REYNOLDS VS. TUFENKJIAN

2020 NV 19, 461 P.3d 147
CourtNevada Supreme Court
DecidedApril 9, 2020
Docket78187
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 2020 NV 19 (REYNOLDS VS. TUFENKJIAN) 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
REYNOLDS VS. TUFENKJIAN, 2020 NV 19, 461 P.3d 147 (Neb. 2020).

Opinion

136 Nev., Advance Opinion I'll IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEVADA

ROBERT G. REYNOLDS, AN No. 78187 INDIVIDUAL; AND DIAMANTI FINE JEWELERS, LLC, A NEVADA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, Appellants, vs. FILED RAFFI TUFENKJIAN, AN INDIVIDUAL; AND LUXURY HOLDINGS LV, LLC, A NEVADA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, Respondents.

Motion to substitute in as real parties in interest and dismiss appeal from a district court order granting summary judgment in a tort and breach of contract action. Eighth Judicial District Court, Clark County; Mark R. Denton, Judge. Motion granted in part; appeal dismissed in part.

Marx Law Firm PLLC and Bradley M. Marx, Las Vegas, for Appellants.

Marquis Aurbach Coffing and Terry A. Moore and Christian T. Balducci, Las Vegas, for Respondents.

BEFORE HARDESTY, STIGLICH and SILVER, JJ.

SUPREME COURT OF NEVADA

(0) 1947A OPINION

By the Court, SILVER, J.: A pending motion in this case provides us the opportunity to address the extent to which a judgment debtor's rights of action are subject to execution to satisfy a judgment. Respondents have filed a motion to substitute themselves in place of appellants and to voluntarily dismiss this appeal because they purchased appellants rights and interests in the underlying district court action at a judgment execution sale. We agree with respondents in part. Although Nevada's judgment execution statutes permit a judgment creditor (respondents) to execute on a debtor's (appellants) personal property, including the right to recover a debt, money, or thing in action, those statutes limit the title the sheriff can convey at an execution sale to only that title which the debtor could convey himself. Nevada law, in turn, restricts the right to convey certain claims by making them unassignable. Accordingly, we hold that a judgment debtor's claims that are unassignable similarly cannot be purchased at an execution sale. As such, respondents did not purchase the rights to appellants' unassignable claims. Thus, we grant in part respondents' motion and dismiss this appeal as to appellants' assignable claims—negligent misrepresentation and breach of contract. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Appellants Robert G. Reynolds and Diamanti Fine Jewelers, LLC, brought the underlying action against respondents Raffi Tufenkjian and Luxury Holdings LV, LLC. Appellants alleged breach of contract, fraud, and tort claims related to their purchase of a jewelry store from respondents, arguing that they relied on respondents' false representations of the stores value to their detriment. The district court entered summary

2 judgment for respondents, finding no genuine issues of material fact regarding respondents alleged misrepresentations or appellants' justifiable reliance upon any of respondents' statements. The district court also awarded respondents $57,941.92 in attorney fees and costs pursuant to a provision in the parties' contract. Appellants appealed the judgment but did not obtain a stay of execution on the award of attorney fees and costs, claiming they could not afford to post a supersedeas bond. While the appeal was pending, respondents obtained a writ of execution, which, in relevant part, allowed them to execute against Reynolds' personal property. The writ therefore directed the sheriff to levy and seize upon any and all causes of action, claims, allegations, assertions or defenses or appellants, including those in the underlying district court action. At the sheriff's sale, respondents purchased, for $100, "all the rights, title and interest or appellants in the district court action. Respondents now move to substitute themselves in place of appellants pursuant to NRAP 43 (allowing substitution of a party on appeal) and to voluntarily dismiss the appeal under NRAP 42(b) (allowing parties to voluntarily dismiss an appeal), on the basis that they now own the claims on appeal. Appellants respond that the Nevada Legislature did not intend for NRS 10.045, which defines personal property to include "things in action," to allow a party to purchase such "things in action" as a means to eliminate a litigant's appellate rights. They argue that granting the motion would prevent parties who may not have the financial ability to satisfy a contested judgment from asserting their rights to an appeal. This court ordered the parties to submit supplemental briefing on the issue of whether each of appellants' claims were properly assigned to

SUPREME Cow' OF NEVADA 3 (0) 1947A .gepp respondents as a result of the execution sale. See Reynolds v. Tufenkjian, Docket No. 78187 (Order for Supplemental Briefing, Nov. 1, 2019). Respondents argue that all of the claims were properly assigned based on statutory law, while appellants argue that, because the claims were personal to Reynolds, they were not assignable, and that this court should void the execution sale on public policy grounds. DISCUSSION Only assignable things in action are subject to execution under Nevada law NRS 21.320 allows a district court to order a judgment debtor's nonexempt property "be applied toward the satisfaction of the judgment" against him. NRS 21.080(1) provides that property liable to such execution includes all of the judgment debtor's personal property. But see NRS 21.090 (listing property exempt from execution). The definition of Ip]ersonal propert? includes "things in action." NRS 10.045. Nevada's general policy is that a statute specifying property that is liable to execution "must be liberally construed for the benefit of creditors." Sportsco Enters. v. Morris, 112 Nev. 625, 630, 917 P.2d 934, 937 (1996) (citing 33 C.J.S. Executions § 18 (1942)). Referencing that general policy and the definition of a "thing in action" as "a right to bring an action to recover a debt, money, or thing," Gallegos v. Malco Enters. of Nev., Inc., 127 Nev. 579, 582, 255 P.3d 1287, 1289 (2011) (quoting Chose in Action, Black's Law Dictionary (9th ed. 2009)), this court has concluded that "rights of action held by a judgment debtor are personal property subject to execution in satisfaction of a judgment," id. at 582, 255 P.3d at 1289. But in Butwinick v. Hepner, this court determined that "a 'thing in action' subject to execution . . . does not include a party's defenses to an action," 128 Nev. 718, 723, 291 P.3d 119, 121-22 (2012), because a party's defensive rights do not constitute a "right to bring an action to recover a debt, money,

4 or thing," id. at 722, 291 P.3d at 122 (quoting Chose in Action, Black's Law Dictionary (9th ed. 2009)). In this case, respondents contend that, by purchasing appellants' "things in action" at the sheriffs sale, they are entitled to substitute themselves for appellants in this appeal as the now-owners of the claims being appealed. This would only be true, however, if "things in action" encompasses all of appellants underlying claims. In this vein, appellants argue that claims that are personal in nature are not included in "things in action" and, therefore, respondents do not own appellants' personal claims and this court should deny the motion to substitute.

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Bluebook (online)
2020 NV 19, 461 P.3d 147, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/reynolds-vs-tufenkjian-nev-2020.