GUO VS. GAO (CHILD CUSTODY)

Key holdings

Practitioner summary

The court dismissed the appeal under NRAP 3(a)(2) for failure to comply with the filing-fee requirement of NRAP 3(e). After docketing on January 4, 2022, the court issued a notice giving appellant 14 days to pay the fee or demonstrate compliance with NRAP 24 (governing in forma pauperis proceedings). Appellant neither paid nor responded, and the court dismissed on that basis. The order reaches no issue concerning the underlying family court proceedings.

In plain language

When someone files an appeal with the Nevada Supreme Court, they generally have to pay a filing fee at the time the case is opened. If a person cannot afford the fee, there is a separate procedure to ask the court to waive it. In this case, the appellant docketed her appeal on January 4, 2022, but did not pay the filing fee. The same day, the court sent her a notice giving her 14 days either to pay the fee or to show that she qualified for a fee waiver under the applicable rule. The notice warned her that if she did neither, her appeal would be thrown out. According to the order, the appellant did not pay and did not respond. The Nevada Supreme Court therefore dismissed the appeal. The order does not address the underlying child custody dispute on the merits.