Ruiz v. City of North Las Vegas, 255 P.3d 216

Ruiz, a North Las Vegas Police Officer, was terminated after an internal interview; the Union filed a grievance under the CBA alleging due-process and Peace Officer Bill of Rights violations.
The Union pursued the grievance through internal steps and then to binding arbitration per the CBA; the arbitrator ruled Ruiz was terminated for just cause.
The Union subsequently assigned its right to challenge the arbitration decision to Ruiz; the district court dismissed Ruiz’s petition for lack of standing and assignability.
The district court also held Ruiz lacked standing under NRS 289.120 and deemed the prerequisites for relief under the statute unmet.
Ruiz argues standing under three theories: being a party to arbitration, Union assignment, and NRS 289.120 relief; the Nevada Supreme Court reviews de novo.
The Court reverses, concluding Ruiz has standing under NRS 289.120, but the Union could not assign its arbitration-rights and Ruiz was not a party to the arbitration under the UAA.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Ruiz is a party to the arbitration under UAA	Ruiz should be a party because the Union pursued his grievance	City contends Ruiz is not a party since the CBA assigns arbitration to the Union	Ruiz is not a party to the arbitration under UAA
Whether the Union could assign its arbitration-rights to Ruiz	Union assigned rights; Ruiz can challenge the award	Assignment would increase City’s obligations and is not permitted	Union cannot assign arbitration-rights to Ruiz
Whether Ruiz has standing under NRS 289.120 for judicial relief	NRS 289.120 confers standing after exhausting internal procedures	Exhaustion not shown because grievances did not cover all issues	Ruiz has standing under NRS 289.120 and the district court erred in dismissing; remand for proceedings consistent with NRS 289.120
Whether Ruiz exhausted the applicable internal grievance procedures	Grievance included Peace Officer Rights issues at two stages	Generic termination grievance did not exhaust Peace Officer Rights issues	Ruiz exhausted internal procedures for NRS 289.120 purposes

Valley Bank of Nevada v. Ginsburg, 110 Nev. 440, 874 P.2d 729 (1994) (restrictive standing for appeal as a party; broad contractual context)
Garaventa Co. v. Dist. Court, 61 Nev. 350, 128 P.2d 266 (1942) (standing to appeal requires named party in underlying action)
Eisen v. State, Dept. of Public Welfare, 352 N.W.2d 731 (Minn. 1984) (employee not a party to arbitration absent CBA provision to that effect)
Dillman v. Town of Hooksett, 153 N.H. 344, 898 A.2d 505 (2006) (assignment of litigation rights under a CBA could violate public policy)
HD Supply Facilities Maint. v. Bymoen, 125 Nev. 200, 210 P.3d 183 (2009) (assignment policy—restricts increasing nonassigning party’s obligations)