Lex Machina is proud to release its 2022 Surety Bond Litigation Report, which examines the latest insights from surety bond litigation. This report focuses on the five-year period from 2017 to 2021 and surveys emerging trends in case filings (including Miller Act cases), most active venues, judges, law firms, parties, timing metrics, case resolutions, findings, and damages.

Key Trends and Highlights:

  • Since 2012, the number of surety bond cases have declined steadily to 409 cases filed in 2021, the lowest number of any year in the past decade.
  • The most active district court for surety bond litigation over the last five years was the District of Maryland.
  • Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America was both the most active plaintiff and the most active defendant in surety bond cases filed from 2017 to 2021.
  • Krebs Farley & Dry represented plaintiffs in the highest number of surety bond cases over the past five years, while Watt, Tieder, Hoffar & Fitzgerald represented defendants in the highest number of cases during the same period.
  • The median time to termination was 294 days for surety bond cases terminated from 2017 to 2021.
  • For surety bond cases that were resolved on substantive grounds, claimants won 11 times more often than claim defendants, primarily on default judgment and summary judgment.
  • The highest total damages awarded in surety bond litigation over the five-year period from 2017 to 2021 was in the category of Contract Damages with $541 million in damages.

View our infographic.

Legal Analytics is used for planning, budgeting, and litigation strategy. The metrics in this report can help readers decide who to pursue as clients, whether to file a particular motion, or when to settle (and for how much). This research supplements traditional legal research and anecdotal data in order to gain a competitive edge in litigation.

Lex Machina hosted a webcast to discuss the report on December 8, 2022 with John Fouhy (Senior Surety Counsel at Travelers Insurance), Kristal Mendoza-Bautista (Lex Machina’s Legal Data Expert in Surety Bond Litigation), and Aria Nejad (Lex Machina’s in-house counsel). View a recording of the webcast.

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