Lawsuit of four thousand dollars or less; recovery; costs; interest; attorney's fees.
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1801
in effect25-1801. Lawsuit of four thousand dollars or less; recovery; costs; interest; attorney's fees.
(1) On any lawsuit of four thousand dollars or less, regardless of whether the claims are liquidated or assigned, the plaintiff may recover costs, interest, and attorney's fees in connection with each claim as provided in this section. If, at the expiration of ninety days after each claim accrued, the claim or claims have not been paid or satisfied, the plaintiff may file a lawsuit for payment of the claim or claims. If full payment of each claim is made to the plaintiff by or on behalf of the defendant after the filing of the lawsuit, but before judgment is taken, except as otherwise agreed in writing by the plaintiff, the plaintiff shall be entitled to receive the costs of the lawsuit whether by voluntary payment or judgment. If the plaintiff secures a judgment thereon, the plaintiff shall be entitled to recover:
(a) The full amount of such judgment and all costs of the lawsuit thereon;
(b) Interest at the rate of six percent per annum. Such interest shall apply to the amount of the total claim beginning thirty days after the date each claim accrued, regardless of assignment, until paid in full; and
(c) If the plaintiff has an attorney retained, employed, or otherwise working in connection with the case, an amount for attorney's fees as provided in this section.
(2) If the cause is taken to an appellate court and the plaintiff recovers a judgment thereon, the appellate court shall tax as costs in the action, to be paid to the plaintiff, an additional amount for attorney's fees in such appellate court as provided in this section, except that if the plaintiff fails to recover a judgment in excess of the amount that may have been tendered by the defendant, then the plaintiff shall not recover the attorney's fees provided by this section.
(3) Attorney's fees shall be assessed by the court in a reasonable amount, but shall in no event be less than ten dollars when the judgment is fifty dollars or less, and when the judgment is over fifty dollars up to four thousand dollars, the attorney's fee shall be ten dollars plus ten percent of the judgment in excess of fifty dollars.
(4) For purposes of this section, the date that each claim accrued means the date the services, goods, materials, labor, or money were provided, or the date the charges were incurred by the debtor, unless some different time period is expressly set forth in a written agreement between the parties.
(5) This section shall apply to original creditors as well as their assignees and successors.
(6) This section does not apply to a cause of action alleging personal injury, regardless of the legal theory asserted.
Laws 1919, c. 191, § 1, p. 865; C.S.1922, § 9126; C.S.1929, § 20-1801; R.S.1943, § 25-1801; Laws 1951, c. 70, § 1, p. 225; Laws 1955, c. 92, § 1, p. 269; Laws 1967, c. 150, § 1, p. 446; Laws 1993, LB 121, § 171; Laws 2009, LB35, § 13; Laws 2018, LB710, § 1.
Source: Nebraska Legislature (nebraskalegislature.gov)URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=25-1801Fetched: 10/20/2026