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 after notice and opportunity to be heard, direct the act to be done by some other person appointed by the court and the act when so done has like effect as if done by the party, except that the appointee of the court shall have no authority to execute a conveyance of land located outside the State of Maine. The court may also in proper cases adjudge the party in contempt.
Rule 70.Judgment for Specific Acts
Last amended May 1, 2000 · Last verified July 8, 2026
In one sentenceRule 70 lets a court appoint someone else to perform a specific act — such as executing a deed — that a judgment ordered a party to do but that party refused, with that substitute performance counting as if the original party had done it, and preserves the court's separate power to hold the noncompliant party in contempt.
Full Text of Rule 70
Advisory Committee’s Notes & Reporter’s Notes
Advisory Committee’s Notes — May 1, 2000
The rule is amended to require that any direction or substitution for action only occur after notice and opportunity to be heard, a procedural safeguard likely required by due process in any event. The reference to costs is removed. Presumably costs could be assessed under the court’s general cost authority, if it deems such appropriate. However, costs need not be assessed in every such case.
Reporter's Notes — December 1, 1959
This rule is based upon a part of Federal Rule 70. It authorizes a conveyance of land by a court-appointed official in a case where a judgment directs a conveyance and the party fails to comply. Most states have either an "appointing" or a "vesting" type of statute to deal with this contingency; and Federal Rule 70 provides for both methods. Maine has no such statute, although R.S.1954, Chap. 119, Sec. 16 [now 33 M.R.S.A. § 4] covers the problem in cases where a person who has contracted to convey real estate dies before conveying it and his executor, administrator, or heirs neglect or refuse to comply with a decree for conveyance. It appears, however, that this power is held to exist in Maine without a statute. Rowe v. Hayden and Eaton, 149 Me. 266, 101 A.2d 190 (1953); Du Puy v. Standard Mineral Co., 88 Me. 202, 33 A. 976 (1895).
In the Rowe case, the court reversed a decree which recited that the recording of a certified copy of the decree, in the Penobscot Registry of Deeds would transfer record title to the land in question, on the ground that Maine had no statute providing for it. Merrill, C. J., went on to say, however, that if the defendant's whereabouts were unknown or if he was personally outside the jurisdiction, the court below could in aid of the decree appoint a master to make conveyance to the plaintiff of the defendant's title.
Apparently the conveyance by a master, therefore, can be justified without a statute although a decree purporting to vest title cannot. It may be questioned whether a court rule could cure the lack of a statute in the latter situation. Because of that doubt and because the "appointing" approach equally serves the purpose, the rule eliminates that part of Federal Rule 70 which gives a court decree the effect of a conveyance.
The provision that a court-appointed official shall not have authority to execute a conveyance of land outside the state is not in Federal Rule 70. It seems highly unlikely, however, that the deed of such an official would pass title to foreign land or that full faith and credit would be required of such a judgment. See Fall v. Eastin, 215 U.S. 1, 30 S.Ct. 3, 54 L.Ed. 65 (1909).
Plain-English Summary
When a judgment directs a party to convey land, deliver deeds or other documents, or perform some other specific act, and that party fails to comply within the time set, the court, after notice and a chance to be heard, can direct someone else it appoints to do the act instead. That substitute performance has the same legal effect as if the original party had done it, with one limit: the court's appointee has no authority to execute a conveyance of land located outside Maine. Beyond appointing a substitute, the court can also, in the right case, hold the noncompliant party in contempt.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if a party refuses to sign a deed a judgment ordered them to sign?
The court, after notice and an opportunity to be heard, can appoint someone else to execute the conveyance, and that act has the same legal effect as if the original party had done it.
Can the court's appointee convey land located outside Maine?
No, the appointee has no authority to execute a conveyance of land located outside the State of Maine.
Is contempt still available against a party who won't perform a court-ordered act?
Yes, the court may adjudge the noncompliant party in contempt in addition to, or instead of, appointing someone else to perform the act.
Source & verification. The rule text and Advisory Committee’s Notes / Reporter’s
Notes are reproduced verbatim from the official Maine Rules of Civil Procedure (Me. R. Civ. P. 70), prescribed by the
Supreme Judicial Court of Maine (4 M.R.S. § 8, the Rules Enabling Act). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 8, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: judgment for specific acts Mainecourt-appointed conveyanceenforcing a deed order