Surety Bond Professionals is a family-owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all your Colorado appeal bond needs.
What Are They?
Colorado appeal bonds are surety bonds required by appellate courts in Colorado when filing an appeal of a judgment in a civil matter. Colorado, like most states, require various types of appeal bonds as a measure to discourage frivolous appeals that have little chance of succeeding and are intended only to delay execution of a judgment. The success rate for appeals is very low, as it requires evidence of a procedural error that compromised the defendant’s rights. The discovery of new evidence or an attempt to discredit the testimony of a witness is not valid grounds for an appeal.
A Colorado appeal bond ensures that funds will be available to satisfy the judgment and pay related court costs in the event of an unsuccessful appeal if the appellant does not do so voluntarily.
Who Needs Them?
Anyone filing a notice of appeal is likely to be required to purchase a Colorado appeal bond. Although other types of court surety bonds may be required in conjunction with an appeal, the two most commonly required are supersedeas bonds and appeal cost bonds:
- A supersedeas bond equal to 125% of the judgment amount is required when the appellant is requesting a stay of a judgment until there is a decision on the appeal. Supersedeas bonds are almost always fully collateralized. While somewhat seldom, a company with an extremely strong balance sheet can get this collateral reduced or even eliminated with certain sureties.
- An appeal cost bond for $250 is required to ensure that the costs incurred by other parties are covered if the appeal is unsuccessful. The appellant must pay the full $250 upfront.
Speak with a Surety Bond Professionals agent today to discuss your bonding needs.
How Do They Work?
The surety bond agreement for a Colorado appeal bond brings together three parties:
- The “obligee” is the court requiring the bond.
- The “principal” is the appellant required to purchase the bond.
- The “surety” is the company underwriting and approving the bond.
With an appeal cost bond, the $250 goes to pay the court costs of the other party if the principal’s appeal fails. The money is returned to the principal if the appeal is successful.
In the case of a supersedeas bond, the stay is lifted if the appeal is unsuccessful, and the judgment will be executed by forfeiture of the collateral unless the principal makes payment voluntarily within a certain period of time.
What Do They Cost?
Because appeal bonds are fully collateralized, there is little risk to the surety. (There may be a reduction in collateral if the principal’s financials are extremely strong; but lesser collateral often leads to a higher bond rate). The principal’s personal creditworthiness is not a big concern, so the premium rate of a fully collateralized bond is typically around 1% to 1.5% of the required bond amount. In the unlikely circumstance of an uncollateralized lien bond, this rate may be higher in the 2-3% range.
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Our surety bond professionals will get you the Colorado appeal bond you need with the most competitive terms.