HANSEN VS HANSEN (FAMILY)

Statutes cited

Key holdings

Practitioner summary

On preliminary jurisdictional review, the court reiterated the rule that "[t]his court may only consider appeals authorized by statute or court rule." Brown v. MHC Stagecoach, LLC, 129 Nev. 343, 345, 301 P.3d 850, 851 (2013). Surveying NRAP 3A(b) and NRS 159.033, the court found no provision authorizing an appeal from an order appointing a guardian ad litem. Concluding it lacked appellate jurisdiction, the court dismissed the appeal without addressing the underlying appointment.

In plain language

A family-court judge in Clark County appointed a guardian ad litem - a person assigned by the court to look out for the interests of someone (here, a minor) in a legal proceeding. Irina Hansen tried to appeal that appointment to the Nevada Supreme Court. The Supreme Court did not reach the merits of whether the guardian ad litem should have been appointed. Instead, it dismissed the appeal because, after looking at the case, it concluded it had no power to hear it. In Nevada, a party can only appeal to the Supreme Court when a statute or court rule specifically allows an appeal from that kind of order. The court found that no statute or rule allows an appeal from an order appointing a guardian ad litem. Without that authorization, the Supreme Court has no jurisdiction, so the appeal was dismissed.