A plaintiff has filed a replevin action and posted a replevin bond seeking to recover personal property in your possession. The counter-replevin bond — also called a forthcoming bond or re-delivery bond — permits you, as the defendant, to retain possession of the property pending resolution of the underlying claim. We write counter-replevin bonds in every state that recognizes the remedy and in federal court under FRCP 64.
Replevin is the pre-judgment remedy by which a plaintiff who claims to own specific personal property seizes that property from a defendant pending resolution of the ownership dispute. The plaintiff posts a replevin bond (sometimes called a plaintiff's replevin or possession bond) that protects the defendant against wrongful seizure. The sheriff executes on the property; the property is held until the case is decided.
That posture is bad for the defendant. If the property is operational equipment, inventory, vehicles, or anything else the defendant uses or sells, losing possession for the duration of the litigation — often a year or more — can be ruinous. The counter-replevin bond is the defendant's response: it permits the defendant to regain or retain possession of the property by posting surety equal to (typically) double the property's value.
Functionally, the counter-replevin bond substitutes the bond for the property as the security available to the prevailing party. If the plaintiff wins the underlying claim and is entitled to the property, the bond pays the property's value (and often damages for use during the litigation). If the defendant wins, the bond obligation terminates. Either way, the property stays in commerce — operating, generating revenue, depreciating in the defendant's hands rather than sitting in a sheriff's storage yard.
Replevin is a state-law remedy that federal court adopts under FRCP 64. Each state has its own replevin and counter-replevin framework. Most follow the common pattern: the plaintiff's replevin bond is at 1× or 2× the property's value; the defendant's counter-replevin bond runs at the same multiple or slightly higher. A handful of states use slightly different terminology — "forthcoming bond," "re-delivery bond," "claim and delivery counter-security" — for the same instrument.
Constitutional due-process doctrine, derived from Fuentes v. Shevin, 407 U.S. 67 (1972), governs the procedural minimum: pre-judgment seizure of personal property requires notice and an opportunity to be heard, except in exigent circumstances. The counter-replevin bond is the defendant's mechanism for exercising the right to be heard while retaining the property during the proceeding.
Counter-replevin bonds are underwritten on the strength of the defendant's financial position and the nature of the property. For commercial defendants — businesses retaining operational equipment, inventory, or vehicles — most files are written same-day on standard application terms without collateral. The risk is bounded by the property's value, and the defendant's continued operation of the property is a positive underwriting signal.
Three items start the file: the plaintiff's replevin complaint and bond (we need to see the underlying instrument the counter-replevin is responding to), a description and valuation of the property, and a financial statement for the defendant principal appropriate to the bond size. Where the property is unique or specialized (industrial equipment, aircraft, marine vessels, art), independent valuation is required.
Filing is with the court of the underlying replevin action. Most state and federal court bonds are issued in PDF for direct e-filing the same business day; we deliver the original Power of Attorney to the clerk by courier where local rules require it.
Send the plaintiff's complaint and bond. Our underwriters open the file and respond immediately, 7/52/365.