A referee is a person appointed by a court to sell real estate or other assets at issue in a litigation. A referee may be required to obtain a referee bond to secure the referee’s obligations as required by the applicable state law. The amount of the referee bond may be set by the court, and is generally based on the value of the assets in dispute.
Referees are appointed by judges to investigate the facts of a court case, look at evidence, and report their fact finding outcomes back to the judge and court. Referees are often attorneys who work as referees on specific types of cases.
Referees can provide outcome recommendations for courts, giving parties to a case a stipulated amount of time to dispute the referee’s report and seek review of that recommendation by the court itself that appointed the referee. If there is no dispute of the recommendations, they are presented to the court for final approval. The court has the power to change those recommendations based on how it interprets the referee’s report. Exact procedures vary by court and jurisdiction.
Referee bonds secure the referee’s obligation to conduct their duties within the confines of state law. Malfeasance on the part of the referee would allow for a claim against the referee bond by the aggrieved party.
Colonial offers the direct and digital way to obtain referee bonds. We are the insurance company — which means no agent, no broker, and no middleman. We make it easy to obtain your court bond instantly. The steps are easy — get a quote online, fill out your information, satisfy underwriting requirements, and enter your payment method. Print or e-file your bond from your office. It’s that simple!