§ 52-142 — Substitution of collateral; release of lien; procedure

(1) Any person having an interest in real estate may release the real estate from liens which have attached to it by:
(a) Depositing in the office of the clerk of the district court of the county in which the lien is recorded a sum of money in cash, certified check, or other bank obligation, or a surety bond issued by a surety company authorized to do business in this state, in an amount sufficient to pay the total of the amounts claimed in the liens being released plus fifteen percent of such total; and
(b) Recording, as provided in section 52-151 , a certificate of the clerk of the district court showing that the deposit has been made.
(2) The clerk of the district court has an obligation to accept the deposit and issue the certificate.
(3) Upon release of the real estate from a lien under this section, the claimant's rights are transferred from the real estate to the deposit or surety bond and the claimant may establish his or her claim under sections 52-125 to 52-159 , and upon determination of the claim the court shall order the clerk of the district court to pay the sums due or render judgment against the surety company on the bond, as the case may be.

Legislative History

Source: Laws 1981, LB 512, § 18. Annotations: The function of the surety bond under this section is to release the property from the lien and to transfer the claimant's rights from the property to the surety bond. Echo Group v. Tradesmen Internat., 312 Neb. 729, 980 N.W.2d 869 (2022). When a person releases real estate from a construction lien by depositing a surety bond, the Nebraska Construction Lien Act does not limit a party's recovery in an action to foreclose the lien to the amount of the surety bond. Echo Group v. Tradesmen Internat., 312 Neb. 729, 980 N.W.2d 869 (2022).