Federal Rule 62, Stay of Proceedings to Enforce a Judgment. Subsection (a): Except as provided in Rule 62(c) and (d), execution on a judgment and proceedings to enforce it are stayed for 30 days after its entry, unless the court orders otherwise.
To obtain a stay after a judgment is entered, a party may provide a bond or other security. The stay takes effect when the court approves the bond or other security, and it remains in effect for the time specified in the bond or security. That means once a judgment is entered in federal court, there is a 30-day period before the opposing party can attempt to execute on the bond. This allows 30 days to obtain either a Supersedeas Bond or other security. For the purposes of this article, we’re going to focus on Supersedeas Bonds.
My office has issued well over a thousand Supersedeas Bonds since we opened our doors in 1992. In the Southern and Eastern District courts of New York State, the court requires a bond in the amount of 111% of the judgment. The court requires you to bond either a final judgment or a final order; the court will not accept a bond for a non-final order. Sureties look at the client’s financial statements and underwrite what they would need in order to obtain the bond. They can require collateral, which can be cash, a matter of credit, or publicly traded securities if it’s required at all.
The court requires the filing of an original bond, which means it has to be presented to the Orders and Judgments Clerk to have it filed before it becomes effective. Once the bond is approved by the clerk and accepted, it is deemed filed. They then upload it to Pacers. Once it appears in Pacers, it goes into effect.
Finally, the filing of the Supersedeas Bond along with the Notice of Appeal grants the stay of enforcement of the judgment; filing only one of them does not grant the stay of enforcement.
If you need assistance or have questions, contact us today at 212-227-7277.
Neil Pedersen
PEDERSEN & SONS SURETY BOND AGENCY, INC.
15 Maiden Lane Suite #800
New York, NY 10038
212-227-7277
800-720-7277
neil@courtbondnow.com
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