A decree for specific performance shall, if so ordered by the court, operate as a deed to convey land located in this state, or, in appropriate cases, other property, without any conveyance being executed by the vendor. In the case of land a copy of such decree certified by the clerk shall be recorded in the register's office in the county where the land lies and shall stand in the place of a deed. In all other cases where a judgment or decree directs a party to execute a conveyance of land or other property or to deliver deeds or other documents or to perform any other specific act and the party fails to comply within the time specified (or within a reasonable time if no time is 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. The court may also in proper cases adjudge the party in contempt. In lieu of directing a conveyance of land or personal property, the court may enter a decree divesting the title of any party and vesting it in others, and such decree has the effect of a conveyance executed in due form of law. When any order or judgment is for the delivery of possession, the party in whose favor it is entered is entitled to a writ of execution or possession upon application to the clerk.
Rule 70.Judgment for Specific Acts; Vesting Title
Last verified July 2, 2026
In one sentenceRule 70 lets a court’s own judgment operate as a deed conveying Tennessee land, or divest and vest title directly, when a party fails to execute a required conveyance, and lets the court direct someone else to perform any other court-ordered act at the disobedient party’s expense.
Full Text of Rule 70
Plain-English Summary
Rule 70 addresses what happens when a judgment orders a party to do something the party will not do — most often, convey land or other property, deliver a deed or other document, or perform some other specific act. For a Tennessee land conveyance, the court can order its own decree to operate as the deed itself, with no separate document from the resisting party needed at all; the clerk certifies a copy of the decree, which gets recorded in the register’s office for the county where the land sits and stands in place of a deed from that point forward. This “judgment as deed” mechanism traces back to a Tennessee statute that predates the civil procedure rules, so it reflects a long-standing state approach to specific-performance problems rather than a new invention, and its reach is limited to land located within Tennessee.
For property or acts that do not fit that deed-substitute mechanism, the rule gives the court two other tools. It can direct that the required act be performed by someone else the court appoints, at the disobedient party’s cost, with that substitute performance treated as if the original party had done it. And it can hold the disobedient party in contempt as an additional consequence. In lieu of ordering a conveyance of land or personal property at all, the court can instead enter a decree divesting title from one party and vesting it in another, which carries the same legal effect as a properly executed conveyance.
Rule 70 also covers judgments for possession rather than conveyance: when a judgment awards someone possession of property, that party can apply directly to the clerk for a writ of execution or possession to enforce it, without needing a separate motion or hearing first.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if someone refuses to sign a deed a Tennessee court ordered them to sign?
Rule 70 lets the court’s own decree operate as the deed. A certified copy of the decree, recorded in the register’s office for the county where the land sits, stands in place of a deed the resisting party never signed.
Can a court order someone else to perform an act a party refuses to do?
Yes. Rule 70 lets the court direct that the act be performed by a court-appointed substitute at the disobedient party’s expense, with that performance treated as if the original party had done it, and the court can also hold the disobedient party in contempt.
How does someone enforce a judgment awarding possession of property?
Rule 70 lets the party entitled to possession apply directly to the clerk for a writ of execution or possession, without a separate motion or hearing.
Source & verification. The rule text and Advisory Commission Comments are reproduced verbatim from the
official Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure (Tenn. R. Civ. P. 70). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Tennessee (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 16-3-402 to 16-3-407, 16-3-601). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 2, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: judgment as a deedvesting titledivesting titlespecific performance decreewrit of possession