Louisiana Answer to a Petition
Louisiana gives you 21 days after service of citation to answer a petition under La. C.C.P. art. 1001. File on time to avoid a default judgment against you.
Introduction
Louisiana is a civil-law state, so the lawsuit and your response use civil-law terms. The plaintiff files a petition, you are served with a citation rather than a summons, and your written response is an answer. A Louisiana answer is the pleading you file with the clerk of the District Court (or City or Parish court for smaller matters) that admits or denies the allegations of the petition, raises your affirmative defenses, and, if you have a related claim of your own, asserts a reconventional demand. Under La. C.C.P. art. 1001(A) you must file your answer within twenty-one days after service of citation, and within thirty days if the plaintiff serves a discovery request with the petition. Before or with the answer, a defendant in Louisiana may also raise exceptions that challenge the petition itself, such as the lack of a cause of action or improper venue. Louisiana has no statewide mandatory answer form, so the answer is a typed pleading on a caption that complies with La. C.C.P. art. 853, filed with the clerk of the court where the action is pending. Miss the deadline and the plaintiff can obtain a default judgment under La. C.C.P. art. 1702 once a prima facie case is established. DocDraft drafts a Louisiana-formatted answer from your facts, with attorney review available before you file.
Key Things to Know
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Your deadline runs from service of the citation, not a complaint. Under La. C.C.P. art. 1001(A) you must file your answer within twenty-one calendar days after service of citation, and within thirty days if the plaintiff serves a discovery request together with the petition.
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Louisiana counts legal holidays in these windows. Because the 21-day and 10-day windows are longer than seven days, La. C.C.P. art. 5059 counts legal holidays in the period, so they are calendar-day deadlines rather than business-day deadlines.
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Exceptions can be raised before or with the answer. As a civil-law state, Louisiana lets a defendant plead exceptions that attack the petition, such as no cause of action, no right of action, or improper venue, in addition to answering the merits.
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The Small Claims Division is faster. In the Small Claims Division of a City Court or a Justice of the Peace Court, for claims up to $5,000, the defendant must answer within ten days of service of citation under La. C.C.P. art. 4903, or fifteen days if cited through the secretary of state.
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An eviction has no separate written-answer deadline. An eviction is a summary rule to show cause; under La. C.C.P. art. 4732(A) the court sets the rule for hearing no earlier than the third day after service, and the lessee appears and presents any defense at that hearing rather than filing a written answer first.
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There is no statewide answer form, and a fee waiver exists. Louisiana has no mandatory answer form, so you type the pleading on a caption that complies with La. C.C.P. art. 853. The filing fee varies by parish, and if you cannot afford it you can file an In Forma Pauperis Affidavit based on poverty and lack of means.
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A related claim is pleaded as a reconventional demand. Under La. C.C.P. art. 1061(B) a defendant must assert all causes of action arising out of the same transaction or occurrence as the plaintiff's claim, and the prescriptive period on a personal action such as a written contract is ten years under La. Civ. Code art. 3499.
Key Decisions
Answer to a Complaint Requirements
The full name of the court and judicial district where the lawsuit was filed, exactly as it appears on the summons.
The plaintiff's and defendant's full legal names as listed in the complaint, with you named as the defendant.
The case or docket number assigned by the court, found on the summons and the complaint.
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Louisiana Requirements for Answer to a Complaint
In a general civil case you must file your answer within twenty-one days after service of citation under La. C.C.P. art. 1001(A), and within thirty days if the plaintiff serves a discovery request with the petition. In the Small Claims Division the deadline is ten days of service of citation under La. C.C.P. art. 4903, or fifteen days if cited through the secretary of state.
Louisiana has no statewide mandatory answer form, so the answer is a typed pleading. It admits or denies the allegations of the petition, raises your affirmative defenses, and may include a reconventional demand. A defendant may also plead exceptions, such as no cause of action or improper venue, before or with the answer.
