2019 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 52 - Civil Actions
Chapter 900 - Court Practice and Procedure
Section 52-185 - Bond or recognizance for prosecution.

(a) No bond or recognizance for prosecution is required from a party in any civil action unless the judicial authority, upon motion and for good cause shown, finds that a party is not able to pay the costs of the action and orders that the party give a sufficient bond or enter into a recognizance to an adverse party with a financially responsible person to pay taxable costs. In determining the sufficiency of the bond or recognizance, the judicial authority shall consider only the taxable costs which the party may be responsible for under section 52-257, except that in no event shall the judicial authority consider the fees or charges of expert witnesses notwithstanding that such fees or charges may be allowable under said section.

(b) The recognizance may be taken in the following form:

You, C.S., as principal, and E.C., as surety, acknowledge yourselves jointly and severally bound to J.L., in a recognizance (or, as the case may be, You, E.C., acknowledge yourself bound to J.L., in a recognizance) of .... dollars, that C.S. shall prosecute the action which he has now commenced against J.L. at the Superior court to be held at H. in and for the judicial district of H., on the .... Tuesday of ...., 20.. to full effect, and that he shall pay any costs for which judgment may be rendered against him thereon.

Taken and acknowledged at H. on the .... day of ...., 20.., before me, J.W., Commissioner of the Superior Court.

(c) If a bond or recognizance is required on any writ of summons or attachment, it may be noted in the writ in the following manner:

E.C. of .... is recognized in $.... to prosecute, etc. (or words to that effect).

(d) Any party failing to comply with an order of the judicial authority to give sufficient bond or recognizance may be nonsuited or defaulted.

(1949 Rev., S. 7931; 1961, P.A. 517, S. 43; P.A. 78-280, S. 2, 127; P.A. 82-160, S. 86; P.A. 05-152, S. 6; P.A. 15-85, S. 14.)

History: 1961 act deleted obsolete provision for actions before justices of the peace; P.A. 78-280 substituted “judicial district” for “county” where appearing; P.A. 82-160 rephrased the section and inserted Subsec. indicators; (Revisor's note: In 2001 the references in Subsec. (b) of this section to the date “19..” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “20..” to reflect the new millennium); P.A. 05-152 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting provision requiring plaintiff to enter into recognizance before the process is signed; P.A. 15-85 replaced former Subsec. (a) re requirements for recognizance with new Subsec. (a) re bond or recognizance not required unless judicial authority finds that a party is not able to pay costs of the action, and amended Subsec. (d) by replacing former provisions with provisions re party failing to comply with order to give bond or recognizance may be nonsuited or defaulted.

The person serving the writ may give bond. 1 R. 356. Liability of bondsman continues until final termination of the litigation. 7 C. 435. Death of plaintiff discharges bond. 9 C. 238. Liability of surety on bond. 14 C. 329; 30 C. 143, 144. The want of a bond is only matter of abatement. 16 C. 574. Is in itself a complete record, imports verity and is conclusive evidence of its own truth. 28 C. 534; 48 C. 380. Bond may be written out in full after suit is brought upon it. Id., 381. If nonresident plaintiff fails to give bond, the defect cannot be made good by bond afterward given in court. 51 C. 327. Ordinary bond for costs not required where replevin bond is given. 54 C. 48. Bond for costs not essential on application for an alternative writ of mandamus; failure to give bond waived by appearance. 67 C. 365, 366. Bond of surety company may be accepted. 70 C. 558. Bondsman's undertaking is that of surety, although plaintiff is not formally joined as principal. Id., 559, 560. Bond of $140 to answer all damages, etc., held sufficient; memorandum de bond at foot of injunction writ, held a compliance with statute. 73 C. 541. Mistake in memo. 74 C. 170. Of practice in general; applies to writ of error; effect of noting bond under section. 75 C. 652. Taking is ministerial act. 77 C. 184. Discretion of court as to amount. 82 C. 1. When statute applies to mandamus. 90 C. 639; 91 C. 114. Temporary residence in another state does not make one a nonresident. 92 C. 345. Statute applies only to process in actions in which costs are taxable; not to habeas corpus. 113 C. 739. Cited. Id., 772; 166 C. 174; 173 C. 408; 191 C. 201.

Trial court is authorized to exercise its discretion to waive recognizance bond requirement outright or to significantly reduce the amount of the bond for an indigent inmate upon a proper showing of the inmate's indigency and inability to find another financially responsible person willing to enter into a recognizance bond on his or her behalf. 163 CA 337; judgment affirmed on alternate grounds, see 328 C. 248.

History and review of section. 3 CS 434. Recognizance or certificate of financial responsibility is a condition precedent to validity of writ. 4 CS 279. Cited. 6 CS 156. Applicability in divorce actions. 7 CS 88. Cited. 8 CS 398. Meaning of “substantial” discussed. 13 CS 13. Cited. Id., 441. Court cannot waive bond even in the case of an indigent plaintiff. 36 CS 37.

Where addresses of two of three plaintiffs were lacking, but subscribing authority certified as to plaintiff's financial responsibility, plea in abatement by defendant upon grounds the two plaintiffs might be nonresidents was overruled. 5 Conn. Cir. Ct. 235.