Suretyship

What suretyship means

Put simply, suretyship is part of the working vocabulary of a civil case. The short definition above covers the usual meaning. Still, a specific rule, statute or contract can give it a narrower meaning. For that reason, check how it is used in your own documents.

Where suretyship comes up

The term is used across many kinds of cases. For example, you may see it in pleadings, motions and court orders. To see it in context, browse the motions and procedures library or the Learn the Law topics.

Read the source: Surety.

How to research the term

Start with the primary source. For example, if suretyship appears in a federal rule, read the rule itself and its official notes. After that, check your court’s local rules and any standing orders from the judge. In addition, search recent decisions from your own state or federal district. They show how courts read suretyship in practice. Because state rules often differ, our state procedures guide links to each state’s official rules. Above all, make sure the version you read is still in force.

You can read the current federal court rules online for free.

Related legal terms

• Supersedeas bond: a bond posted by a party appealing a money judgment to stay enforcement of the judgment while the appeal is pending. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 62(b), a party may obtain a stay by providing a bond or other security.
• Superseded: replaced by something later that takes its place. A statute, rule or regulation is superseded when a later enactment replaces it, and a court decision may be "superseded by statute." In civil cases, an amended pleading generally supersedes the original, so the amended version becomes the operative pleading.
• Supremacy Clause: article VI, Clause 2 of the Constitution, which makes the Constitution, federal laws made in pursuance of it, and treaties "the supreme law of the land," binding on state judges "anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding."
• Surety: a person who promises to answer for another person's debt or obligation if that person does not perform.

Why precise terms matter

Legal words often look like everyday words, but they can carry a precise meaning. Because of that, a small misreading can change how you understand a deadline, a duty or a right. Our glossary keeps each definition short and links it to the procedures where it matters.