IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEVADA 

RA SOUTHEAST LAND, LLC, A 

NEVADA LIMITED LIABILITY 

COMPANY, 

Petitioner, 

vs. 

THE EIGHTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT 

COURT OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, 

IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF 

CLARK; AND THE HONORABLE 

SUSAN SCANN, DISTRICT JUDGE, 

Respondents, 

and 

CITY NATIONAL BANK, A NATIONAL 

BANKING ASSOCIATION, 

Real Party in Interest. 

No. 68778 

FILED 

JUL 2 7 2016 

ORDER DENYING PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS 

This original petition for a writ of mandamus challenges a 

district court order granting a motion to strike a demand for a jury trial.' 

Having considered the parties' arguments and the record, we 

agree with the district court that the purchase and sale agreement's (PSA) 

jury trial waiver was effective to preclude a jury trial on all of RA 

Southeast's (RAS) counterclaims and portions thereof. See Int? Game 

Tech., Inc. v. Second Judicial Dist. Court, 124 Nev. 193, 197-98, 179 P.3d 

'The justices of this court voluntarily recused themselves from 

participation in the decision of this matter. Consequently, the Honorable 

Robert E. Rose, Senior Justice, the Honorable Scott Freeman, District 

Judge in the Second Judicial District Court, and the Honorable Jim C. 

Shirley, District Judge in the Eleventh Judicial District Court, were 

assigned to participate in the determination of this matter. Nev. Const. 

art. 6, § 4; SCR 10. 

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It 'TiNeLLT-:t7, 
556, 558-59 (2008) (recognizing that questions of law are reviewed de novo 

"even in the context of a writ petition"); May v. Anderson, 121 Nev. 668, 

672, 119 P.3d 1254, 1257 (2005) ("Contract interpretation is subject to a de 

novo standard of review."). We disagree with RAS's contention that its 

fourth, fifth, and tenth counterclaims do not "relat[e] to" the PSA. As RAS 

acknowledges, those counterclaims are premised on the existence of a 

"special relationship" between RAS and City National Bank, which could 

not exist in the absence of the PSA. See Phoenix Leasing Inc. v. Sure 

Broad., Inc., 843 F. Supp. 1379, 1388 (D. Nev. 1994) (observing that if the 

adjudication of a claim "would require reference to" the contract 

containing a jury trial waiver, then the claim necessarily "relat[es] to" or is 

"with respect to" that contract) 2 ; cf. Mackintosh ix Jack Matthews & Co., 

109 Nev. 628, 632-36, 855 P.2d 549, 551-54 (1993) (observing that a 

"special relationship" between a bank and a purchaser of real property 

may exist when the bank acts as the seller and the lender). 

Similarly, we reject RAS's proposal that its second, third, 

sixth, eighth, and ninth counterclaims should be split, with a portion of 

each counterclaim being adjudicated before a jury and a separate portion 

being adjudicated before a judge. In particular, there is no apparent 

portion of any counterclaim that is so conceptually distinct from the rest of 

the counterclaims that it can be seen as not "relating to" the PSA, such 

that it could be split from the rest of the counterclaims and decided by a 

jury. RAS expressly acknowledged as much in its opposition to City 

National Bank's motion to strike: "The claims are intertwined, and it 

2Although HAS contends that the jury trial waiver should be 

narrowly construed, RAS does not proffer a specific construction of 

"relating to" that it believes this court should apply. 

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would be impossible to segregate them without creating irreconcilable 

conflicts." 

Moreover, and as an additional basis for denying the petition, 

we agree with the district court's conclusion that the PSA and loan 

documents constituted one overarching agreement under Whitemaine v. 

Aniskovich, 124 Nev. 302, 183 P.3d 137 (2008). RAS's arguments 

regarding Whitemaine's second and third factors are unavailing. See id. at 

309-12 & n.31, 183 P.3d at 142-44 & n.31. Accordingly, we 

ORDER the petition DENIED. 

cc: Hon. Susan Scann, District Judge 

Cappello & Noel, LLP 

Sklar Williams LLP 

Pisanelli Bice, PLLC 

Eighth District Court Clerk 

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