Nevada Court of Appeals Upholds Unanimous Defense Verdict in Las Vegas Nightclub Case

Las Vegas, Nev. (November 15, 2019) - A Lewis Brisbois Nevada trial and appellate team, including Las Vegas Partners Josh Cole Aicklen, David B. Avakian, and Jeffrey D. Olster and Reno Partner Brandon Wright, recently had a unanimous defense verdict in a trip-and-fall case upheld by the Nevada Court of Appeals. In the underlying lawsuit, after a night of dancing at our client’s nightclub, the plaintiff tripped and fell on a two-step staircase as she was leaving. The plaintiff suffered a fractured arm, torn knee ligament, and ruptured disc in her lower back, and subsequently sued the nightclub, seeking millions of dollars in damages.

During a two-week trial, Messrs. Aicklen and Avakian presented evidence that the staircase was not in fact dangerous and that the plaintiff had fallen because she wasn’t paying attention. After little more than an hour of deliberation, the jury returned an 8-0 verdict in favor of our client. 

On appeal, the plaintiff argued that the jury had disregarded the evidence in the case. She further argued that our trial team had committed a reversible error by arguing to the jury that the plaintiff had made false statements under oath during the trial. The Nevada Court of Appeals rejected these arguments and upheld the jury’s verdict on all issues raised on appeal. Messrs. Olster and Wright handled the appeal.