Hon. Mark Gibbons (Ret.) joins JAMS following an illustrious judicial career spanning two decades, including 18 years on the Supreme Court of Nevada and six years on the Eighth Judicial District Court of Clark County. Chief Justice and Justice Gibbons regularly received top marks for Judicial Performance on the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s annual survey of lawyers, and was the longest-serving member of the Supreme Court of Nevada upon his retirement. As a district court judge, he was known for his record-setting number of jury trials and for his role on the Business Court Task Force Committee of the Supreme Court of Nevada, which created the model for the district court business courts specializing in business and corporate litigation.

During his judicial tenure, Justice Gibbons held numerous leadership roles. He served as chief justice of the Supreme Court of Nevada in 2008, 2014 and 2019. As a member of the Supreme Court, he was assigned to the Eighth Judicial District Court on a temporary basis to conduct settlement conferences to reduce the backlog of civil cases. 

While on the Eighth Judicial District Court of Clark County, Justice Gibbons was unanimously elected by his colleagues as chief judge of the Civil, Criminal and Family divisions. In that role, he created the specialized Construction Defect Court to expedite the resolution of construction defect cases in Clark County. Prior to that, he was selected as presiding judge of the Civil Division in 1998. As a district judge, he conducted numerous settlement conferences and mediations. 

Prior to his service on the bench, Justice Gibbons focused his private law practice primarily on litigation, including construction disputes, mechanic’s liens and corporate governance. He was trial counsel for more than 100 bench trials. He has also been trial counsel for a number of jury trials, representing both plaintiffs and defendants. 

• As chief judge, created the specialized Construction Defect Court to expedite the resolution of construction defect cases in Clark County
• Served on the Business Court Task Force Committee of the Supreme Court of Nevada, which created the model for the district court business courts specializing in business and corporate litigation
• Served as chair of the Foreclosure Mediation Rules Committee, which drafted rules and forms to implement the procedures for the Foreclosure Mediation Program established by the Nevada Legislature in 2009
• As a district judge, conducted numerous settlement conferences and mediations 
• As a member of the Supreme Court of Nevada, was assigned to the Eighth Judicial District Court on a temporary basis to conduct settlement conferences to reduce the backlog of civil cases 
  
  

Justice Gibbons authored the following published opinions:

