Rule 71.Process in Behalf of and Against Persons Not Parties.
Current through February 2024 · Last verified July 8, 2026
In one sentenceRule 71 lets someone who isn't a party to a lawsuit enforce a court order made in their favor, and lets a court enforce an order against a non-party, using in each case the same procedures available against an actual party.
Full Text of Rule 71
Text size
When an order is made in favor of a person who is not a party to the action, that person may enforce obedience to the order by the same process as if a party; and, when obedience to an order may be lawfully enforced against a person who is not a party, that person is liable to the same process for enforcing obedience to the order as if a party.
IX. APPEALS
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 71 makes clear that a court order can reach beyond the named parties in a case. If an order is entered in favor of someone who isn’t formally a party — someone with no claim or defense on file — that person can enforce the order using the same procedures a party would use.
The same rule works in reverse. If an order can lawfully be enforced against someone who isn’t a party, that person is subject to the same enforcement process — execution, contempt, or whatever else the court would use against a party — as if they had been a party all along.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone who isn't a party to a lawsuit still enforce a court order?
Yes, if the order was made in that person’s favor. Rule 71 lets a non-party use the same enforcement tools — such as execution or contempt proceedings — that a party would use to enforce the same order.
Can a court order bind someone who was never named as a party?
Yes, when the order can lawfully be enforced against that person. Rule 71 treats a bound non-party the same as a party for purposes of enforcement, so the usual enforcement process applies to them too.
What does it mean to be treated 'as if a party' under Rule 71?
It means the non-party gets neither extra protection nor extra difficulty in enforcing, or being subject to, the order. The same procedural tools available against or in favor of a named party — execution, contempt, and the like — apply equally to the non-party.
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. 71). 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:enforcing a court order against a non-partythird party bound by court orderorder in favor of someone not a partynon-party enforcement of judgmentwho can enforce a court orderbinding a nonparty to a court order