The summons shall be issued and directed with a copy of the complaint attached to the summons, shall state the cause of the complaint, the time and place of trial of the action for possession, and the answer day for other causes of action, and shall notify the defendant that if he or she fails to appear, judgment shall be entered against him or her. The summons may be served and returned as provided in sections 25-505.01 to 25-516.01, except that the summons shall be served within three days, excluding nonjudicial days, from the date of its issuance and shall be returnable within five days, excluding nonjudicial days, from the date of its issuance. If service cannot be made with reasonable diligence under such sections, service may be made by any person by leaving a copy of the summons at the detained premises and mailing a copy by first-class mail to the defendant's last-known address. The person making the service shall file with the court an affidavit stating with particularity the manner in which he or she made the service and, if service was not made as provided in sections 25-505.01 to 25-516.01, the reasons why service under such sections was unsuccessful. Trial of the action for possession shall be held not less than ten nor more than fourteen days after the date of issuance of the summons.

Source:Laws 1929, c. 82, § 122, p. 310; C.S.1929, § 22-1206; R.S.1943, § 26-1,123; Laws 1972, LB 1032, § 73; Laws 1989, LB 230, § 1; R.S.Supp.,1989, § 24-573; Laws 2002, LB 876, § 52; Laws 2003, LB 760, § 5; Laws 2004, LB 1207, § 10.

Annotations

This section contemplates bifurcated proceedings wherever damages are warranted, distinguishing between the "trial of the action for possession" and "other causes of action." 132 Ventures v. Active Spine Physical Therapy, 313 Neb. 45, 982 N.W.2d 778 (2022).

This section is intended to facilitate a speedy determination of the immediate right to possession by allowing for bifurcated proceedings that prioritize the cause of action for forcible entry and detainer. 132 Ventures v. Active Spine Physical Therapy, 313 Neb. 45, 982 N.W.2d 778 (2022).

With its accelerated trial procedures, a forcible entry and detainer action is intended to avoid much of the expense and delay incident to the more cumbersome action of ejectment formerly employed at common law. Federal Nat. Mortgage Assn. v. Marcuzzo, 289 Neb. 301, 854 N.W.2d 774 (2014).