SMITH VS. SMITH (FAMILY)

Key holdings

Practitioner summary

This is an order dismissing a pro se appeal from a Fifth Judicial District Court divorce action for failure to prosecute. After the court's August 26, 2025 notice directing appellant to file a transcript request form or certificate of no transcript request within 14 days and a docketing statement within 21 days, and a follow-up September 19, 2025 order setting a final deadline of September 26, 2025 with a caution that noncompliance could result in dismissal, appellant failed to file either document. Treating the noncompliance as abandonment, the court dismissed the appeal. The order does not reach the merits of the underlying divorce decree.

In plain language

Ronald Lee Smith appealed a decision from his divorce case in Nye County district court to the Nevada Supreme Court. He represented himself, without an attorney. When someone files an appeal in Nevada, the Supreme Court requires certain paperwork early in the process. Two of those documents are a transcript request form (or a certificate stating no transcript is being requested) and a docketing statement, which gives the court basic information about the appeal. On August 26, 2025, the court told Smith to file these documents within set deadlines. He did not. On September 19, 2025, the court gave him another chance, ordering him to file the documents by September 26, 2025, and warning that missing this deadline could result in dismissal. Smith still did not file the required documents. Concluding that Smith had abandoned his appeal, the Nevada Supreme Court dismissed it. The dismissal ends this appeal without any decision on whether the divorce ruling below was right or wrong.