Nevada initial disclosures: 14 days after the case conference, five categories

Nevada restyled its civil rules in 2019, and NRCP 16.1 came out close to the federal model with several additions that go further than the federal rule does. Two of them matter a great deal in injury cases.

The deadline is short and it hangs off a conference, not off a filing date.

The five categories

NRCP 16.1(a)(1)(A):

In General. Except as exempted by Rule 16.1(a)(1)(B) or as otherwise stipulated or ordered by the court, a party must, without awaiting a discovery request, provide to the other parties:

(i) the name and, if known, the address and telephone number of each individual likely to have information discoverable under Rule 26(b), including for impeachment or rebuttal, identifying the subjects of the information;

(ii) a copy—or a description by category and location—of all documents, electronically stored information, and tangible things that the disclosing party has in its possession, custody, or control and may use to support its claims or defenses, including for impeachment or rebuttal, and, unless privileged or protected from disclosure, any record, report, or witness statement, in any form, concerning the incident that gives rise to the lawsuit;

(iii) when personal injury is in issue, the identity of each relevant medical provider so that the opposing party may prepare an appropriate medical authorization for signature to obtain medical records from each provider;

(iv) a computation of each category of damages claimed by the disclosing party—who must make available for inspection and copying as under Rule 34 the documents or other evidentiary material, unless privileged or protected from disclosure, on which each computation is based, including materials bearing on the nature and extent of injuries suffered; and

(v) for inspection and copying as under Rule 34, any insurance agreement under which an insurance business may be liable to satisfy all or part of a possible judgment in the action or to indemnify or reimburse for payments made to satisfy the judgment and any disclaimer or limitation of coverage or reservation of rights under any such insurance agreement.

Three of these go beyond the federal rule and are worth isolating.

Impeachment and rebuttal are included. Both (i) and (ii) say so expressly. Federal practice generally excludes impeachment material from initial disclosure; Nevada does not.

Incident records must be produced whether or not you will use them. The tail of (ii) is a separate obligation from the "may use to support" clause that precedes it: "any record, report, or witness statement, in any form, concerning the incident that gives rise to the lawsuit." That is not limited to material supporting your case.

Coverage disputes are disclosable. Subparagraph (v) requires not only the policy but "any disclaimer or limitation of coverage or reservation of rights."

And in injury cases, (iii) requires identifying each relevant medical provider, specifically so the other side can prepare an authorisation.

Fourteen days from the conference

NRCP 16.1(a)(1)(C):

Time for Initial Disclosures—In General. A party must make the initial disclosures at or within 14 days after the parties' Rule 16.1(b) conference unless a different time is set by stipulation or court order, or unless a party objects during the conference that initial disclosures are not appropriate in this action and states the objection in the Rule 16.1(c) case conference report. In ruling on the objection, the court must determine what disclosures, if any, are to be made and must set the time for disclosure.

The trigger is the Rule 16.1(b) case conference, so the first task in a Nevada case is getting that conference scheduled — the disclosure clock does not start until it happens.

Note the objection route: a party who thinks disclosures are inappropriate must say so during the conference and record it in the case conference report. Objecting later is not contemplated.

For parties who arrive after the conference, (a)(1)(D):

Time for Initial Disclosures—For Parties Served or Joined Later. A party that is first served or otherwise joined after the Rule 16.1(b) conference must make the initial disclosures within 30 days after filing an answer or a motion under Rule 12, unless a different time is set by stipulation or court order.

The excuses that do not work

NRCP 16.1(a)(1)(E):

Basis for Initial Disclosure; Unacceptable Excuses. party must make its initial disclosures based on the information then reasonably available to it. A party is not excused from making its disclosures because it has not fully investigated the case or because it challenges the sufficiency of another party's disclosures or because another party has not made its disclosures.

The same three excuses Colorado forecloses, foreclosed here in nearly the same words: incomplete investigation, dissatisfaction with the other side's disclosures, and the other side's own default.

The standard is what is "then reasonably available" — which is also the answer to the anxiety about disclosing before the file is complete.

How Nevada compares

Nevada and Colorado both reach further than the federal rule, but in different directions: Colorado requires disclosure "whether or not supportive"; Nevada targets impeachment material, incident records, and coverage position specifically.

A short checklist

1. Get the Rule 16.1(b) case conference on the calendar. Nothing starts until it happens.
2. Diarise 14 days from that conference — 30 days after your answer or Rule 12 motion if you were joined later.
3. Include impeachment and rebuttal witnesses and material. This is the most common error for practitioners coming from federal practice.
4. Produce incident records, reports and witness statements even if you do not intend to use them.
5. In an injury case, list every relevant medical provider so the other side can prepare authorisations.
6. Compute each category of damages and make the underlying material available under Rule 34, including material on the nature and extent of injuries.
7. Disclose the policy and any reservation of rights or coverage disclaimer, not just the policy.
8. Do not wait for a complete investigation — disclose what is then reasonably available.
9. If you think disclosures are inappropriate in the case, object during the conference and record it in the case conference report.

Where these rules live

• NRCP 16 — Pretrial Conferences; Scheduling; Management
• NRCP 16.1 — Mandatory Pretrial Discovery Requirements
• NRCP 26 — Duty to Disclose; General Provisions Governing Discovery
• NRCP 34 — Producing Documents, Electronically Stored Information, and Tangible Things
• NRCP 37 — Failure to Make Disclosures or to Cooperate in Discovery; Sanctions

This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and the categories of case exempted from initial disclosure under NRCP 16.1(a)(1)(B) should be checked against the rule itself before assuming this page applies.