Louisiana Motion for Summary Judgment
Louisiana counts its summary judgment deadlines from both the trial date and the hearing date: the motion must be filed at least 65 calendar days before trial, the opposition is due 15 calendar days before the hearing, and the reply is due 5 days before the hearing counted inclusive of legal holidays, all under Code of Civil Procedure article 966.
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Introduction
Louisiana ties its summary judgment deadlines to the trial date, not just the hearing date. A motion for summary judgment and all supporting documents must be filed and served on all parties at least 65 calendar days before trial (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 966(B)(1)), and the contradictory hearing on the motion must itself be set at least 30 calendar days after filing and at least 30 calendar days before trial (art. 966(C)(1)(a)). Notice of the hearing date must be served on all parties at least 30 calendar days before the hearing, and in accordance with article 1313(C) or 1314 (art. 966(C)(1)(b)); the period is computed under Louisiana's general Article 5059 day-counting rule, which excludes the first day and includes the last, rolling a deadline that falls on a legal holiday to the next non-holiday day. The opposing party, the party who was served with the motion, must file and serve any opposition and its supporting documents at least 15 calendar days before the hearing (art. 966(B)(2)). Any reply memorandum is due at least 5 days before the hearing, and that 5-day period is counted inclusive of legal holidays, an explicit statutory override of the normal computation rule that can push the true deadline earlier than a filer expects (art. 966(B)(3)). The court must render judgment on the motion at least 20 days before trial (art. 966(C)(3)). Unless the court and all parties agree otherwise, these deadlines are not discretionary: the court shall not reconsider or revise the granting of a motion for partial summary judgment on motion of a party who missed a deadline, and shall not consider documents filed after a deadline (art. 966(B)(5)). There is no fixed waiting period before a motion may be filed: a plaintiff's motion may be filed any time after the answer is filed, and a defendant's motion may be filed at any time (art. 966(A)(1)). Summary judgment is granted if the motion, memorandum, and supporting documents show there is no genuine issue as to material fact and the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law (art. 966(A)(3)). Where the mover will not bear the burden of proof at trial, the mover does not have to negate every element of the opponent's claim, but only point out the absence of factual support for an element, after which the burden shifts to the opponent to produce evidence of a genuine dispute (art. 966(D)(1)). Effective August 1, 2025, Acts 2025, No. 250 expanded the exclusive list of documents that may support or oppose a motion to include authentic acts, private acts duly acknowledged, and promissory notes and their assignments (art. 966(A)(4)(a)); the current timing scheme itself dates to a 2023 rewrite of article 966. Supporting documents are limited to that exclusive list: pleadings, memoranda, affidavits, depositions, answers to interrogatories, certified medical records, certified public records, certified insurance policies, authentic acts, private acts duly acknowledged, promissory notes and assignments, written stipulations, and admissions. Louisiana has no standalone separate statement of undisputed facts; instead, the Uniform District Court Rules require the supporting memorandum to list the essential legal elements, list the material facts the mover contends are undisputed, and cite the evidence for each fact, and require any opposition memorandum to list the facts the opponent contends are genuinely disputed with a citation to the evidence for each (Rule 9.10(a), (b)). No statewide page limit applies to these memoranda. All motion, opposition, and reply documents must be filed and served electronically (art. 966(B)(1)-(3)). A motion may also be limited to a particular issue, theory of recovery, cause of action, or defense without disposing of the entire case, a broader partial summary judgment rule than some states allow, and any resulting judgment is confined to the issues the motion actually raised (art. 966(E), (F)). An appellate court may not reverse a trial court's denial of summary judgment and itself grant judgment without assigning the case for briefing and an opportunity for oral argument (art. 966(H)). Summary judgment practice is technical and is frequently lost on procedure rather than the merits, and a motion is not automatically granted just because the other side fails to respond; attorney review is available before you file or respond. This page covers a civil motion for summary judgment in a Louisiana state district court under article 966. It does not cover a motion to dismiss, a motion to set aside a default judgment, or a motion for summary judgment in federal court, which follows Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 rather than article 966.
