Vallery v. State

118 Nev. 357, 46 P.3d 66 (2002)

From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Vallery v. State

Nevada Supreme Court
118 Nev. 357, 46 P.3d 66 (2002)

  • Written by Liz Nakamura, JD

Facts

DeLois Vallery (plaintiff) operated two licensed residential care homes: Koenig House and Panther House. Koenig House provided limited supervision, and Panther House provided 24-hour supervision. Howard Thomas resided at Koenig House and suffered from dementia. Thomas developed an infected bedsore, and Vallery failed to obtain timely medical attention to treat Thomas’s sore, which ultimately became severely infected and caused permanent scarring. Daniel Barreto and Duffy Sullivan were residents of Panther House, and both suffered from Alzheimer’s dementia. Although Panther House had a door alarm, as statutorily required, Barreto was able to disable the alarm and escape the house during a snowstorm. Barreto died of hypothermia. Barreto had previously escaped Panther House several times, but Vallery failed to take steps to prevent future escapes. Sullivan suffered severe, fatal burns on the lower half of his body after Vallery left him alone with access to scalding bathwater. The State of Nevada (defendant) charged Vallery with three counts of elder abuse. Because of the timing of events, Vallery was charged under Nevada’s 1993 statute for Thomas and under Nevada’s 1995 statute for Barreto and Sullivan. However, at trial, the jury was only instructed on the 1995 statute, which had a lower threshold for conviction. The jury convicted Vallery on all three counts. Vallery appealed, arguing that the court’s failure to instruct the jury on the 1993 statute for the charge related to Thomas was reversible error.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 816,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 816,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 816,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership