By Racheal Ross
The 83rd Nevada legislative session brought about major changes to the civil alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) process. Unless exempted by NAR 5(a), all civil cases within the jurisdiction of the district courts of Nevada are subject to the mandatory non-binding arbitration program. See NRS 38.250. Since 2005, civil cases with a probable jury award of $50,000 or more, exclusive of attorneys’ fees, costs, and interest, may be exempted from the arbitration program. See NRS 38.250(1)(a); see also, NAR 5(b)(1)(C). But beginning on January 1, 2026, that amount will be raised to $100,000. See A.B. 3 § 5, 83rd Leg. (Nev. 2025). A party seeking exemption on the basis of a probable jury award amount must demonstrate the award is probable in light of the claimed damages and facts of the case. NAR 5(b)(1)(C).
Class actions, probates, divorce and domestic cases, actions for declaratory relief, medical and dental malpractice, appeals from courts of limited jurisdiction, actions seeking judicial review of administrative decisions, actions seeking equitable or extraordinary relief, construction defect actions, actions the parties have already put through an ADR process pursuant to a written agreement or Supreme Court rules, and actions involving an incarcerated party may all be automatically exempted from the arbitration program. NAR 5(a)(1)(A)-(L). AB 3 will add three new case types to the automatic exemption list. Starting January 1, 2026, cases involving claims of bad faith insurance practices seeking punitive damages may also be automatically exempted. AB 3 § 2(3)(o). Additionally, actions involving sexual assault, sexual battery, or product liability may be automatically exempted. AB 3 § 2(3)(p)-(q).
All other civil case types are subject to the arbitration program unless a party applies for a permissive exemption. NAR 5(b). Notwithstanding the monetary threshold, existing law allows civil cases to be permissively exempted from the arbitration program if the party moving for exemption demonstrates the case involves significant issues of public policy, or the case presents unusual circumstances constituting good cause for removal. NAR 5(b)(1)(A)-(B).
AB 3 also accounts for the rising cost of litigation and attorneys’ fees. AB 3 § 2(4)(b)(1) raises the amount in attorneys’ fees an arbitrator may award from $3,000 to $15,000. Prior law set the maximum compensation of an arbitrator at $100 per hour and a maximum of $1,000, and did not allow for an arbitrator’s costs. NRS 38.255(4)(a). AB 3 § 2 now allows arbitrators to recoup their costs and does away with these maximums. Instead, AB 3 § 2 mandates that the Nevada Supreme Court adopt rules to set the maximum compensation of an arbitrator. This will allow flexibility in setting compensation maximums and allow the rates to be adjusted more frequently.
The changes to the arbitration rules will likely subject more cases to the mandatory arbitration program. Proponents of the changes expect they will lighten the load on overburdened district court dockets. Since arbitrators hear all discovery matters in cases subject to the arbitration program, the changes are also expected to significantly lessen the number of matters heard by the discovery commissioners.
About the author
Racheal Ross is a Las Vegas native and UNLV Boyd School of Law graduate. She is a trial attorney at Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP, where her practice focuses on catastrophic injury, products liability, and wrongful death cases.
About the article
This article was originally published in the Communiqué (Sep. 2025), the official publication of the Clark County Bar Association. See https://clarkcountybar.org/about/member-benefits/communique-2025/communique-sep-2025/. The printed magazine will be mailed to CCBA members in the last week of August 2025.
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