A stay of enforcement of a monetary judgment requires that an Illinois appeal bond be offered and a timely notice of appeal provided. Illinois rules civil procedure clearly provide for this mechanism under Rule 305(a). The bond must be filed within the time for filing the notice of appeal or within any extension of time granted under paragraph (c) of 205., and notice must be given to the appellee by the judgment debtor. The Illinois appeal bond must be written in an amount sufficient to cover the amount of the judgment, interest and costs plus interest reasonably anticipated to accrue during the pendency of the appeal UNLESS the court determines that a bond in the amount of the judgment plus anticipated interest and costs is NOT reasonably available to the judgment debtor, in which case the court may approve an Illinois appeal bond in the maximum amount “reasonably available” to the judgment debtor. In the event that the court approves a surety bond in an amount less than the amount of the judgment plus anticipated interest and costs, the court must then also impose additional conditions on the judgment debtor to prevent dissipation or diversion of the debtor’s assets during the appeal. Rule 205(D)(g), addresses the conditions upon which an Illinois appeal bond will be approved by the court. The obligation must be manuscripted by the surety to guarantee the prosecution of the appeal and the payment of the judgment, interest, and costs in case the judgment is affirmed or the appeal dismissed unless other terms are approved by the court. Generally, domestic and foreign surety companies are acceptable to the courts of the state for the Illinois appeal bond when the corporate surety has a current certificate of authority issued by the Department of Insurance and the signing agent has been duly appointed by power of attorney to execute such bonds on behalf of the surety. The particular clerk of court my request documentation of the surety’s and surety agent’s authority before accepting a bond.
Illinois judicial bond leader, Surety One, Inc. is THE most agile and service-oriented underwriter of judicial bonds. Our experience in manuscripting judicial bond forms, same day underwriting, immediate bond execution and delivery are unmatched. NO ONE has the underwriting authorities that we do and fewer understand the code of civil procedure as it applies to the bond mechanism. Visit SuretyOne.com, call (800) 373-2804, or email Underwriting@SuretyOne.com for application materials and assistance with your Illinois appeal bond need.