Representative Matters

• Anti-SLAPP Litigation
• Shapiro v. Welt, 133 Nev. 35, 389 P.3d 262 (2017) (Establishes a test to determine if a matter is of public interest)
• Stubbs v. Strickland, 129 Nev. 146, 297 P.3d 326 (2013) (A special motion to dismiss must be granted to request the award of attorneys’ fees.)
• John v. Douglas County School Dist., 125 Nev. 746, 219 P.3d 1276 (2009) (Nevada anti-SLAPP statute is not pre-empted by federal law.)
• Arbitration
• Hamm v. Arrowcreek Homeowners’ Assoc., 124 Nev. 290, 183 P.3d 895 (2008) (Nevada arbitration statute does not violate the constitutional right to trial by jury or equal protection.)
• Health Plan of Nevada, Inc. v. Rainbow Medical, LLC (per curiam opinion written by Justice Gibbons), 120 Nev. 689, 100 P.3d 172 (2004) (Sets forth the standard of review for trial and appellate courts to confirm arbitration awards)
• Condemnation
• City of North Las Vegas v. 5^th & Centennial, LLC, 130 Nev. 619, 331 P.3d 896 (2014) (Establishes the date from which interest accrues upon pre-condemnation damages)
• Nevada Power Co. v. 3 Kids, LLC, 129 Nev. 436, 302 P.3d 1155 (2013) (Sets forth the type of evidence a jury may consider to determine fair market value)
• ASAP Storage, Inc. v. City of Sparks, 123 Nev. 639, 173 P.3d 734 (2007) (The installation of street barricades after a flood was not a taking.)
• City of North Las Vegas v. Robinson, 122 Nev. 527, 134 P.3d 705 (2006) (Trial court must instruct jury that it may consider the highest and best use of the property.)
• Constitutional Law
• Solid v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, 133 Nev. 118, 393 P.3d 666 (2017) (Trial court can order that court proceedings may be televised without the consent of the attorneys for the parties.)
• Sisolak v. Lomax, 124 Nev. 579, 188 P.3d 1112 (2008) (Voter initiative approving term limits for county commissioners and other boards is not unconstitutional.)
• Silver State Electric Supply Co. v. Nevada Department of Taxation, 123 Nev. 80, 157 P.3d 710 (2007) (Statute requiring payment or agreement to pay tax deficiency before judicial review may be requested does not violate equal protection.)
• Construction
• Barrett v. Eighth Judicial District Court, 130 Nev. 613, 331 P.3d 892 (2014) (Subcontractors are not required to provide pre-litigation notice to a material supplier.)
• Byrd Underground, LLC v. Angaur, LLC, 130 Nev. 586, 332 P.3d 273 (2014) (Grading work done before a building permit was issued was valid basis to establish lien priority.)
• DR Horton, Inc. v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, 123 Nev. 468, 168 P.3d 731 (2007) (Sets forth standards of reasonable sufficiency of pre-litigation construction defect notices).
• Contracts and Guaranties
• Pacific Western Bank v. Eight Judicial Dist. Court, 132 Nev. 793, 383 P.3d 252 (2016) (A writ of garnishment issued to a foreign bank of a Nevada resident is valid.)
• Mona v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, 132 Nev. 719, 380 P.3d 836 (2016) (Foreign judgment against a husband and trustee of a trust cannot be domesticated against his spouse in her individual capacity.)
• Badger v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, 132 Nev. 396, 373 P.3d 89 (2016) (Complaint filed against guarantor for a real property foreclosure sale deficiency was barred by the statute of limitations; the waiver of the time bar in the guaranty violated public policy.)
• Barbara Ann Hollier Trust v. Shack, 131 Nev. 582, 356 P.3d 1085 (2015) (Award of damages to a landlord for breach of lease may be offset against damages awarded to the tenant.)
• State Department of Business and Industry v. Nevada Assoc. Services, Inc., 128 Nev. 362, 294 P.3d 1223 (2012) (The state cannot issue an advisory opinion regarding homeowners’ association lien fees.)
• Awada v. Shuffle Master, Inc., 123 Nev. 613, 173 P.3d 707 (2007) (When breach of contract claims have been dismissed, tort claims may still be maintained for fraud.)
• Waddell v. L.V.R.V. Inc., 122 Nev. 15, 125 P.3d 1160 (2006) (Buyer may revoke acceptance of offer to purchase vehicle based upon breach of warranties.)
• Sheehan & Sheehan v. Nelson Malley and Co., 121 Nev. 481, 117 P.3d 219 (2005) (Applicability of covenants not to compete regarding sale of accounting practice)
• Corporations and Governance
• Cotter v. Kane, 136 Nev., Adv. Op. 63, 473 P.3d 451 (2020) (Factors to establish whether an individual may maintain a derivative suit)
• In re Dish Network Derivative Litigation, 133 Nev. 438, 401 P.3d 1081 (2017) (Deference is given to an independent special litigation committee’s recommendation made to the board of directors regarding whether to pursue shareholder derivative claims against the corporation.)
• Gardner v. Henderson Water Park, LLC, 133 Nev. 391, 399 P.3d 350 (2017) (A member of a limited liability company cannot be held personally liable for a legal cause of action solely by virtue of being a member.)
• Gardner v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, 133 Nev. 730, 405 P.3d 651 (2017) (A manager of a limited liability company cannot be held liable for negligence solely by being a manager, but can be subject to suit for the manager’s personal negligence.)
• Becker v. Becker, 131 Nev. 857, 362 P.3d 641 (2015) (Stock owned by a debtor is not subject to a writ of execution, but may be subject to a charging order.)
• Las Vegas Sands Corp. v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, 130 Nev. 118, 319 P.3d 618 (2014) (The document privilege is waived if a witness reviews the privileged documents prior to court testimony; however, there is no waiver of the privilege if the adverse party does not request production of the privileged documents at or near the time of the court hearing.)
• Las Vegas Development Assocs., LLC v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, 130 Nev. 334, 325 P.3d 1259 (2014) (The document privilege is waived if a witness reviews the privileged documents before sworn testimony in a deposition.)
• Las Vegas Sands Corp. v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, 130 Nev. 578, 331 P.3d 876 (2014) (A violation of a foreign privacy statute is not a defense to a requirement to produce documents that are discoverable under Nevada law.)
• Las Vegas Sands Corp. v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, 130 Nev. 643, 331 P.3d 905 (2014) (The current management is the holder of the corporate privilege of confidential documents; the former chief executive officer is not entitled to demand production of these privileged documents.)
