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The Supreme Court of Nevada issued a few opinions yesterday including this Capriati Construction opinion which says “evidence of a defendant’s liability insurance is admissible under NRS 48.135(2) if the defendant first introduces evidence suggesting its inability to pay a judgment.” It also said, “We now clarify that a district court may award the entire contingency fee as post-offer attorney fees under NRCP 68 because the contingency fee does not vest until the client prevails.”
Absolutely batshit insane. Does that mean that if someone fires a contingency-fee attorney at Firm #1 and hires Firm #2, they owe absolutely nothing to Firm #1 because no part of the fee vested until the client prevailed? Quantum meruit and risk assessment be damned, apparently.
The Vannah/Golightly decision be damned! Why would a Plaintiff's lawyer EVER serve an OOJ now before the eve of trial? It isn't going to matter because you are going to get your full fees anyway. Furthermore if you dont think some of us are going to draft our fee agreements to fluctuate now that we can get a contingency fee at any time, hell yeah!
10:42 – But isn't that the case now? I.E. Client fires a contingency-fee attorney at Firm #1 and hires Firm #2. No offers were received or generated by Firm #1, so all Firm #1 would be entitled to is quantum meriut of reasonable attorney fees (based on lodestar) and their costs?
Not sure if this decision changes anything in the pre-litigation sphere of clients firing attorneys before any offer was generated.
Herndon actually turned out a pretty solid dissent. Usually only Pickering writes dissents that well and bucks the Hardesty side.
Guest
Anonymous
November 11, 2021 5:35 pm
FFS Nevada Supreme Court you cannot be serious in this Capriati ruling on OOJ. Pickering has it exactly right in her dissent. I would say that I cannot believe that the Nevada Supreme Court is that crackers but I just got a decision from the NSC in which it stated that my client had appealed on a basis that my client had not appealed on and then ruled against my client (without ever addressing the actual issue that my client did appeal on).
Guest
Anonymous
November 11, 2021 7:48 pm
Nevada Supreme Court is one the biggest jokes going. They make the EJDC loom good
Disagree, Eighth Judicial District court way more messed up.
Guest
Anonymous
November 11, 2021 7:50 pm
Capriati is tastier than Capriotti's!! A justice sandwich, if you will. What a wonderful decision. Thank you, Justice Parraguirre and co. Every once in a while I feel great pride in being a Nevada attorney. Today is one of those days. Thank you to our brave veterans, and a very special thank you to the brave justices.
Exactly. ID attorneys and carriers know exactly what the fee arrangement is when an OJ is served. They know the consequences. Frankly it makes it easier to evaluate as their is no estimating or guessing what fees will be.
It's not about contingency, it's that now Plaintiffs can delay as long as they want before serving an OOJ with no penalty for the delay, because they can still get all their pre-offer fees.
It just destroys the whole purpose of incentivising early settlements
So serve an OJ yourself. The reality is the defense doesn’t accept OJs very often in my experience. The defense in the case in question never offered 7 figures. Maybe the defense should be reasonable instead of claiming the same thing (not hurt or exaggerating) every time.
2:29– So lets level the playing field consistent with the opinion and say that any party who makes an OoJ at any time gets all of its attorneys' fees and costs for the entirety of the case. Because that is the effect of the Capriati decision.
Technically 3:18 you might be a genius as I read Justice Parraguirre's decision (which shows how ridiculous it is).
Guest
Anonymous
November 11, 2021 9:08 pm
I do not practice in either side of P.I. but I support any decision that will make it more likely that more attorneys get paid more money. Am I wrong that ID attorneys will get paid more now because cases will settle later, if at all? Am I wrong that PI attorneys will get paid more now that they can sandbag settlement to the last second? Seems glorious to me.
Sure. Seems to violate every principle of Offers of Judgment. Read the reasoning for OOJs in Albios and then read Capriati and think to yourself "Same court discussing the same rule."
Oh State Bar of Nevada– you slay me. "Annual MCLE Fees Removed; Cost of Practicing Law Reduced"
Commencing in 2022, the $40 annual CLE fee will not be charged to attorneys. This decision, made jointly by the Nevada Board of Continuing Education and the State Bar of Nevada’s Board of Governors, was made possible by an administrative docket order entered earlier this year by the Nevada Supreme Court, which consolidated and streamlined the administrative operations of the CLE Board and the State Bar.
“The Board of Governors is charged with making financial decisions to ensure the state bar can operate on a fiscally sound basis,” said State Bar President Ann Morgan. “This decision reflects the financial health of the State Bar of Nevada and is another step to fulfilling our mission to serve our members and to regulate the legal profession.”
The State Bar of Nevada operates on annual license fees, which have not increased in the past 16 years, and revenue collected through services such as publications, the Lawyer Referral Service, and continuing education programs."
What they are not telling you is that the State Bar never collected revenue from LRIS; the Board of Governors changed the rule that provided monies from LRIS to pro bono services and just took that money for itself. The cost of practicing law has not been reduced.
10:15– I was on the LRIS Committee/Board when we disbanded so pretty sure I know what I am talking about. LRIS did fund law-related service and education organizations. The BoG disbanded LRIS (now LRS) and decided they did not need a committee for handing out grants when grants are no longer going to be handed out because SBN was keeping the money.
Don't take my word for it– take the word of the President of the State Bar above that the Board of Governors keeps the money.
