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Louisiana Pleading Paper Template

Louisiana follows civil-law pleading: Code of Civil Procedure article 854 requires allegations of fact to be simple, concise, and direct, set forth in numbered paragraphs, each limited to a single set of circumstances. Article 853 governs the caption.

Introduction

Louisiana is a civil-law jurisdiction, and its pleadings are organized into numbered paragraphs, not the consecutive numbered lines used on pleading paper elsewhere. Under Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure article 854, no technical forms of pleading are required: all allegations of fact in the petition, exceptions, or answer must be simple, concise, and direct, set forth in numbered paragraphs, with the contents of each paragraph limited as far as practicable to a single set of circumstances. Article 853 governs the caption, requiring that every pleading set forth the name of the court, the title and number of the action, and a designation of the pleading, with the title stating the name of the first party on each side. Day-to-day filing logistics, including paper and any local margin or format expectations, come from the Rules for Louisiana District Courts (Title II). Confusing Louisiana's numbered paragraphs with line-numbered pleading paper is a common mistake; the two are not the same. A petition that buries multiple unrelated facts in one paragraph or omits a proper caption can draw an exception or a clerk's rejection. This page covers the article 854 paragraph form, the article 853 caption, and a caption skeleton you can model. DocDraft drafts your document on properly formatted Louisiana court format from your facts, with attorney review available before you file.

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Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    Under La. C.C.P. art. 854, no technical forms of pleading are required, but all allegations of fact must be simple, concise, and direct.

  2. 2

    Article 854 requires allegations of fact to be set forth in numbered paragraphs, not in numbered lines; these are numbered paragraphs, distinct from line-numbered pleading paper.

  3. 3

    As far as practicable, the contents of each paragraph must be limited to a single set of circumstances under art. 854.

  4. 4

    Under La. C.C.P. art. 853, every pleading must contain a caption setting forth the name of the court, the title and number of the action, and a designation of the pleading.

  5. 5

    The title of the action must state the name of the first party on each side, with an appropriate indication of other parties, per art. 853.

  6. 6

    Filing logistics, including paper and any local format expectations, are governed by the Rules for Louisiana District Courts (Title II).

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Pleading Paper in Louisiana, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Pleading Paper guide walks through them.

Open the Pleading Paper guide

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[NAME OF COURT, e.g. [ORDINAL] JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, PARISH OF [PARISH], STATE OF LOUISIANA]

[FIRST PLAINTIFF NAME], ET AL., Plaintiff(s),

VERSUS No. [NUMBER OF ACTION]

[FIRST DEFENDANT NAME], ET AL., Defendant(s).

[DESIGNATION OF PLEADING, e.g. PETITION / ANSWER / EXCEPTION]

  1. [First allegation of fact, simple, concise, and direct, limited as far as practicable to a single set of circumstances.]

  2. [Second numbered paragraph.]

  3. [Additional numbered paragraphs as needed.]

[Body formatted per La. C.C.P. art. 854: allegations of fact set forth in numbered paragraphs, each limited as far as practicable to a single set of circumstances. Caption per La. C.C.P. art. 853. Filing logistics, including paper, per the Rules for Louisiana District Courts (Title II) and the local district court.]

Respectfully submitted,

[FILER / ATTORNEY NAME] Louisiana Bar Roll No. [NUMBER] (if attorney) [ADDRESS] [TELEPHONE] [E-MAIL]

Louisiana Requirements for Pleading Paper

Numbered paragraphs

Set forth allegations of fact in numbered paragraphs under La. C.C.P. art. 854, not in numbered lines; these are paragraphs, distinct from line-numbered pleading paper.

Simple, concise, direct allegations

Keep all allegations of fact simple, concise, and direct, with each paragraph limited as far as practicable to a single set of circumstances, per La. C.C.P. art. 854.

Caption contents

Include a caption setting forth the name of the court, the title and number of the action, and a designation of the pleading, as required by La. C.C.P. art. 853.

Title of the action

State the name of the first party on each side in the title of the action, with an appropriate indication of other parties, per La. C.C.P. art. 853.

Filing logistics and paper

Follow the Rules for Louisiana District Courts (Title II) and the specific district court's rules for paper and filing logistics; the Code of Civil Procedure does not set a statewide margin or font figure.

Frequently Asked Questions

Under Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure article 854, allegations of fact must be simple, concise, and direct, and set forth in numbered paragraphs. As far as practicable, each paragraph is limited to a single set of circumstances. No technical forms of pleading are required.

No. Louisiana is a civil-law state and organizes pleadings into numbered paragraphs under article 854, not the consecutive numbered lines used on pleading paper in some other states. The two formats should not be confused.

Under Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure article 853, every pleading must contain a caption setting forth the name of the court, the title and number of the action, and a designation of the pleading. The title states the name of the first party on each side.

The Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure governs paragraph form and caption, while filing logistics such as paper and local format expectations come from the Rules for Louisiana District Courts (Title II) and the rules of the specific district court.