In other actions the court may award and tax costs, and apportion the same between the parties on the same or adverse sides, as in its discretion it may think right and equitable. In all cases of appeals from an inferior court or when an original filing made in the district court is within the jurisdictional limits of an inferior court, and a jury is demanded, the court may in its discretion tax as costs the actual fees and expenses necessitated by such jury if the court finds that the appeal was taken or the original filing was made for a frivolous or capricious reason, and such costs may be apportioned between the parties on the same or adverse sides.
§ 25-1711.Award and taxation of costs; power of court to exercise discretion; frivolous appeals in jury cases; actual fees and expenses.
Article 17: Costs · Last amended 1965 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis section gives courts general discretion to award and apportion costs equitably in cases not otherwise addressed by statute, and lets a court tax the actual cost of a jury against a party whose frivolous or capricious appeal, or original filing, brought a jury demand into an inferior-court-jurisdiction case.
Full Text of § 25-1711
Source
R.S.1867, Code § 623, p. 504; R.S.1913, § 8170; C.S.1922, § 9121; C.S.1929, § 20-1711; R.S.1943, § 25-1711; Laws 1965, c. 125, § 1, p. 462.
Plain-English Summary
Section 25-1711 supplies the residual rule for cost decisions that other, more specific statutes do not reach. In other actions — those not already covered by sections like 25-1708 or 25-1710 — the court may award and tax costs, apportioning them between parties on the same or adverse sides however it finds right and equitable.
The section then adds a targeted rule for a particular type of case: appeals from an inferior court, and original filings made in district court that fall within an inferior court’s jurisdictional limits, where a jury has been demanded. If the court finds that the appeal was taken, or the original filing made, for a frivolous or capricious reason, it can tax the actual fees and expenses that jury cost as costs in the case, and apportion that amount among the parties on either side however it sees fit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the court’s general power over costs in cases not covered by a specific statute?
Broad discretion to award and apportion costs between the parties as the court finds right and equitable.
When can a court make a party pay for the actual cost of the jury?
When the case is an appeal from an inferior court, or an original district court filing within inferior court jurisdictional limits, a jury was demanded, and the court finds the appeal or filing was frivolous or capricious.
What does “frivolous or capricious” mean in this context?
The statute leaves that judgment to the court, applied to whether the appeal or filing lacked a genuine basis.
Does this jury-cost rule apply only to appeals?
No. It also covers an original district court filing that falls within an inferior court’s jurisdictional limits.
Can jury costs be split between multiple parties?
Yes. The court may apportion the jury’s actual fees and expenses among the parties on the same or adverse sides.
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: court discretion to award costs nebraskafrivolous appeal jury coststaxing jury fees as costsinferior court jurisdictional limits jurycapricious filing cost penalty