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 court administrator shall issue a writ of attachment 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 state, the court, in lieu of directing a conveyance thereof, 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 upon application to the court administrator.
Rule 70.Judgment for Specific Acts; Vesting Title
Last verified July 1, 2026
In one sentenceRule 70 lets a court have someone else perform a specific act a losing party was ordered to do but refuses to do, such as signing a deed, and allows the court to transfer property title directly by judgment.
Full Text of Rule 70
Plain-English Summary
Sometimes a judgment orders someone to do something specific, like sign over a deed or hand over documents, instead of paying money. Rule 70 addresses what happens when that person refuses. If the party does not comply within the time the judgment specifies, the court can have another person, appointed by the court, perform the act instead, at the disobedient party’s expense, and that substitute performance counts as if the original party had done it.
The rule gives the party who was supposed to receive performance another tool too: applying for a writ of attachment against the disobedient party’s property to compel compliance, and the court can also hold that party in contempt. For real or personal property located in Minnesota, the court does not even need someone else to sign a deed; it can enter a judgment that directly transfers, or vests, title from one party to another, and that judgment carries the same legal effect as a formally executed conveyance. When a judgment or order calls for handing over possession of property, the party entitled to it can apply for a writ of execution to obtain that possession.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if someone refuses to sign a deed the court ordered them to sign?
Rule 70 allows the court to appoint someone else to perform the act at the disobedient party’s expense, and that act has the same legal effect as if the original party had done it.
Can a court transfer title to property without anyone signing a deed?
Yes. For property located in Minnesota, the court may enter a judgment that directly vests title in another party, and that judgment has the same effect as a properly executed conveyance.
Can someone be held in contempt for refusing to comply with a judgment ordering a specific act?
Yes, Rule 70 says the court may adjudge the disobedient party in contempt in proper cases, in addition to other remedies like a writ of attachment.
Source & verification. The rule text and Advisory Committee Comments are reproduced verbatim from the
official Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure (Minn. R. Civ. P. 70). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Minnesota (Minn. Stat. § 480.051). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 1, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: specific performance judgmentvesting title