• Consipio Holding, BV v. Carlberg, 128 Nev. 454, 282 P.3d 751 (2012) (Analysis of whether personal jurisdiction can be asserted upon officers and directors in a derivative action)
• Employment Law
• City of Reno v. Building and Construction Trades Council of Northern Nevada, 127 Nev. 114, 251 P.3d 718 (2011) (City had the responsibility to investigate prevailing wage claims on a construction project.)
• Evidence
• Toll v. First Judicial Dist. Court, 135 Nev. 430, 453 P.3d 1215 (2019) (The news shield statute applies to digital media.)
• Clark County School Dist. v. Las Vegas Review-Journal, 134 Nev. 700, 429 P.3d 313 (2018) (Adopts standard for which a public board must respond to a public records request)
• Ditech Financial LLC v. Buckles, 133 Nev. 493, 401 P.3d 215 (2017) (Answer to certified question that Nevada’s two-party consent requirement to record telephone conversations does not apply to interstate telephone calls)
• Bahena v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 126 Nev. 243, 235 P.3d 592 (2010) (Trial court did not abuse its discretion by striking Goodyear’s answer as to liability only as a discovery sanction.)
• Terracon Consultants Western, Inc. v. Mandalay Resort Group, 125 Nev. 66, 206 P.3d 81 (2009) (The economic loss doctrine applies to design professionals such as engineers and architects.)
• Cook v. Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, LLC, 124 Nev. 997, 194 P.3d 1214 (2008) (A “mere happening” negligence jury instruction misstated the law and was prejudicial.)
• Bass-Davis v. Davis, 122 Nev. 442, 134 P.3d 103 (2006) (Standards to apply an adverse inference jury instruction)
• Volvo Cars of Norther America, Inc. v. Ricci, 122 Nev. 746, 137 P.3d 1161 (2006) (A certified question asking what evidence is allowed to establish design defects cannot be answered by the Supreme Court of Nevada since it would not be determinative of the federal action.)
• Insurance
• Federal Insurance Co. v. Coast Converters, Inc., 130 Nev. 960, 339 P.3d 1281 (2014) (The question of whether insurance for property damage and business interruption is a legal issue for the trial court and not the jury to decide)
• Powell v. Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Co., 127 Nev. 156, 252 P.3d 668 (2011) (Since the language of the earth movement exclusion of the policy was ambiguous, it must be construed against the insurer.)
• Nevada Tax Commission v. American Home Shield of Nevada, Inc., 127 Nev. 382, 254 P.3d 60 (2011) (Insurer’s refund claim was barred by one-year limitation period.)
• Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department v. Coregis Insurance Co., 127 Nev. 548, 256 P.3d 958 (2011) (An excess liability insurer must demonstrate prejudice if it denies coverage based upon untimely notice.)
• Hartford Fire Insurance Co. v. Trustees of Construction Industry, 125 Nev. 149, 208 P.3d 884 (2009) (Answer to certified question that union trustees had standing to seek recovery from a surety for unpaid contributions)
• Insurance Company of the West v. Gibson Tile Co., 122 Nev. 455, 134 P.3d 698 (2006) (A surety does not owe a fiduciary duty to a principal.)
• United National Insurance Co. v. Frontier Insurance Co., 120 Nev. 678, 99 P.3d 1153 (2004) (Insurance must be in place at the time of the property damage loss; successor insurer is not liable.)
• Negligence
• PERS v. Gitter, 133 Nev. 126, 393 P.3d 673 (2017) (In a wrongful death action, a spouse who kills a PERS member’s spouse must be treated as a pre-deceased spouse for the purpose of survivor benefits.)
• Kaplan v. Chapter 7 Trustee, 132 Nev. 809, 384 P.3d 491 (2016) (Answer to certified question that bankruptcy exemption for personal injury claims is applicable for each claim)
• Biscay v. MGM Resorts International, 131 Nev. 458, 352 P.3d 1148 (2015) (In a negligence action, an out-of-state plaintiff may post security for court costs at any time before the case is dismissed.)
• Zohar v. Zbiegien, 130 Nev. 733, 334 P.3d 402 (2014) (Discusses the standard for the sufficiency of the affidavit of merit requirement to file a medical malpractice lawsuit)
• Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department v. Yeghiazarian, 129 Nev. 760, 312 P.3d 503 (2013) (Pursuant to an offer of judgment, it was proper for trial court to award court costs and attorneys’ fees for staff time.)
• Lund v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, 127 Nev. 358, 255 P.3d 280 (2011) (Sets forth the procedure to join non-parties to a counterclaim in a personal injury action)
• Bower v. Harrah’s Laughlin, Inc., 125 Nev. 470, 215 P.3d 709 (2009) (Summary judgment was affirmed in favor of hotel and against bystanders who were injured in a brawl between motorcycle gangs.)
• Real Property
• Howard v. Hughes, 134 Nev. 664, 427 P.3d 1045 (2018) (The Supreme Court of Nevada discusses the presumption of equal ownership of co-tenants, which can be rebutted.)
• Carrington Mortgage Holdings, LLC v. R Ventures VIII, LLC, 134 Nev. 348, 419 P.3d 703 (2018) (In a quiet title action, after purchasing property from a sale to foreclose a homeowner’s association lien, the trial court should not have awarded costs and attorneys’ fees.)
• City of Reno v. Citizens for Cold Springs, 126 Nev. 263, 236 P.3d 10 (2010) (City failed to make adequate findings under its master plan for water service and infrastructure.)
• Trusts
• In re Beatrice B. Davis Family Heritage Trust, 133 Nev. 190, 394 P.3d 1203 (2017) (Personal jurisdiction over out-of-state investment trust advisers)
• Klabacka v. Nelson, 133 Nev. 164, 394 P.3d 940 (2017) (Trust settled by spouses with separate property are not subject to division in divorce proceedings.)
• Workers' Compensation
• Cannon Cochran Management Services, Inc. v. Figueroa, 136 Nev., Adv. Op. 51, 468 P.3d 827 (2020) (Police officer riding motorcycle home is subject to coming-and-going rule, which covers the officer for workers’ compensation.)
• Zenor v. Department of Transportation, 134 Nev. 109, 412 P.3d 28 (2018) (Attorneys’ fees cannot be awarded in petitions for judicial review with no monetary recovery.)
• Nevada Department of Corrections v. York Claims Services, Inc., 131 Nev. 199, 348 P.3d 1010 (2015) (An inmate is insured for workers’ compensation benefits for a work release program.)
• Sierra Nevada Administrators v. Negriev, 128 Nev. 478, 285 P.3d 1056 (2012) (In the calculations of workers’ compensation benefits, tips must be considered as part of the employee’s wages even if taxes were not paid on the tips.)
• Valdez v. Employers Insurance Co. of Nevada, 123 Nev. 170, 162 P.3d 148 (2007) (An appeals officer for the State of Nevada employment insurer may require an injured person to submit to a change of physician with an HMO.)

