If a judgment directs a party to execute a conveyance of land or to deliver deeds or other documents or to perform any other specified 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 clerk shall issue a writ of attachment or sequestration 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 money, land, or for the delivery of possession, the party in whose favor it is entered is entitled to a writ of execution or assistance upon application to the clerk.
Rule 70.Judgment for Specific Acts.
Current through February 2024 · Last verified July 8, 2026
In one sentenceRule 70 lets a court get its own judgment obeyed when a party won't perform a specific act, such as signing a deed, by having someone else do it at that party's expense, attaching the party's property, transferring title directly, or holding the party in contempt.
Full Text of Rule 70
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
Rule 70 covers what happens when a party loses a case that required doing something specific — signing a deed, handing over documents, or performing some other act — and then does not do it. If the party misses the deadline the judgment set, the court can appoint someone else to perform the act instead, at the disobedient party’s expense, and whatever that person does counts exactly as if the losing party had done it.
The winning party isn’t limited to that option. On application to the clerk, a writ of attachment or sequestration can issue against the disobedient party’s property to pressure compliance, and the court can also hold that party in contempt.
For real or personal property located in Rhode Island, the court has a more direct fix: instead of ordering someone to sign over title, it can enter a judgment that strips title from one party and vests it in another, and that judgment stands in for a properly executed conveyance. And whenever a judgment or order calls for the payment of money, delivery of land, or delivery of possession, the party who won it can go to the clerk and get a writ of execution or assistance to enforce it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if the losing party refuses to sign a deed the judgment requires?
The court can appoint someone else to sign it on the losing party’s behalf and at that party’s expense, and the signature has the same legal effect as if the losing party had signed it. The court can also order a writ of attachment against that party’s property or hold the party in contempt.
Does the court have to wait for someone to sign over property, or can it just transfer title directly?
For property located in Rhode Island, the court can skip the conveyance step entirely and enter a judgment that divests title from one party and vests it in another. That judgment works exactly like a properly executed deed or conveyance.
What is a writ of sequestration under Rule 70?
It’s an order, issued by the clerk on application of the party owed performance, that reaches the disobedient party’s property to force compliance with the judgment. It works alongside — not instead of — the court’s power to appoint someone else to perform the act or to hold the disobedient party in contempt.
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. 70). 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 order to sign a deedcompel transfer of propertyjudgment for specific actwrit of assistancewrit of sequestrationenforce court order to convey landcontempt for refusing to comply with judgmentcourt appointed person to sign documents