What a bananas decision on the OOJ/attorney fees.
Absolutely batshit insane. Does that mean that if someone fires a contingency-fee attorney at Firm #1 and hires Firm #2, they owe absolutely nothing to Firm #1 because no part of the fee vested until the client prevailed? Quantum meruit and risk assessment be damned, apparently.
The Vannah/Golightly decision be damned! Why would a Plaintiff's lawyer EVER serve an OOJ now before the eve of trial? It isn't going to matter because you are going to get your full fees anyway. Furthermore if you dont think some of us are going to draft our fee agreements to fluctuate now that we can get a contingency fee at any time, hell yeah!
10:42 – But isn't that the case now? I.E. Client fires a contingency-fee attorney at Firm #1 and hires Firm #2. No offers were received or generated by Firm #1, so all Firm #1 would be entitled to is quantum meriut of reasonable attorney fees (based on lodestar) and their costs?
Not sure if this decision changes anything in the pre-litigation sphere of clients firing attorneys before any offer was generated.
I have never seen a fee agreement not allow for an hourly rate upon termination. This is a non-issue.
The dissent was amazing.
Herndon actually turned out a pretty solid dissent. Usually only Pickering writes dissents that well and bucks the Hardesty side.
FFS Nevada Supreme Court you cannot be serious in this Capriati ruling on OOJ. Pickering has it exactly right in her dissent. I would say that I cannot believe that the Nevada Supreme Court is that crackers but I just got a decision from the NSC in which it stated that my client had appealed on a basis that my client had not appealed on and then ruled against my client (without ever addressing the actual issue that my client did appeal on).
Nevada Supreme Court is one the biggest jokes going. They make the EJDC loom good
Disagree, Eighth Judicial District court way more messed up.
Capriati is tastier than Capriotti's!! A justice sandwich, if you will. What a wonderful decision. Thank you, Justice Parraguirre and co. Every once in a while I feel great pride in being a Nevada attorney. Today is one of those days. Thank you to our brave veterans, and a very special thank you to the brave justices.
Exactly. ID attorneys and carriers know exactly what the fee arrangement is when an OJ is served. They know the consequences. Frankly it makes it easier to evaluate as their is no estimating or guessing what fees will be.
It's not about contingency, it's that now Plaintiffs can delay as long as they want before serving an OOJ with no penalty for the delay, because they can still get all their pre-offer fees.
It just destroys the whole purpose of incentivising early settlements
So serve an OJ yourself. The reality is the defense doesn’t accept OJs very often in my experience. The defense in the case in question never offered 7 figures. Maybe the defense should be reasonable instead of claiming the same thing (not hurt or exaggerating) every time.
2:29– So lets level the playing field consistent with the opinion and say that any party who makes an OoJ at any time gets all of its attorneys' fees and costs for the entirety of the case. Because that is the effect of the Capriati decision.
Defense attorneys – just don't charge your clients what you've billed until after you serve an OOJ. Boom, loophole, now all your fees are post-offer.
Technically 3:18 you might be a genius as I read Justice Parraguirre's decision (which shows how ridiculous it is).
I do not practice in either side of P.I. but I support any decision that will make it more likely that more attorneys get paid more money. Am I wrong that ID attorneys will get paid more now because cases will settle later, if at all? Am I wrong that PI attorneys will get paid more now that they can sandbag settlement to the last second? Seems glorious to me.
Sure. Seems to violate every principle of Offers of Judgment. Read the reasoning for OOJs in Albios and then read Capriati and think to yourself "Same court discussing the same rule."
Go for PI all the time.
What service do you use for Skip Tracing? Accurint? Intellius? I am at a loss and there are so many bad ones.
Tracer's Information Specialist. By far the best
Oh State Bar of Nevada– you slay me. "Annual MCLE Fees Removed; Cost of Practicing Law Reduced"
Commencing in 2022, the $40 annual CLE fee will not be charged to attorneys. This decision, made jointly by the Nevada Board of Continuing Education and the State Bar of Nevada’s Board of Governors, was made possible by an administrative docket order entered earlier this year by the Nevada Supreme Court, which consolidated and streamlined the administrative operations of the CLE Board and the State Bar.
“The Board of Governors is charged with making financial decisions to ensure the state bar can operate on a fiscally sound basis,” said State Bar President Ann Morgan. “This decision reflects the financial health of the State Bar of Nevada and is another step to fulfilling our mission to serve our members and to regulate the legal profession.”
The State Bar of Nevada operates on annual license fees, which have not increased in the past 16 years, and revenue collected through services such as publications, the Lawyer Referral Service, and continuing education programs."
What they are not telling you is that the State Bar never collected revenue from LRIS; the Board of Governors changed the rule that provided monies from LRIS to pro bono services and just took that money for itself. The cost of practicing law has not been reduced.
What is wrong stealing from charity?
You don't know what you are talking about. The LRIS money IS granted out as my org was one of several which received money.
10:15– I was on the LRIS Committee/Board when we disbanded so pretty sure I know what I am talking about. LRIS did fund law-related service and education organizations. The BoG disbanded LRIS (now LRS) and decided they did not need a committee for handing out grants when grants are no longer going to be handed out because SBN was keeping the money.
Don't take my word for it– take the word of the President of the State Bar above that the Board of Governors keeps the money.
Jeebus, keep voting for these "wonderful" board of governors.
Glad the fee has been removed.
Thank you for our veterans.