Title: Haley v. Nev. Dist. Court
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 16
Docket Number: 
State: Nevada
Issuer: Nevada Supreme Court
Date: April 5, 2012

Haley v. Nev. Dist. Court Annotate this Case Justia Opinion Summary Warren West's wife gave birth to a girl born with severe brain damage due to oxygen deprivation. West's wife died during the procedure. West relinquished the infant for adoption and subsequently retained attorney Christopher Gellner to bring a wrongful death and personal injury claim on the infant's behalf. While litigation was ongoing, Dale Haley was appointed as the infant's guardian ad litem. The parties reached a settlement before going to trial. The district court approved the overall settlement but unilaterally altered the distribution. Gellner and Haley filed a petition for extraordinary writ, asserting that the district court lacked the statutory authority to unilaterally alter the distribution, and even if it had such authority, the court abused its discretion in making the alteration it did. The Supreme Court denied in part and granted in part the writ petition, holding (1) because Nev. Rev. Stat. 41.200 authorized the district court to modify the proposed compromise in the minor's best interest, the redistribution of settlement proceeds was proper; but (2) the district court should have provided explanation for the allocation of fees between Gellner and Haley. Read more Want to stay in the know about new opinions from the Supreme Court of Nevada? Sign up for free summaries delivered directly to your inbox. Learn More › You already receive new opinion summaries from Supreme Court of Nevada. Did you know we offer summary newsletters for even more practice areas and jurisdictions? Explore them here . Download PDF