When any citizen of this state shall claim any office which is usurped, invaded or unlawfully held and exercised by another, the person so claiming such office shall have the right to file in the district court an information in the nature of a quo warranto, upon his own relation, and with or without the consent of the prosecuting attorney, and such person shall have the right to prosecute said information to final judgment; Provided, he shall have first applied to the prosecuting attorney to file the information, and the prosecuting attorney shall have refused or neglected to file the same.
§ 25-21,146.Action by claimant against incumbent of office; condition precedent.
Article 21: Special Proceedings and Actions · Not amended since original codification · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis section lets a Nebraska citizen who claims a public office is usurped, invaded, or unlawfully held by another file a quo warranto information in district court on their own relation, but only after asking the prosecuting attorney to bring the case and being refused or ignored.
Full Text of § 25-21,146
Source
R.S.1867, Code § 1, p. 279; R.S.1913, § 8353; C.S.1922, § 9305; C.S.1929, § 20-21,137; R.S.1943, § 25-21,146.
Plain-English Summary
Section 25-21,146 opens a path into district court for a private citizen who believes someone else is holding a public office without the right to it. If that office is usurped, invaded, or unlawfully held and exercised by another person, the citizen may file an information in the nature of quo warranto — a lawsuit that tests whether the sitting officeholder has legal authority to hold the position at all. The citizen brings the case on their own relation, meaning as the named party pressing the claim, and may carry it through to a final judgment.
That right comes with a condition precedent. Before filing on their own, the citizen must first ask the prosecuting attorney to bring the information, and the prosecuting attorney must have refused or neglected to do so. Skip that step and the citizen has no case yet; the section makes the prosecutor the first stop, and the citizen’s own suit the fallback when the prosecutor will not act.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can any citizen challenge someone holding public office?
Yes, if the office is usurped, invaded, or unlawfully held and exercised by another person, section 25-21,146 lets a citizen file a quo warranto information in district court.
Do I need the prosecuting attorney’s permission first?
You need to ask the prosecuting attorney to file the information first. You do not need the prosecutor’s consent to proceed yourself, but you must show the prosecutor refused or neglected to act.
What happens if I skip asking the prosecuting attorney?
The condition precedent is not met, so the citizen suit is not yet available. The request to the prosecuting attorney, and the refusal or neglect that follows, has to come first.
What court hears this kind of case?
The district court. Section 25-21,146 gives the citizen the right to file the information there.
What does it mean to sue "upon one’s own relation"?
It means the citizen is the named party pressing the claim, rather than the state or the prosecuting attorney bringing the action in its own name.
Can I take the case all the way through trial myself?
Yes. Once the condition precedent is satisfied, section 25-21,146 gives the citizen the right to prosecute the information to final judgment.
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: quo warranto nebraska citizen suitchallenging usurped public officecondition precedent quo warrantoprivate citizen ouster actioninformation in nature of quo warranto