Nonbinding arbitration of certain civil actions filed in district court required; nonbinding arbitration of certain civil actions filed in justice’s court authorized; effect of certain agreements by parties to use other alternative methods of resolving disputes.
1. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 38.257 and 38.310:
(a) All civil actions filed in district court for damages, if the cause of action arises in the State of Nevada and the amount in issue does not exceed $40,000, must be submitted to nonbinding arbitration in accordance with the provisions of NRS 38.250 to 38.259, inclusive, unless the parties have agreed to submit the action to an alternative method of resolving disputes established by the Supreme Court pursuant to NRS 38.258, including, without limitation, a settlement conference, mediation or a binding short trial, and that method has resulted in a binding disposition of the action. If an action is submitted to an alternative method of resolving disputes pursuant to this paragraph and a binding disposition of the case does not result, the action must be submitted to nonbinding arbitration, but the parties may agree to submit the action to another alternative method of resolving disputes while the nonbinding arbitration is pending or after the nonbinding arbitration has been completed.
(b) A civil action for damages filed in justice’s court may be submitted to arbitration or to an alternative method of resolving disputes, including, without limitation, a settlement conference, mediation or a binding short trial, if the parties agree to the submission.
2. An agreement entered into pursuant to this section must be:
(a) Entered into at the time of the dispute and not be a part of any previous agreement between the parties;
(b) In writing; and
(c) Entered into knowingly and voluntarily.
Ę An agreement entered into pursuant to this section that does not comply with the requirements set forth in this subsection is void.
3. As used in this section, “short trial” means a trial that is conducted, with the consent of the parties to the action, in accordance with procedures designed to limit the length of the trial, including, without limitation, restrictions on the amount of discovery requested by each party, the use of a jury composed of not more than six persons, and a specified limit on the amount of time each party may use to present his case.
Last modified: February 27, 2006