Arguello v. Sunset Station, Inc.

252 P.3d 206, 127 Nev. 365, 127 Nev. Adv. Rep. 29, 2011 Nev. LEXIS 30
CourtNevada Supreme Court
DecidedJune 2, 2011
Docket54823
StatusPublished
Cited by43 cases

This text of 252 P.3d 206 (Arguello v. Sunset Station, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nevada Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Arguello v. Sunset Station, Inc., 252 P.3d 206, 127 Nev. 365, 127 Nev. Adv. Rep. 29, 2011 Nev. LEXIS 30 (Neb. 2011).

Opinion

252 P.3d 206 (2011)

Marcos ARGUELLO, Appellant,
v.
SUNSET STATION, INC., A Nevada Corporation d/b/a Sunset Station Hotel & Casino, Respondent.

No. 54823.

Supreme Court of Nevada.

June 2, 2011.

*207 Law Office of Julie A. Mersch and Julie A. Mersch, Las Vegas, for Appellant.

Cisneros Clayson & Marias and Scott B. Van Alfen, Las Vegas, for Respondent.

Before SAITTA, HARDESTY and PARRAGUIRRE, JJ.

OPINION

PER CURIAM:

In this appeal, we primarily consider the scope of NRS 651.010(1), which limits the liability of hotels for "the theft, loss, damage or destruction of any property brought by a patron upon the premises or left in a motor vehicle upon the premises ... in the absence of gross neglect by the owner or keeper" of the hotel. In particular, we consider whether NRS 651.010(1) shields a hotel from liability arising out of the theft of and damage to a guest's motor vehicle that was parked in the hotel's valet parking lot. We conclude that it does not.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In 2006, appellant Marcos Arguello drove his vehicle to respondent Sunset Station, Inc., d.b.a. Sunset Station Hotel & Casino, gave his keys to a valet attendant, and received a claim ticket for his vehicle. A few hours later, when Arguello attempted to retrieve his vehicle, it was determined that an unknown party had stolen it from the valet parking lot. The vehicle was recovered the following day in a stripped condition. Arguello then submitted a claim for the loss of his vehicle to his insurer, Farmer's Insurance, and Farmer's issued a check to Arguello in the amount of $20,434.98.

Thereafter, Arguello filed a lawsuit in district court against Sunset Station, alleging negligence and breach of a bailment contract. Arguello sought damages exceeding $10,000 for, among other things, the loss of the use of his vehicle and the cost of customizations made to the vehicle.

Sunset Station moved for summary judgment, arguing that NRS 651.010 shielded it from liability for the theft of Arguello's vehicle and that Arguello did not have standing to sue because Farmer's became subrogated to the rights of Arguello when it issued a check for his insurance claim. The district court determined that NRS 651.010(1) shielded Sunset Station from liability arising out of the theft of Arguello's vehicle and entered summary judgment in favor of Sunset Station.[1] This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

Standard of review

We review de novo whether the district court appropriately granted summary judgment. Wood v. Safeway, Inc., 121 Nev. 724, 729, 121 P.3d 1026, 1029 (2005). Summary judgment is appropriate "when the *208 pleadings and other evidence on file demonstrate that no `genuine issue as to any material fact [remains] and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.'" Id. (alteration in original) (quoting NRCP 56(c)).

Standing is a question of law reviewed de novo. Citizens for Cold Springs v. City of Reno, 125 Nev. ___, ___, 218 P.3d 847, 850-51 (2009) (applying de novo review in deciding upon whom a statute conferred standing). "[Q]uestions of statutory construction, including the meaning and scope of a statute, are questions of law, which this court reviews de novo." City of Reno v. Reno Gazette-Journal, 119 Nev. 55, 58, 63 P.3d 1147, 1148 (2003).

Standing and subrogation

As a threshold argument, Sunset Station asserts that Arguello lacks standing to sue because he accepted compensation from Farmer's for the theft of his vehicle. Thus, according to Sunset Station, pursuant to the doctrine of subrogation, Farmer's is the only party that has standing to bring a lawsuit for damages arising from the theft of Arguello's vehicle. We disagree.

Arguello is a real party in interest with standing to sue

NRCP 17(a) provides that "[e]very action shall be prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest." A real party in interest "is one who possesses the right to enforce the claim and has a significant interest in the litigation." Szilagyi v. Testa, 99 Nev. 834, 838, 673 P.2d 495, 498 (1983). The inquiry into whether a party is a real party in interest overlaps with the question of standing. Id.

Subrogation is "[t]he principle under which an insurer that has paid a loss under an insurance policy is entitled to all the rights and remedies belonging to the insured against a third party with respect to any loss covered by the policy." Black's Law Dictionary 1563-64 (9th ed. 2009). "[A]n insurer that pays its insured in full for claimed losses is subrogated by operation of law to the rights, if any, which the insured may have had against the tortfeasor before payment was made." Duboise v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins., 96 Nev. 877, 879, 619 P.2d 1223, 1224 (1980) (emphasis added). Such a circumstance is known as "total subrogation." Valley Power Co. v. Toiyabe Supply, 80 Nev. 458, 461, 396 P.2d 137, 138 (1964). "In such a case the insurer ... is the sole party in interest, and the only one who may assert a claim against those thought to be ultimately liable." Id. It is widely recognized, however, that if the insurer "has paid only part of the loss, both the insured and insurer ... have substantive rights against the tortfeasor which qualify them as real parties in interest." United States v. Aetna Surety Co., 338 U.S. 366, 381, 70 S.Ct. 207, 94 L.Ed. 171 (1949); see Amica Mut. Ins. Co. v. Maloney, 120 N.M. 523, 903 P.2d 834, 838 (1995) ("When the amounts paid by the insurer under the policy cover only part of the insured's loss, leaving an excess loss to be made good by the tortfeasor, the insured retains the right of action for the entire loss.").

Arguello received a check for $20,434.98 from Farmer's. This figure constitutes Farmer's valuation of Arguello's vehicle, less his $500 deductible. In his complaint, Arguello sought damages for, among other things, the loss of the use of the vehicle and the amount he had paid for customizations to his vehicle. Arguello had not been compensated by Farmer's for these alleged damages. As such, Arguello was only partially compensated by Farmer's, and therefore, he retains the right to pursue an action against Sunset Station for the full amount of his recoverable losses.

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Bluebook (online)
252 P.3d 206, 127 Nev. 365, 127 Nev. Adv. Rep. 29, 2011 Nev. LEXIS 30, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/arguello-v-sunset-station-inc-nev-2011.