1. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 624.490 and subsection 2, an injured person is eligible for recovery from the account if the Board or its designee finds that the injured person suffered actual damages as a result of an act or omission of a residential contractor that is in violation of this chapter or the regulations adopted pursuant thereto.
2. An injured person is not eligible for recovery from the account if:
(a) The injured person is cohabitating with the licensee, is related to the licensee by marriage or by blood in the first or second degree of consanguinity, or is a personal representative of a person cohabitating with the licensee or related to the licensee by marriage or by blood in the first or second degree of consanguinity;
(b) The injured person was associated in a business relationship with the licensee other than the contract at issue;
(c) At the time of contracting with the residential contractor, the license of the residential contractor was suspended or revoked pursuant to NRS 624.300;
(d) The injured person:
(1) Applied for and obtained any building permit for the single-family residence at which the act or omission occurred and for which the injured person wishes to recover actual damages from the account; or
(2) Constructed the residence as the owner-builder of the residence;
(e) The claim submitted by the injured person for recovery from the account contains:
(1) A false or misleading statement; or
(2) A forged or altered receipt or other document which includes an improvement, upgrade or work that exceeds the scope of the contract at issue;
(f) The injured person is a lien claimant who has not filed a lien in accordance with the provisions of NRS 108.221 to 108.246, inclusive; or
(g) The single-family residence at which the act or omission occurred and for which the injured person wishes to recover actual damages from the account was constructed, remodeled, repaired or improved with the intent of renting, leasing or selling the residence within 1 year after the date of completion of the construction, remodeling, repair or improvement. The offering of the residence for rent, lease or sale within 1 year after that date creates a rebuttable presumption that the construction, remodeling, repair or improvement was performed with the intent to rent, lease or sell the residence.
3. If the Board or its designee determines that an injured person is eligible for recovery from the account pursuant to this section or NRS 624.490, the Board or its designee may pay out of the account:
(a) The amount of actual damages suffered, but not to exceed $40,000; or
(b) If a judgment was obtained as set forth in NRS 624.490, the amount of actual damages included in the judgment and remaining unpaid, but not to exceed $40,000.
4. The decision of the Board or its designee regarding eligibility for recovery and all related issues is final and not subject to judicial review.
5. If the injured person has recovered a portion of his or her loss from sources other than the account, the Board shall deduct the amount recovered from the other sources from the amount payable upon the claim and direct the difference to be paid from the account.
6. To the extent of payments made from the account, the Board is subrogated to the rights of the injured person, including, without limitation, the right to collect from a surety bond or a cash bond. The Board and the Attorney General shall promptly enforce all subrogation claims.
7. The amount of recovery from the account based upon claims made against any single contractor must not exceed $750,000 or 20 percent of the account balance, as determined on the date the Board approves payment of all the claims, whichever is less.
8. As used in this section, "actual damages" includes attorney’s fees or costs in contested cases appealed to the appellate court of competent jurisdiction. The term does not include any other attorney’s fees or costs.
(Added to NRS by 1999, 1968; A 2005, 20; 2013, 1795; 2015, 2009; 2019, 36)