NRS108.2421. Action against principal and surety on surety bond and debtor: Action before or after surety bond is recorded; time within which to commence action; preferential trial setting; expert witnesses; amount of award to prevailing lien claimant.

      1.  The lien claimant is entitled to bring an action against the principal and surety on the surety bond and the lien claimant’s debtor in any court of competent jurisdiction that is located within the county where the property upon which the work of improvement is located.

      2.  If an action by a lien claimant to foreclose upon a lien has been brought:

      (a) Before the surety bond is recorded:

             (1) The lien claimant may amend the complaint to state a claim against the principal and the surety on the surety bond; or

             (2) The liability of the principal and surety on the surety bond may be enforced pursuant to NRS 108.2423; or

      (b) After the surety bond is recorded:

             (1) If the surety bond is recorded pursuant to subsection 1 of NRS 108.2415, the lien claimant may bring an action against the principal and the surety not later than 9 months after the date that the lien claimant was served with notice of the recording of the surety bond.

             (2) If the surety bond is recorded pursuant to subsection 2 of NRS 108.2415, the lien claimant may bring an action against the principal and the surety within the later of:

                   (I) Nine months after the date that the lien claimant was served with notice of the recording of the surety bond; or

                   (II) Nine months after the date of the completion of the work of improvement.

      3.  At any time after the filing of a joint case conference report pursuant to Rule 16.1 of the Nevada Rules of Civil Procedure or, if the case is designated by the court as complex litigation, after the approval of the initial case management order by the court, each lien claimant in the action may serve upon the adverse party a “demand for preferential trial setting” and file the demand with the clerk of the court. Upon filing, the clerk of the court shall, before the Friday after the demand is filed, vacate a case or cases in a department of the court and set the lien claimant’s case for hearing, on a day or days certain, to be heard within 60 days after the filing of the “demand for preferential trial setting.” Only one such preferential trial setting need be given by the court, unless the hearing date is vacated without stipulation of counsel for the lien claimant in writing. If the hearing date is vacated without that stipulation, upon service and filing, a new preferential trial setting must be given.

      4.  A lien claimant shall, at the time of making a demand for a preferential trial setting, and each other party to the preferential trial shall, within 20 days after the lien claimant’s service of the demand, serve upon all parties to the preferential trial the following documents and information:

      (a) A copy of all documents that the party intends to rely upon at the time of the trial;

      (b) A list of witnesses whom the party intends to call at the time of the trial, which must include for each witness:

             (1) The name of the witness;

             (2) The company for whom the witness works and title of the witness; and

             (3) A brief summary of the expected testimony of the witness;

      (c) Any supplemental discovery responses as required by the Nevada Rules of Civil Procedure;

      (d) The identity of each person whom the party expects to call as an expert witness at the trial, together with a statement of the substance of the facts and opinions to which the expert witness is expected to testify and a summary of the grounds for each opinion;

      (e) Any expert reports not previously disclosed; and

      (f) A detailed summary of all claims, offsets and defenses that the party intends to rely upon at the trial.

      5.  Within 20 days after receipt of an opposing party’s identification of an expert witness, a party who desires to call a rebuttal expert witness at the trial must identify each person whom the party expects to call as a rebuttal expert witness, and must provide a statement of the substance of the facts and opinions to which the rebuttal expert witness is expected to testify and a summary of the grounds for each opinion.

      6.  A prevailing lien claimant on a claim against a surety bond must be awarded the lienable amount plus the total amount that may be awarded by the court pursuant to NRS 108.237, so long as the liability of the surety is limited to the penal sum of the surety bond. Such a judgment is immediately enforceable and may be appealed regardless of whether any other claims asserted or consolidated actions or suits have been resolved by a final judgment.

      (Added to NRS by 1981, 30; A 1995, 1508; 2003, 2612; 2005, 1909)