential jurisdictional defect, this court ordered
appellants to show cause why this appeal should not be dismissed for lack
of jurisdiction. In particular, it appeared that the challenged order is not
appealable as a final judgment under NRAP 3A(b)(1) as asserted in the
docketing statement because the complaint and complaint in intervention
remain pending in the district court. See Lee v. GNLV Corp., 116 Nev. 424,
426, 996 P.2d 416, 417 (2000) (defining a final judgment). In addition,
respondents filed a motion to dismiss this appeal asserting that appellant
Darren Lach was not a party to the underlying proceedings and appellant
Moises Leyva is not aggrieved by the challenged order. Appellants have
filed a response to the order to show cause and an opposition to the motion
SUPREME COURT to dismiss and respondents have filed replies.
OF
NEVADA
0)0
Regarding entry of a final judgment, appellants indicate that
all claims in the complaint and complaint in intervention were settled. They
seem to contend that the challenged order is appealable as an amended
judgment.1 But appellants do not meaningfully address this court's concern
that no final judgment has been entered.
Appellants have not provided this court with a copy of a written,
file-stamped order resolving the claims in the complaint and complaint in
intervention, nor do they even assert that such an order exists. To the
extent appellants assert that the parties' agreement to resolve claims
constitutes a final judgment, appellants have not provided this court with a
copy of any notice or stipulation of dismissal filed pursuant to NRCP
41(a)(1). Nor do appellants assert that such a notice or stipulation was filed
in the district court. Appellants thus fail to demonstrate that a final
judgment has been entered. See NRCP 58(c) (providing that a judgment is
entered when it signed by the court and filed with the clerk--no judgment
is effective until it is entered); Div. of Child and Family Servs. v. Eighth
Judicial Dist. Court, 120 Nev. 445, 454, 92 P.3d 1239, 1245 (2004) (holding
"that dispositional court orders that are not administrative in nature, but
deal with the procedural posture or merits of the underlying controversy,
rnust be written, signed, and filed before they become effective"); Lee, 116
Nev. at 426, 996 P.2d at 417 ("[A] final judgment is one that disposes of all
'Appellants seem to assert that the appealability of the order depends
on whether a prior order was titled as a judgment or an order. However,
this court has "consistently explained that the appealability of an order or
judgment depends on 'what the order or judgment actually does, not what
it is called." Campos-Garcia v. Johnson, 130 Nev. 610, 611, 331 P.3d 890,
891 (2014), quoting Valley Bank of Nev. v. Ginsburg, 110 Nev. 440, 445, 874
SUPREME COURT
P.2d 729, 733 (1994) (emphasis omitted).
OF
NEVADA
the issues presented in the case, and leaves nothing for the future
consideration of the court, except for post-judgment issues such as
attorney's fees and costs."), NRAP 4(a)(3) ("A notice or stipulation of
dismissal filed under NRCP 41(a)(1) has the same effect as a judgment or
order signed by the judge and filed by the clerk and constitutes entry of a
judgment or order for purposes of this Rule.").
In the absence of a final judgment, there can be no amended
judgment. And no other statute or court rule appears to allow an appeal
from the challenged order. See Brown v. MHC Stagecoach, LLC, 129 Nev.
343, 345, 301 P.3d 850, 851 (2013) (this court "may only consider appeals
authorized by statute or court rule"). Accordingly, appellants fail to
demonstrate that the challenged order is substantively appealable. See
Moran v. Bonneville Square Assocs., 117 Nev. 525, 527, 25 P.3d 898, 899
(2001) ("[T]he burden rests squarely upon the shoulders of a party seeking
to invoke our jurisdiction to establish, to our satisfaction, that this court
does in fact have jurisdiction.").
Moreover, respondents correctly argue in their motion to
dismiss that appellants cannot appeal because they are not aggrieved
parties. See NRAP 3A(a) (allowing an appeal by an aggrieved party). Lach
was not a party to the underlying district court case and lacks standing to
appeal.2 See Albert D. Massi, Ltd. v. Bellrnyre, 111 Nev. 1520, 908 P.2d 705(1995) (counsel of record is not a party and lacks standing to appeal). It
does not appear that Leyva is aggrieved by the challenged order resolving
the attorney fee dispute between his attorneys because he does not
21talso does not appear that Lach was properly identified as an
appellant in the notice of appeal and case appeal statement.
SUPREME COURT
OF
NEVADA
It 11 1,17A •
demonstrate that the order adversely and substantially affects his personal
right or right of property. See Valley Bank of Nevada v. Ginsburg, 110 Nev.
440, 446, 874 P.2d 729, 734 (1994) (explaining when a party is aggrieved for
purposes of NRAP 3A(a)). For these reasons, this court
ORDERS this appeal DISMISSED.3
/ 4
Hardesty
4 114Gi-V , J.
Stiglich Herndon
cc: Hon. Erika D. Ballou, District Judge
Patrick N. Chapin, Settlement Judge
Law Office of David W. Fassett
Hone Law
James R. Christensen
Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLC/Reno
Eighth District Court Clerk
3This court declines Lach's request to convert the appeal into a writ
SUPREME COURT
petition under NRAP 21. The motion to dismiss is denied as moot.
OF
NEVADA
lip 1, 47A