Thursday, February 17, 2022 - Hardesty/Stiglich/Herndon

Harper vs. Copperpoint Mutual Insurance Holding Company
Docket Number: 82158
Las Vegas - 10:00 am - Hardesty/Stiglich/Herndon

This is an appeal from a district court order dismissing claims for declaratory and injunctive relief. Appellant Daria Harper, an Arizona resident, sued her Arizona-based workers’ compensation provider, respondent Copperpoint Mutual Insurance Holding Company. She sought a declaration that NRS 42.021 prohibited Copperpoint from seeking reimbursement of workers’ compensation benefits Copperpoint had paid to her from settlement proceeds that Harper obtained in a Nevada medical malpractice action that Harper had settled with various Nevada-based defendants. The district court dismissed Harper’s claims against Copperpoint, reasoning that NRS 42.021 prohibits a workers’ compensation provider from seeking reimbursement only when the employee’s medical malpractice action has gone to trial, as opposed to when it is settled pretrial.

ISSUES:

The three primary issues on appeal are: (1) whether the district court had subject matter jurisdiction over Harper’s claims against Copperpoint, or if those claims were subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of Arizona’s workers’ compensation system; (2) if the district court had jurisdiction, whether NRS 42.021 is applicable to settlements as well as trials, and (3) if NRS 42.021 applies to settlements, whether NRS 42.021 or conflicting Arizona law governs this case.

Disclaimer:

This synopsis is intended to provide only general information about this case before the Nevada Supreme Court.  It is not intended to be all-inclusive or reflect all positions of the parties.  To access the documents that have been filed in this matter, type the docket number into the court’s case search page: https://caseinfo.nvsupremecourt.us/public/caseSearch.do