§ 25-2743.Plaintiffs; certification of relief sought; applicability of laws and rules; jurisdictional amount; restriction on judgment; termination of proceedings; conditions; counterclaim.

Using the Expedited Act is a choice, not something automatic. Eligible plaintiffs elect to proceed under it by certifying that the relief sought meets section 25-2742’s requirements, using a form the Supreme Court approves, signed by every plaintiff and by their attorneys if they are represented, and filed with the complaint. That certification cannot later be used as evidence of a plaintiff’s damages in any proceeding.

Once a case proceeds under the Act, ordinary Nebraska civil laws and court rules still apply except where the Act specifically says otherwise. The dollar cap has teeth: no party can recover, and no judgment can be entered against a party, above the county court jurisdictional amount, aside from post-filing prejudgment interest, postjudgment interest, and costs. A jury never learns that cap exists, and if a jury returns a verdict above it, the court still will not enter judgment above the cap.

A case is not locked into the Act forever. On a party’s timely motion, the county court may end the Act’s application if the moving party shows substantially changed circumstances that make continuing under the Act unfair, or if a party has, in good faith, filed a counterclaim seeking relief the Act does not allow. Counterclaims themselves are limited to claims arising from the same transaction or occurrence as the opposing claim, and stay subject to the jurisdictional cap unless the court severs the counterclaim or certifies the case to district court under section 25-2706 because the amount in controversy runs higher.