Actions brought for damages growing out of the failure or want of consideration of contracts, express or implied, or for the recovery of money paid upon contracts, express or implied, the consideration of which has wholly or in part failed, shall be brought within four years.
§ 25-211.Actions on contracts by reason of failure or want of consideration.
Article 2: Limitation of Actions · Not amended since original codification · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis section sets a four-year deadline for actions seeking damages caused by a failure or want of consideration in an express or implied contract, or seeking to recover money already paid under a contract whose consideration failed in whole or in part.
Full Text of § 25-211
Source
R.S.1867, Code § 15, p. 396; R.S.1913, § 7573; C.S.1922, § 8516; C.S.1929, § 20-211; R.S.1943, § 25-211.
Plain-English Summary
A contract can go wrong in a specific way: one side pays or performs, and the consideration they were promised in return never materializes, or only partly does. Section 25-211 gives four years to bring that claim — whether the underlying contract was express or implied, and whether the plaintiff is seeking damages for the failed bargain or trying to get back money already paid.
The section works alongside the broader contract deadlines in sections 25-205 and 25-206, which turn on whether the contract was written or oral. Section 25-211 instead targets the specific legal theory — failure or want of consideration — regardless of that distinction, giving it a uniform four-year period either way.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does “failure or want of consideration” mean?
It refers to a situation where the benefit a party was promised under a contract never arrives, or arrives only in part — the bargained-for exchange breaks down on one side.
How long do I have to sue to get money back when the other side didn’t deliver what they promised?
Four years, under section 25-211, whether the underlying contract was express or implied.
Is the deadline different depending on whether the contract was written or oral?
How is this different from an ordinary breach-of-contract claim?
A failure-of-consideration claim focuses on the exchanged value falling through, rather than a party failing outright to perform a promised act — though the two theories can overlap in practice, and section 25-211 supplies a specific four-year period for the consideration theory.
Can I use this section to recover a partial payment when only some of the consideration failed?
Yes. The section covers actions to recover money paid on a contract whose consideration has wholly or in part failed.
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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