Caption the answer to comply with La. C.C.P. art. 853 for the court where the action is pending, which for general civil cases is a Louisiana District Court and for smaller matters a City Court or the Small Claims Division of a City or Justice of the Peace Court. Include the parish, the parties' names, the docket number, and the title Answer to Petition.
File your answer with the clerk of the court where the action is pending. You may deliver the pleading to the clerk under La. C.C.P. art. 253, and electronic filing is available if authorized by the local clerk of court.
Under La. C.C.P. art. 1313(A), serve a copy of your answer on the plaintiff's counsel of record or, if unrepresented, on the adverse party, by mail, delivery, or electronic means where designated, and keep proof that you served it.
The filing fee for an answer varies by parish, for example $272.00 in the Orleans Parish Civil District Court. If you cannot afford the costs, file an In Forma Pauperis Affidavit, which the court grants on a showing of poverty and lack of means to pay.
State each affirmative defense you intend to rely on, such as fault or negligence of the plaintiff, error or mistake, failure of consideration, extinguishment of the obligation, estoppel, fraud, or illegality, as well as prescription. The prescriptive period on a written contract is ten years under La. Civ. Code art. 3499, with shorter periods such as three years on an open account under art. 3494.
Under La. C.C.P. art. 1061(B) you must assert every cause of action you have against the plaintiff that arises out of the same transaction or occurrence as the principal action in a reconventional demand, or you can lose the right to bring it later.
Frequently Asked Questions
In a general civil case, La. C.C.P. art. 1001(A) requires you to file your answer within twenty-one days after service of the citation, and within thirty days if the plaintiff serves a discovery request along with the petition. The deadline differs in other tracks. In the Small Claims Division, the answer is due within ten days of service of citation under La. C.C.P. art. 4903, or fifteen days if cited through the secretary of state. An eviction is a summary rule to show cause with no separate written-answer deadline, where the lessee presents any defense at the hearing the court sets no earlier than the third day after service under La. C.C.P. art. 4732(A). Missing your deadline can lead to a default judgment.
Louisiana has no statewide mandatory answer form. You type the answer as a pleading on a caption that complies with La. C.C.P. art. 853, which identifies the court, the parties, the docket number, and the title of the pleading. The answer admits or denies the allegations of the petition, sets out your affirmative defenses, and, if you have a related claim, includes a reconventional demand. A defendant may also raise exceptions, such as no cause of action or improper venue, before or with the answer.
File your answer with the clerk of the court where the action is pending. General civil cases are heard in the Louisiana District Courts, while smaller matters go to City Courts or, for claims up to $5,000, the Small Claims Division of a City Court or a Justice of the Peace Court. You may deliver the pleading to the clerk in person, and electronic filing is available if authorized by the local clerk of court under La. C.C.P. art. 253.
The filing fee for an answer varies by parish, for example $272.00 in the Orleans Parish Civil District Court. If you cannot afford the fee, Louisiana lets you proceed without prepaying costs by filing an In Forma Pauperis Affidavit, which the court grants on a showing of poverty and lack of means to pay the costs of the proceeding.
If you fail to answer within the time prescribed, the plaintiff can seek a default judgment under La. C.C.P. art. 1702(A) by establishing a prima facie case with competent and admissible evidence on the record, after sending any pre-default notice the article requires. You may be able to undo it by filing a Motion for New Trial within seven days on good ground, or a Petition for Nullity within one year of discovering fraud or ill practices under La. C.C.P. arts. 1974 and 2004, but filing your answer on time is the reliable path.
Yes, and Louisiana calls it a reconventional demand. Under La. C.C.P. art. 1061(B) you must assert every cause of action you have against the plaintiff that arises out of the same transaction or occurrence as the plaintiff's claim, or you can lose the right to bring it later. A claim arising from a different transaction may also be asserted reconventionally. The prescriptive period on a personal action such as a written contract is ten years under La. Civ. Code art. 3499.