T & H Bail Bond v. DCSE-Baker

In T & H Bail Bond v. DCSE-Baker, 1997 WL 295664 (Del. Fam. Ct.), the bondsman argued that he should not be required to forfeit the bond since he had no authority over the defendant until he failed to appear. The court held in Baker that it was the bondsman's choice to take the chance that the defendant would not show up. The court explained, "the court will not bail out the bail bond company each time the company loses on its gamble." Id. at 2. The Court allowed partial forfeiture of the bond when the defendant failed to appear and was brought in later by the bondsman. The court agreed with the bondsman's reasoning that forfeiture of the bond would take away the bondsman's incentive to apprehend a defendant who earlier failed to appear.