Rule 52. Process For and Against Persons Not Parties

Enforcement by a Nonparty. 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. The nonparty may apply to the court in the action in which the order was made.

Enforcement Against a Nonparty. When obedience to an order may lawfully be 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 that person were a party, including civil contempt under Rule 53.

Notice Required. No process shall issue against a person who is not a party unless that person has received actual notice of the order sought to be enforced. Delivery of the order to the person in the proceeding communications of the case, by direct message to that person’s account, or by service of a subpoena under Rule 32, constitutes actual notice.

How a Nonparty Reaches the Record. A person who is not a party to a case cannot transmit a filing to the electronic filing system in that case. A nonparty seeking relief under subdivision (1), or opposing process under subdivision (2), shall deliver the paper to the Clerk, who shall enter it upon the docket, or shall proceed by motion made through a party. This subdivision does not apply to an attorney filing a Notice of Appearance, or to a person seeking to intervene under Rule 17.2, who becomes a party upon the court’s leave.

Protection of Nonparties. In enforcing an order against a person who is not a party, the court shall protect that person from undue burden or expense, and may condition enforcement upon the payment of the person’s reasonable expenses by the party seeking enforcement.

Wage Garnishment; Third-Party Holders. An employer or other person holding property or owing wages to a judgment debtor declared delinquent is subject to this rule with respect to any order entered under Rule 50.1(7)(d). Such an order shall be transmitted to that person by the Clerk, shall state precisely what the person is required to do, and is enforceable under Rule 53 only after actual notice.