28 U.S.C. § 1874
Section 1874 · Actions on bonds and specialties
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 9 court decisions — leading case 478 F. Supp. 889 - Zenith Radio Corp. v. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (1979)
Most recently applied in 565 F. App'x 212 - Orlando Residence, Ltd. v. Kenneth Nelson (April 2014)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
In all actions to recover the forfeiture annexed to any articles of agreement, covenant, bond, or other specialty, wherein the forfeiture, breach, or nonperformance appears by default or confession of the defendant, the court shall render judgment for the plaintiff for such amount as is due. If the sum is uncertain, it shall, upon request of either party, be assessed by a jury.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §785 (R.S. §961).
Word “actions” was substituted for “all suits brought,” in view of Rule 2 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. For the same reason, words “according to equity,” after “to recover so much as is due,” were omitted.
Words “or upon demurrer,” after “default or confession of the defendant,” were omitted in view of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 7(c), abolishing demurrers.
Changes were made in phraseology.