Income

I lost my unemployment appeal and want a judge to review it

Once the Board of Review has ruled against you, the last step is a Petition for Judicial Review in district court. The deadline is short, and if you miss it the court cannot hear your case at all.

What to do first

1. Make sure you have gone all the way up inside the agency. A judge can only review a Board of Review decision after you have used every appeal the Employment Security Division offers: the Appeal Tribunal first, then the Board of Review (NRS 612.525(1)). If you are not there yet, start with I lost my job, which covers those earlier appeals.

2. Work out your last day to file. The Board's decision becomes final 11 days after it is mailed or sent to you (NRS 612.525(1)). You then have 11 days after that to file in the district court of the county where you did the work (NRS 612.530(1)). The Board's decision may spell out the dates, so read it closely. Don't wait for the last day. A late petition gets dismissed because the court has no power to hear it (Kame v. Employment Security Dep't, 105 Nev. 22 (1989)).

3. Fill out the forms. You need a civil cover sheet, the petition and 4 summonses (forms below). You name 4 respondents: the Employment Security Division, its Administrator, the Board of Review chairperson and your former employer. The agency names are already typed in. You add your former employer. On the cover sheet, you go in the plaintiff section and your former employer goes in the defendant section.

4. Ask for a fee waiver if you need one. Filing the petition is free. Having it served costs $78, and an interpreter at your hearing can cost money too. If you can't afford those, file an Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis with your papers. You can fill it out through the court's guided interview: pick "Clark County District Court Fee Waiver", then print, sign and file what it produces.

5. File everything with the District Court Clerk at the Regional Justice Center, 200 Lewis Ave, 3rd floor. The court won't tell you whether it granted your fee waiver. Look up your case online, or call the clerk at 702-671-4554 after about a week.

6. Get it served within 45 days of filing. Service goes to the Administrator in Carson City, and that counts as service on everyone (NRS 612.530(2)). Mail the Carson City Sheriff one packet, in this order:

the cover letter to the Carson City Sheriff (form below);
for each of the 4 summonses, one file-stamped copy of the summons with one file-stamped copy of the petition clipped to it;
a check or money order for $78 made out to "Carson City Sheriff", or the signed order waiving the cost.

Address: Carson City Sheriff's Office, 911 E. Musser Street, Carson City, NV 89701. If service isn't done right within 45 days, the court loses the case and must dismiss it if the Administrator asks (NRS 612.530(3)).

7. File the 4 affidavits of service. The sheriff mails you one for each respondent. Take all 4 to the clerk's office and file them. The first paper you'll likely get from the other side is a Notice of Intent to Participate. You don't have to answer it, but keep it. It has the contact details of their lawyer.

After it's served

8. Watch for the Division's response. Within 45 days of getting your petition, the Division either files an answer with the full record of your case (every document and the hearing transcripts), or files a motion to dismiss saying what is wrong with your petition. If it's a motion to dismiss, you have 10 business days from when it was filed to fix every problem, and the court cannot give you more time (NRS 612.530(4)). You can also file an opposition if you think the motion is wrong.

9. Write and file your opening brief. The Self-Help Center says it's due 40 days after the record is mailed to you. This is the heart of your case: you explain in writing why the Division got it wrong, and every point has to cite the page of the record that backs it up. The judge does not hear new evidence. If the Board's findings of fact are supported by evidence and there was no fraud, they stand, and the court only decides questions of law (NRS 612.530(6)). Start right away. Sign it, fill in the certificate of mailing with every lawyer or party who has filed something, file it with the clerk, and mail each of them a copy.

10. Read their answering brief, then reply if you need to. Your reply brief is optional. It is due 30 days after their brief is served on you, according to the Self-Help Center. It can only answer their arguments, not raise new ones, and it needs record citations too. File and mail it the same way as your opening brief.

11. Get the case set for a decision. When the briefs are done, call the judge's office and ask how the judge handles these petitions. Some judges hold a hearing, and others decide on the briefs alone ("in chambers"). If you're told to set it for hearing or file a notice, use the Notice of Hearing form below. The clerk writes in the date. Then mail a copy to every party and go to the hearing, or wait for the written decision.

Deadlines

What	Deadline	Source
Board of Review decision becomes final	11 days after it is mailed or sent	NRS 612.525(1)
File your Petition for Judicial Review	Within 11 days after the decision becomes final	NRS 612.530(1)
Serve the petition on the Administrator	Within 45 days after you file	NRS 612.530(2)–(3)
Division's answer or motion to dismiss	Within 45 days after it receives your petition	NRS 612.530(4)–(5)
Fix problems raised in a motion to dismiss	10 business days after the motion is filed, with no extensions	NRS 612.530(4)
Your opening brief	40 days after the record is mailed to you	Civil Law Self-Help Center
Your reply brief (optional)	30 days after their answering brief is served	Civil Law Self-Help Center

Statute deadlines read off NRS chapter 612. Use the deadline calculator to count from a date, and check the dates printed on the Board's decision.

Forms

To start the case — Civil Cover Sheet · Petition for Judicial Review (Unemployment Benefits)

The 4 summonses — to the Employment Security Division · to the Administrator (form names Kristine K. Nelson) · to the Board of Review chairperson (form names J. Thomas Susich) · to your former employer

Fee waiver — Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (district court)

Service — Cover letter to the Carson City Sheriff's Office

If they move to dismiss — District Court Opposition

Briefs — models to learn from, not fill-in forms: Model Opening Brief · Model Reply Brief. Argument guides by reason for denial: quit without good cause · fired for misconduct · any other reason.

To get a hearing or decision — Notice of Hearing on Petition for Judicial Review

Where to file and serve

Eighth Judicial District Court, Clerk's Office — Regional Justice Center, 200 Lewis Ave, 3rd floor. General information: 702-671-4554. To find your judge's office, go to clarkcountycourts.us.

Carson City Sheriff's Office — 911 E. Musser Street, Carson City, NV 89701. Serves your petition on the Administrator by mail-in request.

Free help

Nevada Legal Services — may help if you were denied benefits or your employer appealed a decision that gave you benefits. Contact them as soon as your record arrives. nevadalegalservices.org.

Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada — 725 E. Charleston Blvd. 702-386-1070.

Civil Law Self-Help Center — Regional Justice Center, 200 Lewis Ave, 1st floor. Free help with the forms. Its Lawyers and Legal Help page lists low-cost lawyers and law libraries. The briefs and the hearing are the hard part, so a lawyer helps most there.

Good to know

The Division and its lawyer will mail everything to the address on your petition. If you move, file a change of address with the court and mail a copy to every party, or you can miss a deadline and lose. Filing the petition does not put the Board's decision on hold unless the Board orders it (NRS 612.530(11)), and you don't have to post a bond (NRS 612.530(9)). If the district court rules against you, you can appeal to Nevada's appellate courts (NRS 612.530(8)). For what to expect in the courtroom, read the Self-Help Center's Going to Court guide.