Opinion ID: 2461938
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: Judgment as a matter of lawbreach of contract

Text: The district court, without much explanation, granted Plaster's motion for judgment as a matter of law against Reyburn on its breach of contract cause of action, concluding that Reyburn had breached its duty to defend Plaster. In so doing, the district court relied upon evidence that indicated that Reyburn had received the tender of defense letter from Plaster and did not defend. [10] Stuart testified at trial that, while he did receive Plaster's letter, his calls to Plaster's attorney went unanswered. Ultimately, the district court concluded that Reyburn was responsible for Plaster's defense costs for the entire litigation, presumably because it concluded that the contract required Reyburn to indemnify Plaster for all negligence except for Plaster's sole negligence. To invoke the duty to defend, the plaintiffs' complaint must have sufficiently alleged negligence on the part of Reyburn, or their claims must have concerned Reyburn's scope of work for the project. See Hughes Properties Inc., 103 Nev. at 137-38, 734 P.2d at 711; Crawford, 79 Cal.Rptr.3d 721, 187 P.3d at 442. Here, the homeowners' complaint concerned the design and construction of the retaining walls and sidewalls. Reyburn's scope of work was to complete the rough and final grading of the homes and did not include the design, construction, or development of the retaining walls or sidewalls. Given the conflicting evidence at trial as to whether Reyburn's work was implicated in the defective retaining walls and sidewalls, and viewing the evidence and inferences in Reyburn's favor, we conclude that a reasonable jury could have granted relief in favor of Reyburn. See Winchell v. Schiff, 124 Nev. 938, 946-47, 193 P.3d 946, 951-52 (2008). Thus, we conclude that the district court erred in granting Plaster's motion for judgment as a matter of law on the breach of contract cause of action. See id. at 947, 193 P.3d at 952 (an order granting judgment as a matter of law is reviewed de novo).