Opinion ID: 1133738
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Glide Estate's and State of Nevada's motions for intervention were timely pursuant to NRS 12.130.

Text: Dangberg Holdings contends that the district court exceeded its jurisdiction in allowing the Glide Estate and the State of Nevada to intervene because the litigation between Douglas County and Dangberg Holdings had been purportedly settled prior to their intervention. Consequently, Dangberg Holdings asserts that their intervention was untimely pursuant to NRS 12.130. NRS 12.130 provides: 1. Before the trial, any person may intervene in an action or proceeding, who has an interest in the matter in litigation, in the success of either of the parties, or an interest against both. 2. An intervention takes place when a third person is permitted to become a party to an action or proceeding between other persons, either by joining the plaintiff in claiming what is sought by the complaint, or by uniting with the defendant in resisting the claims of the plaintiff, or by demanding anything adversely to both the plaintiff and the defendant. 3. Intervention is made as provided by the Nevada Rules of Civil Procedure. 4. The court shall determine upon the intervention at the same time that the action is decided. If the claim of the party intervening is not sustained, he shall pay all costs incurred by the intervention. Although the statutory language indicates that intervention must occur before trial, see NRS 12.130(1), we have previously explained that: [t]he plain language of NRS 12.130 clearly indicates that intervention is appropriate only during ongoing litigation, where the intervenor has an opportunity to protect or pursue an interest which will otherwise be infringed. The plain language of NRS 12.130 does not permit intervention subsequent to the entry of a final judgment. Lopez v. Merit Ins. Co., 109 Nev. 553, 556, 853 P.2d 1266, 1267-68 (1993). Additionally, in Ryan v. Landis, 58 Nev. 253, 260, 75 P.2d 734, 735 (1938) (quoting Henry, Lee & Co. v. Elevator Co., 42 Iowa 33 (1875)), we reiterated that: intervention must be made before the trial commences. After the verdict all would admit it would be too late to intervene. But a voluntary agreement of the parties stands in the place of a verdict, and, as between the parties to the record as fully and finally determines the controversy as a verdict could do. In the instant case, although Dangberg Holdings argues that its settlement offer with Douglas County operated as a final judgment that would bar subsequent intervention, our review of the record has failed to produce evidence indicating that a settlement was ever finalized prior to the Glide Estate's and State of Nevada's intervention. There is no written settlement agreement in the appendices or exhibits, and by counsel's own admission, Douglas County and Dangberg Holdings ceased work on the settlement agreement on order of the district court after the Glide Estate filed its motion to intervene on April 9, 1997. Therefore, the Glide Estate's and the State of Nevada's intervention was not barred by NRS 12.130 or this court's intervention jurisprudence. Moreover, the State had a sufficient interest in the matter to warrant intervention because the purported settlement agreement between Douglas County and Dangberg Holdings affected property rights that had been ostensibly granted to either the State of Nevada or Douglas County by virtue of the 1977 agreement and 1978 lease agreement. Additionally, the Glide Estate's interest in realizing the conversion of the Dangberg Home Ranch and the tangible personal property therein into a historical site was sufficient to warrant its intervention as well. Accordingly, both the Glide Estate and the State of Nevada had a sufficient interest in the Douglas County-Dangberg Holdings litigation to warrant intervention. There is no support in the record for Dangberg Holding's assertion that a settlement agreement was ever finalized or consummated. Therefore, we conclude that the Glide Estate and State of Nevada's motions for intervention were timely within the meaning of NRS 12.130, and, thus, the district court did not exceed its jurisdiction in granting intervention on this basis.