North Carolina § 58-76-5 - Liability and right of action on official bonds.

§ 58-76-5. Liability and right of action on official bonds.

Every person injured by the neglect, misconduct, or misbehavior in office of any register, surveyor, sheriff, coroner, county treasurer, or other officer, may institute a suit or suits against said officer or any of them and their sureties upon their respective bonds for the due performance of their duties in office in the name of the State, without any assignment thereof; and no such bond shall become void upon the first recovery, or if judgment is given for the defendant, but may be put in suit and prosecuted from time to time until the whole penalty is recovered; and every such officer and the sureties on the officer's official bond shall be liable to the person injured for all acts done by said officer by virtue or under color of that officer's office. History (1793, c. 384, s. 1, P.R.; 1825, c. 9, P.R.; 1833, c. 17; R.C., c. 78, s. 1; 1869-70, c. 169, s. 10; Code, s. 1883; Rev., s. 281; C.S., s. 354; 1973, c. 108, s. 59; 1997-14, s. 2; 2010-96, s. 29.) Cross References. - As to surety waiving his rights under G.S. 58-76-1 through 58-76-10 by appearing and answering in a summary proceeding, see G.S. 58-76-15 and the note thereto. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2010-96, s. 29, effective July 20, 2010, near the beginning, deleted "clerk of the superior court" following "in office of any," and at the end, substituted "the officer's" for "his" and "that officer's" for "his." Legal Periodicals. - For a survey of 1996 developments in constitutional law, see 75 N.C.L. Rev. 2281 (1997). For a survey of 1996 developments in tort law, see 75 N.C.L. Rev. 2468 (1997).