In any civil action instituted by the state, except in actions for the collection of revenue, for school or other trust funds, or against defaulting officers and their sureties or insurance providers as specified in section 11-201, the defendant may, as matter of defense, plead any setoff, counterclaim, or cross-demand that he or she may have arising to him or her in his or her own right, and upon which an action could be maintained by him or her against the state.
§ 25-21,207.Actions by state; counterclaims.
Article 21: Special Proceedings and Actions · Last amended 2004 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceWhen the state sues someone, this section lets the defendant plead any setoff, counterclaim, or cross-demand belonging to the defendant against the state — except in revenue-collection suits, school or trust fund suits, and suits against defaulting officers, their sureties, or their insurers.
Full Text of § 25-21,207
Source
Laws 1877, § 7, p. 21; R.S.1913, § 1183; C.S.1922, § 1106; C.S.1929, § 27-325; R.S.1943, § 24-325; R.S.1943, (1985), § 24-325; Laws 2004, LB 884, § 14.
Plain-English Summary
Section 25-21,207 works from the opposite direction of the sections around it: instead of addressing a private party who sues the state, it addresses the state as plaintiff. When the state brings a civil action, the defendant may plead, as a matter of defense, any setoff, counterclaim, or cross-demand that belongs to the defendant in the defendant’s own right and on which the defendant could maintain a separate action against the state.
Three categories of state suits fall outside that right: actions to collect revenue, actions involving school or other trust funds, and actions against a defaulting officer and that officer’s sureties or insurance providers under section 11-201. In those three settings, a defendant cannot use this section to bring an offsetting claim against the state into the case. The section states those categories as exceptions without giving a reason in its own text; it removes the counterclaim right in those three settings regardless of the circumstances.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a defendant bring a counterclaim against the state when the state files suit?
Yes, generally. Section 25-21,207 lets a defendant plead any setoff, counterclaim, or cross-demand belonging to the defendant against the state.
Are there suits where this counterclaim right does not apply?
Yes — actions for collecting revenue, actions for school or other trust funds, and actions against a defaulting officer and that officer’s sureties or insurance providers under section 11-201.
Whose claim can the defendant assert under this section?
Only a setoff, counterclaim, or cross-demand arising to the defendant in the defendant’s own right, one the defendant could otherwise maintain in a separate action against the state.
Why would the Legislature carve out revenue and trust fund suits from this right?
The section states those categories as exceptions without explaining why in its own text; it removes the counterclaim right in those three settings regardless.
Does this section apply when a private party sues the state, instead of the other way around?
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
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