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 that person were 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 he were a party.
Rule 71.Process on behalf of and against persons not parties
Group VIII: Provisional and Final Remedies and Special Proceedings · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 14, 2026
In one sentenceRule 71 lets a nonparty who benefits from a court order enforce it, and lets a nonparty bound by an order be forced to obey it, both through the same enforcement process available to actual parties.
Full Text of Rule 71
Notes
Reporter’s Notes: This rule is identical to Federal Rule 71. It has no equivalent in prior Vermont practice. The rule is a useful and desirable implementation of the court’s general equity powers. It might, for example, provide the basis for the issuance of a writ of possession as provided in Rule 69 in favor of the purchaser at a foreclosure sale, and it provides a means for enforcement of injunctions against nonparties upon whom such orders are binding under Federal Rule 65(d).
Plain-English Summary
Court orders do not always run strictly between the named parties to a case. Rule 71 covers what happens when someone outside the case has a stake in an order either way. If an order is made in favor of a person who is not a party, that person can enforce obedience to it by the same process available to an actual party. And if obedience to an order can lawfully be enforced against someone who is not a party, that person is subject to the same enforcement process as if they were one.
The rule fills a gap that would otherwise leave nonparties without a clean way to invoke -- or be held to -- an order that affects them. It can, for example, provide the basis for a writ of possession under Rule 69 in favor of the purchaser at a foreclosure sale, who was not a party to the underlying case but benefits from the judgment. It likewise gives courts a means to enforce injunctions against nonparties who are bound by them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can use Rule 71 to enforce a court order?
A person who is not a party to the action but in whose favor an order was made. That person may enforce obedience to the order by the same process as if they were a party.
Can a nonparty be forced to obey a court order under Rule 71?
Yes. When obedience to an order may lawfully be enforced against someone who is not a party, that person is subject to the same enforcement process for obedience to the order as if they were a party.
What is an example of when Rule 71 might come into play?
It might provide the basis for issuing a writ of possession under Rule 69 in favor of the purchaser at a foreclosure sale, who benefits from the judgment without having been a party to the case.
Does Rule 71 create new substantive rights for nonparties?
No. It supplies an enforcement mechanism for orders that are otherwise binding on, or run in favor of, a nonparty -- it does not itself decide who an order binds or benefits.
Does Rule 71 work the same way whether the nonparty is enforcing an order or bound by one?
Yes. The rule is symmetrical: the same enforcement process applies whether a nonparty is invoking an order made in their favor or is being held to an order that binds them.
Source & verification. Rule text, official Reporter's Notes, and
amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure,
adopted by the Vermont Supreme Court. Last verified July 14, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: vermont rule 71enforcing order against nonparty vermontvrcp 71nonparty enforcement of judgmentinjunction bind nonparty vermont