When an order is made in favor of a person who is not a party to the action, other than a creditor of a party to a divorce proceeding, he may enforce obedience to the order by the same process as if he were a party; and when obedience to an order may be lawfully enforced against a person who is not a party, he is liable to the same process for enforcing obedience to the order as if he were a party.
Rule 71.Process in Behalf of and Against Persons Not Parties
Chapter VIII: Provisional and Final Remedies and Special Proceedings · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 14, 2026
In one sentenceRule 71 lets a court enforce its order in favor of someone who isn't a party to the case, and lets it enforce an order against a non-party, using the same enforcement process either way, though it excludes a creditor of a party to a divorce proceeding.
Full Text of Rule 71
Advisory Committee Notes
A court order may be enforced by a non-party if the non-party shares an identity of interest with the prevailing party. For example, an assignee of a prevailing party in a case concerning title to property is entitled to enforce a judgment in the same manner as the party assignor. Similarly, a judgment may be against a person who is the successor in interest to a party, but the court must first obtain personal jurisdiction on the successor in interest. See, e.g., Mansour v. Charmax Ind., Inc., 680 So. 2d 852, 855 (Miss. 1996) (holding that service of process is requirement to personal jurisdiction before Rule 71 can be applied); Libutti v. U.S., 178 F.3d 114, 124-25 (2d Cir. 1999) (holding that the court must have personal jurisdiction over the non-party against whom the judgment is enforced).
Plain-English Summary
Most court orders run between the parties who brought the case, but not every order fits that mold. Rule 71 covers the person standing just outside the party list — someone the order benefits, or someone the order can lawfully bind, even though that person never filed a pleading or answered one.
If an order is made in someone's favor and that person isn't a party, Rule 71 lets them enforce it using the same process a party would use — contempt, execution, or whatever tool fits the order — without first intervening formally or filing a separate lawsuit. A common example is an assignee who steps into a prevailing party's shoes: the assignee didn't litigate the case, but can enforce the judgment because their interest lines up with the party who did.
The reverse works too. If a person who isn't a party can lawfully be made to obey an order — for instance, someone who becomes a successor in interest to a party bound by the judgment — Rule 71 exposes them to the same enforcement process as if they had been a party all along. Before a court goes that far, it must have personal jurisdiction over that non-party; Rule 71 supplies the enforcement mechanism, not a shortcut around the ordinary requirement of first bringing that person properly within the court's power.
One exception stands out: Rule 71 doesn't apply to a creditor of a party to a divorce proceeding. That creditor has to look elsewhere to enforce whatever rights it has connected to the divorce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone who was never a party to my lawsuit enforce a court order issued in that case?
Yes, if the order was made in that person's favor. Rule 71 lets a non-party enforce obedience to an order the same way a party would, without first having to intervene in the case as a formal party.
Can a court order be enforced against someone who was never a party to the case?
Yes, when obedience to the order may lawfully be enforced against that person — for example, a successor in interest to a bound party. Rule 71 makes that non-party subject to the same enforcement process as if they had been a party, though the court must first have personal jurisdiction over them.
Is there any exception to Rule 71's non-party enforcement rule?
Yes. Rule 71 specifically excludes a creditor of a party to a divorce proceeding from using this non-party enforcement mechanism.
What's an example of a non-party enforcing a judgment under Rule 71?
An assignee who takes over a prevailing party's interest in a case — for instance, a case about title to property — can enforce the resulting judgment the same way the original party could, because the assignee shares the same interest in the outcome.
Does Rule 71 let a court exercise jurisdiction over a non-party it otherwise couldn't reach?
No. Rule 71 supplies the process for enforcing an order once a non-party is properly before the court; it doesn't substitute for the court first establishing personal jurisdiction over that person.
Source & verification. Rule text and Advisory Committee Notes are
reproduced verbatim from the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted by the
Supreme Court of Mississippi. Last verified July 14, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: enforcing court order against non-party mississippiassignee enforce judgment mississippisuccessor in interest bound by judgment msnon-party contempt mississippi civil rule