Nev. Ass'n Servs. v. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct.

130 Nev., Advance Opinion 414. IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEVADA NEVADA ASSOCIATION SERVICES, No. 62748 INC.; AND PECCOLE RANCH COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, Petitioners, vs. THE EIGHTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT 0 4 2014 COURT OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF CLARK; AND THE HONORABLE SUSAN SCANN, DISTRICT JUDGE, Respondents, and ELSINORE, LLC, ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE CLASS DEFINED HEREIN; AND G.J.L., INCORPORATED, Real Parties in Interest. Original petition for a writ of mandamus or prohibition challenging a district court order denying a motion to dismiss and a district court order denying a motion for summary judgment in a real property action. Petition granted in part and denied in part. Holland & Hart LLP and Patrick J. Reilly and Nicole E. Lovelock, Las Vegas, for Petitioner Nevada Association Services, Inc. Wolf, Rifkin, Shapiro, Schulman & Rabkin, LLP, and Michael J. Lemcool, Don Springmeyer, and Gregory P. Kerr, Las Vegas, for Petitioner Peccole Ranch Community Association. Adams Law Group and James R. Adams, Las Vegas, for Real Party in Interest Elsinore, LLC. - 94-6 Johns & Durrant, LLP, and Lance W. Johns, Las Vegas, for Real Party in Interest G.J.L., Incorporated. BEFORE THE COURT EN BANC.' OPINION By the Court, SAITTA, J.: "The voluntary payment doctrine is a long-standing doctrine of law, which clearly provides that one who makes a payment voluntarily cannot recover it on the ground that he was under no legal obligation to make the payment." Best Buy Stores v. Benderson-Wainberg Assocs., 668 F.3d 1019, 1030 (8th Cir. 2012) (internal quotations omitted). This doctrine precludes recovery of a voluntary payment unless the party can demonstrate that it meets an exception to the doctrine. At issue here is whether the voluntary payment doctrine applies in Nevada to bar a property owner from recovering fees that it paid to a community association and, if so, whether the property owner demonstrated an exception to this doctrine by showing that the payments were made under business compulsion or in defense of property. We hold that the doctrine is valid in Nevada and that the property owner did not show an exception which would preclude its application in the present case. 'The Honorable Mark Gibbons, Chief Justice, voluntarily recused himself from participation in the decision of this matter. SUPREME COURT OF NEVADA 2 (0) 1947A