Rule 66.Receivers.

Current through February 2024 · Last verified July 8, 2026

In one sentenceRule 66 governs how courts appoint and oversee receivers, covering when a temporary receiver can be named on an emergency basis, what a receivership decree must set, how receivers report and get paid, and how creditors file claims.

Full Text of Rule 66

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i) (j)

(a) Number of Receivers. Ordinarily but one (1) receiver shall be appointed upon application for the appointment of a receiver, and, unless special exigencies shall appear, such receiver shall be a resident of this state.

(b) Appointment of Temporary Receiver. A temporary receiver shall not be appointed ex parte except upon a showing in writing by the applicant under oath, accompanied by the certificate of the applicant's attorney, satisfactory to the court, that the application is made in good faith for the protection of the business property or assets affected by such appointment; that facts be set forth justifying the appointment of a receiver and the appointment of a temporary receiver is desirable to protect the status quo pending final hearing for the appointment of a receiver. Before acting upon an application for the appointment of a temporary receiver the court may call in for consultation, so far as practicable, all the interested parties or their attorneys, or the court may in its discretion set down the matter of the appointment of a temporary receiver at as early a date as is practicable, with such notice as the court may order.

If an application for the ex parte appointment of a temporary receiver is made to and denied by one (1) judicial officer of the court such application shall not be again made to any other judicial officer unless there is a material change in circumstances. The judicial officer to whom such application was originally presented shall note the judicial officer's action in the case file containing such application.

(c) Counsel to Receiver. A receiver may employ such counsel as may be approved by the court upon written application by receiver after such notice as the court may in its discretion require; provided, however, that except for cause shown the court will not approve the employment:

(1) Of counsel by a receiver when the receiver is a member of the Rhode Island bar; or

(2) Of more than one (1) attorney or firm as counsel even though there be more than one (1) receiver.

(d) Form of Decree. The decree appointing a permanent receiver shall include, among other matters, orders with respect to the operation of the business by the receiver if such operation is sought, and shall definitely fix:

(1) The time for filing of an inventory by the receiver;

(2) The time for filing of statements of assets and financial condition of the receivership;

(3) The time for filing of reports respecting creditors, debtors, and claimants; and

(4) The time within which creditors and claimants shall file their claims. The court may in its discretion require that a decree appointing a temporary receiver shall include the matters provided for in this rule, and in every case where a temporary receivership shall have continued for a period of more than thirty (30) days a decree shall be entered in accordance with the provisions of this rule.

(e) Reports of Condition. Reports shall be filed in court by the receiver, unless otherwise ordered, every thirty (30) days, setting forth the financial condition of the receivership and, in case the receiver is operating the business, the receiver's recommendations as to its further continuance, and, if the receiver is not operating the business, the receiver's recommendations as to the disposition of the assets. The court may, upon application duly made, order that these reports be sealed and be opened and subject to inspection only upon application to the court.

(f) Filing of Claims; Reports Thereon. Each creditor or claimant shall, before a day certain to be fixed by the court in each case, in the decree appointing the receiver, file with the receiver a statement of the creditor's or claimant's claim, which statement shall set out the address, the nature and amount of such claim and of any security or lien held by the creditor or claimant to which the creditor or claimant is or claims to be entitled and also any claim to preference or priority in payment to any other creditor or claimant.

The receiver shall file a report recommending the allowance or disallowance, in whole or in part, of all claims filed with the receiver within a reasonable time after the period fixed by the court for filing claims shall have expired and a suitable order shall be included in the decree appointing a receiver requiring such a report. Upon filing such report the receiver shall give due notice of such filing and of the hearing assigned or such other notice as may be ordered, to each creditor and other party in interest and shall include in such notice to any creditor a statement as to the disposition recommended by said report of the claim of such creditor.

(g) Failure to Report; Notification of Court. It shall be the duty of the clerk to inform the court of the failure of a temporary receiver or receivers to file such reports as may from time to time be called for by the court either under a rule of court or in the original order or decree of appointment or in any subsequent order or decree. Such failure to so report shall be a matter for investigation and for appropriate action by the court acting upon its own initiative, whether or not complaint is made by any party in interest.

(h) Continuance of Business. The court will order the continuance of the business of a corporation or partnership for which a receiver is appointed only when the complaint or petition contains a prayer to this effect or upon an application in writing by any party in interest and upon cause being shown. Notice to all interested parties of the pendency of a complaint or petition for receivership shall set forth that a continuance of the business is sought in the proceedings.

(i) Allowance of Fees. Allowances of fees to a receiver and the receiver's counsel, either on account or in full, shall only be made on hearing after such notice as the court shall order. Failure to comply with any order of the court may, unless explained to the satisfaction of the court, be a ground for refusing compensation to such receiver and the receiver's attorney entirely or for diminishing the amount of such allowances.

(j) Dismissal of Receivership Action. An action in which a receiver has been appointed shall not be dismissed except by order of the court.

End

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

Ordinarily only one receiver is appointed to a case, and that receiver should be a Rhode Island resident unless special circumstances call for someone else. A receiver typically steps in to run or preserve business property or assets caught up in litigation.

A temporary receiver cannot be appointed ex parte except on a written, sworn showing — backed by the applicant’s attorney’s certificate — that the request is made in good faith to protect the property, with facts showing why a temporary receiver is needed to hold the status quo until a full hearing can happen. The court can consult interested parties first, or set an early hearing instead. The same restriction on judge-shopping found elsewhere in these provisional remedies applies here: if one judicial officer denies an ex parte temporary receivership request, the applicant cannot try another judge absent a material change in circumstances, and the denial is noted in the file.

For a permanent receivership, the decree has to fix concrete deadlines: for filing an inventory, for filing statements of the receivership’s assets and financial condition, for reports on creditors, debtors, and claimants, and for creditors and claimants to file their claims. If a temporary receivership runs longer than thirty days, the court must enter a decree covering these same items. Receivers also file reports on the receivership’s financial condition every thirty days unless the court orders otherwise, along with recommendations about continuing or winding down the business, and the court can order those reports sealed.

Creditors file their claims directly with the receiver by a deadline the court sets in the appointing decree, and the receiver reports back recommending which claims to allow or disallow. The clerk has a duty to flag for the court any receiver who misses a required report. A business is only kept running if the original complaint or petition asks for that, or if an interested party later applies in writing and shows cause. Fees for the receiver and the receiver’s counsel are approved only after notice and a hearing, and failing to comply with a court order can cost a receiver some or all of that compensation. Once a receiver is appointed, the action cannot be dismissed except by court order.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a receiver be appointed immediately without notifying the other side?

Only on a written showing, made under oath and backed by the applicant’s attorney’s certificate, that the request is made in good faith to protect the property and that a temporary receiver is needed to preserve the status quo before a full hearing. Even then, a judge’s denial of an ex parte request cannot be retried before a different judge absent a material change in circumstances.

Can the receiver hire their own lawyer if they are already a Rhode Island attorney?

Generally no. Rule 66(c) says the court will not, absent cause shown, approve a receiver employing counsel when the receiver is a member of the Rhode Island bar, and it will not approve more than one attorney or firm as counsel even if there is more than one receiver.

Once a receiver is appointed, can the case just be closed or dropped?

No. Rule 66(j) specifically provides that an action in which a receiver has been appointed cannot be dismissed except by order of the court.

Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the official Rhode Island Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure (R.I. Super. Ct. R. Civ. P. 66). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Rhode Island (R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-6-2). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 8, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: court-appointed receiverreceivershiptemporary receiverbusiness in receivershipreceiver for a companyasset receivership rhode islandreceiver fees and reports