FOR ALL YOUR SURETY BOND NEEDS.
These surety bonds are general for all states.
Learn more about civil bonds, and apply today. Absolute Surety offers surety bonds nationwide through a convenient online application system.
Civil bonds are a type of court bond that are required only in certain civil actions. Their purpose is to guarantee that the losing party in the civil action will comply with the court’s order to make a payment or return property to the winning party.
There are a number of different kinds of civil court bonds, also known as judicial surety bonds. Some of these are written for defendants and others for plaintiffs. These types of bonds can include cost bonds, supersedeas (appeal) bonds, judgment bonds, replevin bonds, release of mechanics lien bonds, injunction bonds, temporary restraining order bonds, and attachment bonds.
Any plaintiff or defendant in a civil case may be required to purchase a civil bond. Defendants’ bonds are considered riskier than Plaintiffs’ bonds because a defendant’s position going into court is usually not as strong as a plaintiff’s. Defendants bonds typically are purchased for the purpose of overturning a plaintiff’s civil bond.
The protects the opposing party in a lawsuit by guaranteeing the compliance of the losing party with the judge’s ruling in the matter. As is the case with all surety bonds, there are three parties to any civil court surety bond agreement. The court that requires the bond is the obligee, the party that must obtain the bond is the principal, and the underwriter that issues the bond is the surety.
Note that some civil court bonds are only used in appeals. For example, an appeal or supersedeas bond stops the execution of a judgment until the case has been decided by an appellate court and guarantees its execution if the judgment is upheld. This is one of the riskier court bonds because the court has already ruled in the case and issued a judgement against the losing party.
If the losing party doesn’t immediately act on the judge’s ruling in a civil case, the winning party has the right to file a claim against the bond. The surety will step up and pay a valid claim and then collect full reimbursement from the principal.
Unlike most other surety bonds, all civil bonds require collateral. The collateral requirement exists because of the much higher chance of a payout. As the obligee, the court will establish the required amount of the bond. The commonly accepted form of collateral is an Irrevocable Letter of Credit (ILOC) issued by the principal’s bank. The surety will work with the bank to confirm the bank’s financial strength and the proper wording of the terms of the ILOC.
The applicant’s personal credit score is not as significant in determining the premium cost as it is for pricing other types of surety bonds, largely because of the 100% collateral requirement. The surety will pay more attention to the details and merits of the case and to securing the collateral than to the applicant’s credit score. Applicants with good credit typically pay between one and three percent of the total bond amount as the premium.
As soon as you know the required bond amount and collateral for the civil court bond you need, put us in touch with your bank and we’ll help put the deal together for you.
