Nevada Supreme Court: Henderson, Laughlin constables aren’t illegally infringing on Bonaventura’s territory

By Cy Ryan

Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013 | 12:11 p.m.

The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled against Las Vegas Constable John Bonaventura, who tried to stop constables in Laughlin and Henderson from siphoning tens of thousands of dollars his office collects.

The court overturned a preliminary injunction granted by District Judge Ronald Israel to stop Henderson Constable Earl Mitchell and Laughlin Constable Jordan Ross from infringing on Bonaventura's territory.

Constables collect fees for serving court documents, writs, warrants, property liens, eviction notices and other papers. Israel, agreeing with Bonaventura's claim that Mitchell and Ross were illegally working outside their boundaries, ruled the constables were restricted to their townships in serving these civil documents.

Bonaventura said in his brief to the Supreme Court that his office served more than 75,000 actions in 2012, which help pay for his office operations and brought millions of dollars into Clark County. He argued that his office and the county were losing "tens of thousands of dollars each month" — because, according to court briefs, more money from the services would go to the individual offices and not to the county — and that Mitchell and Ross were "creating public confusion" by moving into his territory.

Mitchell and Ross said in their briefs to the court that Bonaventura lost business because of the negative publicity surrounding his office. The constables cited an unfavorable audit, wrongful terminations and a sexual harassment suit that caused a loss of confidence and business for Bonaventura's office.

There was an unsuccessful effort in the 2013 Legislature to abolish the office of Bonaventura. He was elected in 2010 and is up for re-election in 2014.

The Supreme Court said the power to regulate constables rests with the Clark County Commission, not with individual constables. It said Bonaventura did not have a private right to sue in this case.