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

• Judicial Excellence Award, Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada, 2020
• Executive Committee Member, Supreme Court of Nevada, 2005–2008, 2013–2014, 2017–2020
• Chair, Information Technology Steering Committee, Supreme Court of Nevada, 2004–2020
• Co-Chair, Committee to Revise the Nevada Rules of Civil Procedure, Supreme Court of Nevada, 2017 (Recommendations adopted and became effective on March 1, 2019)
• Member, Specialty Court Funding Committee (to establish rules and administer funding to Drug and Mental Health courts throughout Nevada), 2001–2020
  • Co-Chair, 2003–2020
• Chair, Nevada Commission for Judicial Selection, 2008, 2014, 2019
  • Chair, Court of Appeals (selection process for Departments 1 and 3), 2014
• Chair, Foreclosure Mediation Rules Committee, Nevada Legislature, 2009
• Member, Electronic Filing Committee, Supreme Court of Nevada, 2005
• Chair, Jury Improvement Implementation Committee, Supreme Court of Nevada, 2003
• Advisory Board Member; Thomas and Mack Legal Clinic Advisory Board; William S. Boyd School of Law; University of Nevada, Las Vegas; 2002
• Trustee, Eighth Judicial Court Pro Bono Foundation, 2001
• Appointed, Jury Improvement Commission, Supreme Court of Nevada, 2001
• Advisory Member, Las Vegas City Council Senior Citizens Law Project, 1995–2001
  •  Chairperson of the Advisory Members, 1998–2001
• Member, Business Court Task Force Committee, Supreme Court of Nevada, 2000
• Board of Trustees, Clark County Law Library, 1997–2000
• Chair, Legislative Committee, Eighth Judicial District Court, 1999
• Member, Nevada Bar Association
• Member, Clark County Bar Association
• Member, Washoe County Bar Association
• Frequent speaker on a variety of topics, including court operations and statutory and case law updates in the areas of civil, corporate and family law 

Background and Education

• Justice, Supreme Court of Nevada, 2003–2021
  • Chief Justice, 2008, 2014 and 2019
• Judge, Department 7, Eighth Judicial District Court, Clark County, 1997–2003
  • Presiding Judge, Civil Division, 1998
  • Chief District Judge; Civil, Criminal and Family Divisions; 2001–2002
• Of Counsel, Streich Lang, 1995–1997
• Shareholder, Oshins & Gibbons, 1990–1995
• Shareholder, Gibbons & Berman, 1985–1990
• Shareholder, Bilbray & Gibbons, 1976–1985
• Associate, Woofter & Bilbray, 1975–1976
• J.D., Loyola University School of Law
• B.A., University of California, Irvine