Rule D.Possessory, Petitory, and Partition Actions

Last verified June 30, 2026

In one sentenceSupplemental Rule D provides that in admiralty possessory, petitory, and partition actions — disputes over the possession or title to a vessel or other maritime property — process in rem or quasi in rem issues, following the procedure for in rem and attachment actions.

Full Text of Rule D

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In all actions for possession, partition, and to try title maintainable according to the course of the admiralty practice with respect to a vessel, in all actions so maintainable with respect to the possession of cargo or other maritime property, and in all actions by one or more part owners against the others to obtain security for the return of the vessel from any voyage undertaken without their consent, or by one or more part owners against the others to obtain possession of the vessel for any voyage on giving security for its safe return, the process shall be by a warrant of arrest of the vessel, cargo, or other property, and by notice in the manner provided by Rule B(2) to the adverse party or parties.

End

Amendment History

(Added Feb. 28, 1966, eff. July 1, 1966.)

Plain-English Summary

Supplemental Rule D covers a narrow set of ownership disputes in admiralty. A possessory action seeks to restore possession of a vessel to one entitled to it; a petitory action tries title to a vessel; and a partition action sorts out the rights of co-owners. These are quarrels about who owns or controls maritime property.

For all of them, the rule provides that the appropriate process — in rem against the property, or quasi in rem — may issue, and that the action proceeds under the in rem and attachment procedures supplied by Supplemental Rules C and B and the general provisions of Rule E. In short, Rule D points these ownership-and-possession disputes into the same machinery that governs other maritime seizures.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are possessory, petitory, and partition actions?

Admiralty disputes over the possession of, title to, or co-ownership of a vessel or maritime property; Supplemental Rule D routes them through the in rem and attachment procedures.

What's the difference between a possessory and a petitory action?

A possessory action seeks to restore possession of a vessel to someone entitled to it; a petitory action instead tries the question of title itself — who owns the vessel.

Source & verification. The rule text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the official Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Fed. R. Civ. P. Supp. R. D), a public-domain work of the U.S. Government. Prescribed by the United States Supreme Court under the Rules Enabling Act. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified June 30, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: FRCP Supplemental Rule DFed. R. Civ. P. Supplemental Rule Dpossessory petitory partitionvessel title dispute