US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

§83.  Bail bond contracts

A.  As criminal bail bonds are contractual and civil in nature, their creation and enforcement are governed both by the laws applicable to civil contracts and by the laws set forth in the statutes and code articles governing criminal procedure.

B.  The surety, when entering into a criminal bail bond obligation, must consider the risks of his undertaking and assume those risks reasonably foreseeable.

C.(1)  The surety is not liable for his failure to perform when it is caused by a fortuitous event that makes performance impossible.  A surety is, however, liable for his failure to perform when he has assumed the risk of such a fortuitous event.

(2)  A fortuitous event is one that, at the time the contract was made, could not have been reasonably foreseen by the surety.

(3)  A declaration of a disaster which qualifies for relief and assistance under Chapter 68 of Title 42 of the United States Code, the "Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act," meets the definition of a fortuitous event.

Acts 2006, No. 466, §1, eff. June 15, 2006.