On good cause shown, the report may be set aside and the matter again referred
to the same or other referee or referees.
§ 25-21,104.Partition; report of referees set aside, when; rereference.
Article 21: Special Proceedings and Actions · Not amended since original codification · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis section lets a Nebraska court reject a partition referee’s report for good cause and send the case back to the same referee or referees, or to new ones, for another round of surveying and dividing the property.
Full Text of § 25-21,104
Source
R.S.1867, Code § 837, p. 541; R.S.1913, § 8320; C.S.1922, § 9272; C.S.1929, § 20-21,104; R.S.1943, § 25-21,104.
Plain-English Summary
A partition case runs through a referee, or a panel of them, who walk the property, weigh the shares, and write up a plan for splitting it, or for selling it and splitting the money. That plan does not become final the moment it lands on the judge’s desk. Section 25-21,104 lets the court set the report aside on a showing of good cause, whether the referee misjudged boundaries, undervalued a share, or made some other error worth correcting.
Setting the report aside does not end the case or force the parties to refile. The court sends the matter back for another look, and it can send it to the same referee or referees who filed the first report, or to a different set entirely. The choice belongs to the court, and nothing in the section limits how many times a report can be sent back if good cause keeps turning up.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if the court rejects a partition referee’s report?
The court sets the report aside and refers the matter again, either to the same referee or referees or to different ones, so the property division or sale can be redone.
What counts as “good cause” to set aside a report?
Section 25-21,104 does not list specific grounds; it leaves the good-cause determination to the court hearing the partition case.
Does setting aside a report restart the whole partition lawsuit?
No. Only the referee’s report and the work behind it go back for another look; the underlying partition action continues.
Can the court send the case to a brand-new referee instead of the original one?
Yes. The section allows rereference to the same referee or referees, or to other referees the court chooses.
Who decides whether to send the matter back to the same referee or a new one?
The court makes that call once it has set the report aside for good cause.
Is there a limit on how many times a referee’s report can be rejected?
The section does not set one; a report can be set aside and rereferred again whenever good cause is shown.
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: setting aside referee report nebraskarereference partition referee nebraskapartition report rejected for good causenew referee assigned partition casenebraska partition report objections