If a judgment directs a party to execute a conveyance of land or to deliver deeds or other documents or to perform any other specific act and the party fails to comply within the time specified, the court may direct the act to be done at the cost of the disobedient party by some other person appointed by the court and the act when so done has like effect as if done by the party. On application of the party entitled to performance, the clerk shall issue a writ of attachment or sequestration against the property of the disobedient party to compel obedience to the judgment. The court may also in proper cases adjudge the party in contempt. If real or personal property is within the jurisdiction of the court, in lieu of directing a conveyance thereof, it may enter a judgment divesting the title of any party and vesting it in others and such judgment has the effect of a conveyance executed in due form of law. When any order or judgment is for the delivery of possession, the party in whose favor it is entered is entitled to a writ of execution or assistance upon application to the clerk.
Rule 70.Judgment for Specific Acts; Vesting Title
Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceRule 70 gives a court several ways to make sure a judgment ordering someone to do something specific -- sign a deed, convey land, deliver documents -- gets carried out, including doing it through someone else, compelling obedience by writ, holding the disobedient party in contempt, or vesting title by the judgment itself.
Full Text of Rule 70
Reporter's Notes
Reporter’s Notes to Rule 70: 1. With the exception of minor wording changes to adapt FRCP 70 to state practice, Rule 70 is substantially the same as the Federal Rule. This rule applies only after judgment has been entered, DeBeers Consol. Mines, Ltd. v. United States, 325 U.S. 212, 65 S. Ct. 1130 (1945), and gives the trial court power to deal with parties who refuse to obey and comply with orders to do specific acts. The acts contemplated by this rule have traditionally been ordered by equity courts and it is likely that such courts will have more occasion to exercise the authority conferred by this rule. The rule is not limited, however, to equity cases and under proper circumstances, law courts may well exercise the authority conferred therein.
2. This rule does not purport to grant additional authority to a trial court to affect title to property outside the jurisdiction of the court. It simply recognizes the traditional jurisdictional limits of courts and in no way attempts to enlarge such limits.
3. This rule does not affect Ark. Stat. Ann. § 29-128 (Repl. 1962) which requires that any decree which orders a conveyance or passing of title to real property be recorded in the county wherein the real property is located within one year from the entry of the decree.
4. This rule recognizes the inherent power of the court to adjudge a party in contempt for disobedience to its order and judgment. This power has also been recognized in Ark. Stat. Ann. § 34-901(3) (Repl. 1962).
Plain-English Summary
Some judgments cannot be satisfied with a payment of money; they require a party to do something -- execute a conveyance of land, deliver a deed or other document, or perform some other specific act. Rule 70 addresses what happens when the party ordered to act does not comply within the time the judgment sets. Rather than leaving the winning party without a remedy, the court can direct that the act be done by someone else the court appoints, at the disobedient party's expense, and the act carries the same legal effect as if the original party had performed it.
The rule backs that authority with real enforcement tools. On application of the party entitled to performance, the clerk can issue a writ of attachment or sequestration against the disobedient party's property to compel compliance, and the court can hold that party in contempt in appropriate cases. Those remedies can be used together or separately, depending on what it takes to secure compliance.
Where the property at issue -- real or personal -- is within the court's jurisdiction, Rule 70 offers a more direct fix: instead of ordering someone to sign a conveyance, the court can enter a judgment that itself divests title from one party and vests it in another, with the same legal effect as a properly executed deed. That authority does not reach beyond the court's jurisdictional limits; it does not let a court affect title to property located outside its territory, and any decree conveying real property still has to be recorded in the county where the property sits within the time state law requires.
When the judgment instead calls for delivering possession of property, Rule 70 gives the party entitled to that possession a writ of execution or a writ of assistance by applying to the clerk, without the need for a separate motion or hearing on that point.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if a party refuses to sign a deed the court ordered?
The court can appoint someone else to execute the conveyance on the disobedient party's behalf and at that party's expense. The document signed that way has the same legal effect as if the original party had signed it.
Can the court just transfer title itself instead of ordering someone to sign a deed?
Yes, when the property is within the court's jurisdiction. Rule 70 lets the court enter a judgment that divests title from one party and vests it in another, and that judgment operates like a properly executed conveyance without anyone having to sign anything.
Does Rule 70 let a court affect property located outside Arkansas?
No. The rule works within the court's existing jurisdictional limits; it does not expand a court's authority to reach property outside its territory.
What if the disobedient party still won't comply after the court appoints someone else to act?
The party entitled to performance can apply to the clerk for a writ of attachment or sequestration against the disobedient party's property, and the court can also hold that party in contempt.
How does a party get possession of property awarded by judgment?
By applying to the clerk for a writ of execution or a writ of assistance, which Rule 70 makes available to the party entitled to possession once the judgment or order is entered.
Source & verification. Rule text, Reporter's Notes, and amendment
history are reproduced verbatim from the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure, prescribed by
the Arkansas Supreme Court. The plain-English summary is original and written by us.
Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: judgment for specific actcourt vests title by judgmentwrit of assistancewrit of attachment for disobeying judgmentcompelling conveyance of landjudgment ordering deed execution