25-1577. Discovery of property of debtor; disobedience of order of court; penalty.
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, if any person, party, or witness disobeys an order of the judge or referee, duly served, such person, party, or witness may be punished by the judge as for contempt, and if a party, he or she shall be committed to the jail of the county wherein the proceedings are pending until he or she complies with such order; or, in case he or she has, since the service of such order upon him or her, rendered it impossible for him or her to comply therewith, until he or she has restored to the opposite party what such party has lost by such disobedience, or until discharged by due course of law.
(2) No imprisonment related to the debt collection process shall be allowed unless, after a hearing, a judgment debtor is found to be in willful contempt of court. A judgment debtor shall not be committed to jail for failing to appear pursuant to section 25-1565 unless, after service of an order to appear and show cause as to why the judgment debtor should not be found in contempt for failing to appear, the judgment debtor is found to be in willful contempt.
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Annotations
Failure to pay money is not punishable, unless party is able to pay or willfully unable. Hawthorne v. State, 45 Neb. 871, 64 N.W. 359 (1895).
Third person refusing to turn over property in his possession is not punishable. In re Havlik, 45 Neb. 747, 64 N.W. 234 (1895).