Opinion ID: 2521676
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Damages awarded to Dingwall

Text: In this case, after holding an NRCP 55(b)(2) prove-up hearing, the district court awarded Dingwall, derivatively on behalf of IESI, compensatory damages totaling approximately $2,890,000. After careful review of the record, we are satisfied that at the NRCP 55(b)(2) prove-up hearing, Dingwall presented sufficient evidence to support a prima facie case for each derivative cause of action. [7] Accordingly, we conclude that the district court did not err for three reasons. First, we conclude that the factual allegations contained in Dingwall's third amended complaint sufficiently established the elements necessarily required to prove each claim. Importantly, Dingwall's allegations demonstrated that he was entitled to the relief sought as it related to each cause of action. Second, Dingwall presented substantial evidence at the prove-up hearing to support his claim for damages. Dingwall testified that he arrived at his estimate of damages by working with a certified public accountant to review roughly 50,000 pages of documents gathered over at least two years. For each cause of action, Dingwall presented charts and other demonstrative evidence to the court to prove how he arrived at the amount of damages for that particular cause of action. For example, for his breach of fiduciary duty claim, Dingwall presented evidence to show that as directors of IESI, Foster used corporate funds to advance a competing entity (IESI Canada); that Dornan, Foster, and Cochrane used IESI corporate funds for their personal benefits; and that advances were made toward a company that had no business relationship with IESI. See Stalk v. Mushkin, 125 Nev. ___, ___, 199 P.3d 838, 843 (2009) (providing that a breach of fiduciary duty claim requires an injury resulting from the tortious conduct of the defendant who owes a fiduciary duty to the plaintiff). Dingwall then demonstrated how he estimated and calculated the damages as a result of these indiscretions. Third, the district court did not unnecessarily prevent Dornan, Foster, and Cochrane from participating in the prove-up hearing. Dornan, Foster, and Cochrane cross-examined Dingwall, and although the court allowed them the opportunity, they declined to cross-examine Dingwall's certified public accountant. Thus, there is no indication that the court abused its discretion when conducting the prove-up hearing. Accordingly, we conclude that the district court did not err by awarding compensatory damages to Dingwall because he presented a prima facie case for each cause of action, including substantial evidence that the damages sought were related to the asserted causes of action, and the damages were calculated to compensate for the harm.