Rule 71.Process in Behalf of and Against Persons Not Parties.
Current through February 2024 · Last verified September 12, 2026
Full Text of Rule 71
Amendment History
Rhode Island does not publish a per-rule amendment history inside the compiled rules text reproduced here. The text above is verified current through the source’s own February 2024 printing; for the underlying adopting orders and any later amendments, see the Rhode Island Judiciary’s compiled rules page.
Plain-English Summary
One sentence, running in two directions. When an order is made in favor of a person who is not a party to the action, that person may enforce obedience by the same process as if a party. Nothing extra is asked of them for the enforcement step, and the rule does not send them off to open a case of their own.
The other direction covers the person on the receiving end. When obedience to an order may be lawfully enforced against someone who is not a party, that person is liable to the same process for enforcing obedience as if a party. Notice the qualifier: may be lawfully enforced. The rule assumes the order already reaches that person and answers only what process applies once it does.
So Rule 71 adds no procedure of its own. It borrows the machinery the rules already give parties, the writs and the contempt power that stand behind a judgment, and lends it both to and against people whose names never appeared in the caption.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a person who is not a party enforce a Family Court order?
Yes, when the order was made in that person's favor. Rule 71 lets them enforce obedience by the same process as if they were a party.
Can an order be enforced against someone who was never named in the case?
When obedience to an order may be lawfully enforced against a person who is not a party, Rule 71 makes that person liable to the same process as a party. The rule supplies the process and leaves to other law the question of when an order reaches someone outside the case.
Do I have to join the case to enforce an order in my favor?
Rule 71 does not require it. A person in whose favor the order was made may use the same process as a party, and intervention under Rule 24 is a separate question.
Can a non-party be held in contempt under Rule 71?
Where obedience to an order may be lawfully enforced against a person who is not a party, Rule 71 makes that person liable to the same process as a party, and that process includes the contempt power and the writs that stand behind a judgment. The rule borrows those tools instead of building a separate track for non-parties.
Does Rule 71 create new rights against a stranger to the case?
No. It operates where an order already runs in someone's favor, or may be lawfully enforced against someone, and answers only the question of what process applies.