§ 25-1550.Amercement; judgment; liability of sureties; execution.
Article 15: Execution, Exemptions, and Foreign Judgments · Not amended since original codification · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceA sheriff’s or officer’s sureties can be added as parties to an amercement judgment through a separate action, but their property cannot be taken to satisfy it until the officer’s own property proves insufficient, and the wronged party may instead choose to proceed against the officer by attachment.
Full Text of § 25-1550
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Every surety of any sheriff or other officer may be made a party to the judgment rendered as aforesaid, against the sheriff or other officer, by action, to be commenced and prosecuted as in other cases. But the goods and chattels, lands and tenements of any such surety shall not be liable to be taken on execution, when sufficient goods and chattels, lands and tenements of the sheriff or other officer, against whom execution may be issued, can be found to satisfy the same. Nothing
herein contained shall prevent either party from proceeding against such sheriff or other officer by attachment, at his election.
Sheriffs typically post an official bond backed by sureties. Section 25-1550 lets the party who obtained an amercement judgment bring the officer’s sureties into that judgment as well, through an action commenced and prosecuted like any other. But the sureties get a protection that mirrors the principal-and-surety rule in section 25-1544: their goods, chattels, land, and buildings cannot be taken on execution as long as the officer’s own property is enough to satisfy the judgment. Only when the officer’s property comes up short can the sureties’ property be reached.
The statute preserves an alternative path as well. Instead of, or alongside, pursuing the sureties, the wronged party may proceed against the sheriff or other officer directly through attachment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I go after a sheriff’s sureties on the official bond after he’s amerced?
Yes. Section 25-1550 lets a surety be made a party to the amercement judgment through a separate action.
Do the sureties have to pay before the sheriff’s own property is used?
No, it works the other way. The sureties’ property cannot be taken on execution as long as enough of the sheriff’s or other officer’s own property exists to satisfy the judgment.
What’s the process for adding a surety to an amercement judgment?
An action commenced and prosecuted against the surety in the same manner as other actions, making the surety a party to the amercement judgment.
What is attachment in this context, and when can I use it instead?
Attachment is a separate legal process for reaching an officer’s property to satisfy a debt. The statute preserves the wronged party’s right to proceed against the officer by attachment as an alternative to pursuing the sureties.
Does this rule mirror the principal-and-surety order for ordinary judgments?
Yes. Just as section 25-1544 requires exhausting a principal debtor’s property before reaching a surety’s, this section requires exhausting the officer’s property before reaching the surety’s bond.
Source & verification. Section text and the amendment-history citation are
reproduced verbatim from the Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes, enacted by the
Nebraska Legislature. Last verified July 22, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:sheriff bond surety liability nebraskasuing a sheriff’s sureties after amercementattachment against sheriff nebraskaorder of liability for surety amercementnebraska sheriff bond claim procedure