When an officer, executor, or administrator within this state, by misconduct or neglect of duty, forfeits his or her bond or commercial insurance policy or renders his or her sureties liable, any person injured thereby, or who is by law entitled to the benefit of the security, may bring an action thereon in his or her own name against the officer, executor, or administrator, and his or her sureties, to recover the amount to which he or she may be entitled by reason of the delinquency. The action may be instituted and proceeded in on a certified copy of the bond or commercial insurance policy, which copy shall be furnished by the person holding the original thereof.
§ 25-2101.Action on bonds or insurance; by whom and how brought.
Article 21: Special Proceedings and Actions · Last amended 2004 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis section lets anyone hurt by an officer’s, executor’s, or administrator’s misconduct or neglect sue that person and the sureties directly, in the injured party’s own name, and allows the suit to proceed on a certified copy of the bond or insurance policy rather than the original.
Full Text of § 25-2101
Source
R.S.1867, Code § 643, p. 507; R.S.1913, § 8216; C.S.1922, § 9169; C.S.1929, § 20-2101; R.S.1943, § 25-2101; Laws 2004, LB 884, § 13.
Plain-English Summary
Nebraska requires bonds and commercial insurance policies from public officers, executors, and administrators as a promise of careful, honest work. When one of them forfeits that bond or policy — through misconduct or plain neglect of duty — or otherwise makes the sureties liable, this section shows how to reach the money standing behind the promise. Anyone injured by the failure, or anyone the law already recognizes as entitled to the security’s benefit, may sue the officer or administrator together with the sureties, in that injured person’s own name, to recover whatever the delinquency entitles them to.
The section also clears away a practical obstacle. A person who wants to sue rarely holds the original bond or policy; a clerk of court, a county office, or some other custodian usually does. Rather than force the injured party to track down and produce that original, the statute allows the action to proceed on a certified copy, which the person holding the original must furnish. The lawsuit moves forward on that copy exactly as it would on the original document.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can sue under this section?
Any person injured by the officer’s, executor’s, or administrator’s misconduct or neglect, or anyone the law already entitles to the benefit of the bond or insurance policy.
What counts as forfeiting a bond under this section?
Misconduct or neglect of duty by the officer, executor, or administrator that renders the bond or commercial insurance policy forfeit or makes the sureties liable.
Do I need the original bond to bring this lawsuit?
No. The action may proceed on a certified copy, which the person holding the original is required to provide.
Can I sue the sureties along with the officer or administrator?
Yes. The section allows an action against the officer, executor, or administrator and the sureties together.
What if the original bond is held by a court clerk or county office?
That custodian must furnish a certified copy so the injured party can pursue the action without the original in hand.
Does this section cover commercial insurance policies as well as bonds?
Yes. It applies to a forfeited bond or a forfeited commercial insurance policy alike.
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: suing on an official bond nebraskaaction against sureties nebraskacertified copy of bond lawsuitexecutor bond forfeiture claimadministrator misconduct lawsuit nebraskainsurance policy bond action