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Wiley v. Redd11/30/1994
Per Curiam:
Appellant, police officer Kendall Wiley, appeals from orders of summary judgment entered against her on claims of negligence against W.F. Redd 1 and Alarmco, Inc. Alarmco has cross-appealed an order of summary judgment in favor of Redd et al., as to Alarmco's cross-claim and third-party complaint. At issue are the common law firefighter's rule, which operates to bar tort recovery by firefighters, police officers, and other public officers (hereinafter "safety officers"), NRS 41.139, which limits the common law rule's scope, and Alarmco's duty at common law. The act of negligence Wiley alleges against Redd and Alarmco is the failure to warn of dogs present on Redd's property at a time when Wiley was dispatched to investigate an activated burglar alarm leased to Redd by Alarmco. For reasons set forth hereafter, we affirm the order of summary judgment entered in favor of Alarmco against Wiley, reverse the order of summary judgment favoring Redd against Wiley, and remand accordingly. Alarmco's cross-appeal is rendered moot by this disposition.
FACTS
On July 5,1989, Wiley and her partner were summoned to the Redd residence to investigate an activated burglar alarm. Neither Redd nor his wife were home at the time. Redd had leased the burglar alarm system from Alarmco, who, as part of its service, notified the police when the alarm sounded. Alarmco alerted the police to the sounding alarm on the day in question and also dispatched an Alarmco employee to the Redd residence to investigate. Wiley and her partner were the first to arrive at the scene. They proceeded to investigate and noticed a dog pen and dog house in the backyard. Wiley claims that she and her partner then whistled and banged on the fence to see if dogs were on the premises. When no dogs responded, Wiley and her partner climbed the fence enclosing the back yard to commence their security check. Shortly thereafter, they were charged by two Rottweiler dogs that had apparently been concealed behind some bushes. Wiley's partner escaped over the fence, but Wiley was bitten on her wrist by one of the dogs.
[110 Nev. 1310, Page 1313]
Wiley filed a complaint against both Redd and Alarmco alleging negligent failure to warn of the dogs. Alarmco filed a cross-claim and third-party complaint against Redd seeking indemnification or contribution. 2 On June 15, 1992, Redd filed a motion for summary judgment against Wiley, contending that the common law firefighter's rule and NRS 41.139 barred Wiley's complaint as a matter of law. Alarmco joined in Redd's motion for summary judgment, adopting Redd's arguments and the additional argument that Alarmco owed no duty to Wiley as a matter of law. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of both Redd and Alarmco against Wiley and in favor of Redd in Alarmco's cross-claim and third-party complaint. This appeal ensued.
DISCUSSION
Standard of review
Summary judgment is appropriate only when a review of the record in a light most favorable to the non-moving party reveals no genuine issues of material fact and judgment is warranted as a matter of law. Butler v. Bogdanovich, 101 Nev. 449, 451, 705 P.2d 662, 663 (1985). In determining whether summary judgment is proper, the non-moving party is entitled to have the evidence and all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom accepted as true. Wiltsie v. Baby Grand Corp. 105 Nev. 291, 292, 774 P.2d 432, 433 (1989). Accordingly, a district court may not grant summary judgment if a reasonable jury could return a verdict in favor of the non-moving party. Oehler v. Humana, Inc., 105 Nev. 348, 350, 775 P.2d 1271, 1272 (1987). On appeal, this court is required to d
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