Key Things to Know
- 1
Louisiana counts backward from the trial date: the motion must be filed at least 65 calendar days before trial, the hearing must be set at least 30 calendar days after filing and 30 calendar days before trial, and notice of the hearing must be served at least 30 calendar days before the hearing, all under the state's general calendar-day counting rule (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 966(B)(1), (C)(1)(a), (b)).
- 2
If you were served with a Louisiana motion for summary judgment, your opposition and its supporting documents are due at least 15 calendar days before the hearing, and your opposition memorandum must list the facts you contend are genuinely disputed with a citation to the evidence for each one (art. 966(B)(2); Rule 9.10(b)).
- 3
Summary judgment is granted only if the motion, memorandum, and supporting documents show there is no genuine issue as to material fact and the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law; a motion is not automatically granted just because the opposing party fails to respond (art. 966(A)(3)).
- 4
Any reply memorandum is due at least 5 days before the hearing, and that 5-day period is counted inclusive of legal holidays, the opposite of Louisiana's normal computation rule, so it can fall earlier than expected (art. 966(B)(3)).
- 5
Effective August 1, 2025, Acts 2025, No. 250 added authentic acts, private acts duly acknowledged, and promissory notes and their assignments to the exclusive list of documents that may support or oppose the motion; the current filing and hearing timeline itself comes from a 2023 rewrite of article 966 (art. 966(A)(4)(a)).
- 6
Louisiana has no standalone separate statement of undisputed facts. Instead, the supporting memorandum must list the essential legal elements, list the undisputed material facts, and cite the evidence for each fact, and there is no statewide page limit on that memorandum (Rule 9.10(a)).
- 7
This page covers only a Louisiana state district court motion for summary judgment. For a challenge to a complaint's sufficiency, see DocDraft's motion to dismiss page; to undo a default judgment, see DocDraft's motion to set aside a default; a federal civil case follows Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 and is outside the scope of this page.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Motion for Summary Judgment in Louisiana, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Motion for Summary Judgment guide walks through them.
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Louisiana Requirements for Motion for Summary Judgment
65-Calendar-Day Filing Cutoff Before Trial
The motion for summary judgment and all supporting documents must be filed and served on all parties at least 65 calendar days before the scheduled trial date (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 966(B)(1)).
Hearing Set 30 Days After Filing and 30 Days Before Trial
The contradictory hearing on the motion must be set at least 30 calendar days after the motion is filed and at least 30 calendar days before the trial date (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 966(C)(1)(a)).
15-Calendar-Day Opposition Deadline
The opposing party must file and serve any opposition, and its supporting documents, at least 15 calendar days before the hearing date (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 966(B)(2)).
5-Day Reply Deadline Counted Inclusive of Legal Holidays
A reply memorandum must be filed and served at least 5 days before the hearing, counted inclusive of legal holidays rather than under the state's normal computation rule, and no additional documents may be filed with the reply (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 966(B)(3)).
Ruling Required at Least 20 Days Before Trial
The court must render judgment on the motion at least 20 days before the trial date (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 966(C)(3)).
Filing, Opposition, and Reply Deadlines Are Mandatory
Unless the court and all parties agree otherwise, the court shall not reconsider or revise a partial summary judgment granted against a party who missed one of these deadlines, and shall not consider documents filed after a deadline (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 966(B)(5)).
Supporting Documents Limited to an Exclusive List
Only pleadings, memoranda, affidavits, depositions, answers to interrogatories, certified medical records, certified public records, certified insurance policies, authentic acts, private acts duly acknowledged, promissory notes and assignments, written stipulations, and admissions may support or oppose the motion (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 966(A)(4)(a)).
Memorandum Must List Elements and Undisputed Facts
In place of a standalone separate statement, the supporting memorandum must list the essential legal elements, list the material facts the mover contends are undisputed, and cite the evidence supporting each fact (Rule 9.10(a)).
Issue-Specific Partial Summary Judgment
A motion may be limited to a particular issue, theory of recovery, cause of action, or defense without disposing of the entire case, and any resulting judgment is limited to the issues the motion actually raised (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 966(E), (F)).