If you have been sued in Louisiana, the time to answer a lawsuit is 21 days from the date you are served with the citation and petition. That window stretches to 30 days if the plaintiff serves discovery requests along with the petition, and to 30 days when you are served under the long-arm statute, counted from the date the affidavit of service is filed with the court.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 1001 – Delay for Answering2Louisiana Legal Services and Pro Bono Desk Manual. Long-Arm Statute Miss those deadlines and the plaintiff can move for a default judgment against you.
How the Clock Is Counted
The day you are served does not count. You start counting the next day. If the final day lands on a legal holiday, the deadline rolls to the next day that is not a holiday.3Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 5059 – Computation of Time
There is a safety valve. Even after the 21 or 30 days have passed, you can still file an answer at any point before a default judgment is actually signed. The deadline matters because it is the moment the plaintiff gains the right to pursue a default, but a late answer filed before that default is entered will typically stop the process.
The court also has discretion to grant additional time on request.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 1001 – Delay for Answering If you know you need more time, file a motion early and explain why. Waiting silently until the deadline passes is a weaker position than asking for an extension in advance.
When Service Actually Starts the Clock
The deadline only begins running after proper service of process. Louisiana recognizes two main methods for serving an individual defendant. Personal service is when a sheriff or authorized officer hands the citation directly to you.4Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 1232 – Personal Service Domiciliary service is when the officer leaves the citation at your home with someone of suitable age and discretion who lives there.
If service was defective, the court may lack personal jurisdiction over you, and any resulting judgment can be attacked on that ground. Before you assume a deadline is running, look at the return of service and check whether the method used actually complied with the rules.
What the Answer Must Contain
An answer is not a blanket denial. It must respond to each factual allegation in the petition by admitting it, denying it, or stating that you lack sufficient information to form a belief about it. That last option functions as a denial. The answer must also set out the material facts supporting your defenses in concise terms.
Pay particular attention to affirmative defenses. Article 1005 requires you to raise certain defenses in your answer or risk waiving them, including fault of the plaintiff, duress, mistake, estoppel, fraud, illegality, and failure of consideration, among others.5Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 1005 – Affirmative Defenses Self-represented defendants often get hurt here: they deny the plaintiff’s claims but leave out the affirmative defense that would actually win the case.
Every answer filed by an attorney carries an implicit certification under Article 863 that the defenses have evidentiary support and are not being filed to harass or delay. If a court finds the certification was violated, it must impose sanctions, which can include ordering the offending party to pay the other side’s attorney fees and expenses.6Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 863 – Signing of Pleadings
Filing and Serving the Answer
Filing with the court is not the whole job. You must also serve a copy on the plaintiff’s attorney, or on the plaintiff directly if unrepresented. Service can be made by mail, hand delivery, or electronic means to an address designated for electronic service.7Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 1313 – Service by Mail, Delivery, or Electronic Means File a certificate of service in the record confirming how and when you served the copy. Skipping this step invites arguments that your answer was never properly served.
Exceptions That Pause the Answer Deadline
Instead of answering, you can file an exception first. An exception is Louisiana’s equivalent of a motion to dismiss, and filing one before your answer pauses the answer deadline. If the court overrules the exception or refers it to the merits, you get a fresh 15 days to file your answer.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 1001 – Delay for Answering If the court sustains the exception but orders the plaintiff to amend the petition, you get 15 days from the date you are served with the amended petition.
Louisiana divides exceptions into three categories.8Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 923 – Functions of Exceptions
Declinatory Exceptions
A declinatory exception challenges whether this court should be hearing the case at all. Grounds include insufficiency of service, improper venue, and lack of personal jurisdiction.9Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 925 – Objections Raised by Declinatory Exception These objections are waived if you do not raise them before or along with your answer, so review the service and venue carefully before responding.
Dilatory Exceptions
A dilatory exception slows the case down without ending it. The most useful ground is vagueness or ambiguity of the petition, which forces the plaintiff to clarify what they are actually alleging.10Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 926 – Objections Raised by Dilatory Exception Other grounds include prematurity and lack of procedural capacity. These are also waived if not raised promptly.
Peremptory Exceptions
A peremptory exception attacks the claim itself. The most powerful ground is no cause of action: even accepting everything in the petition as true, the plaintiff has not stated a valid legal claim.11Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 927 – Objections Raised by Peremptory Exception Other grounds include prescription (the claim was filed too late), res judicata, and no right of action. A successful peremptory exception can end the case entirely.
What Happens if You Miss the Deadline
If you file nothing within the deadline, the plaintiff can obtain a preliminary default, which is an entry in the court’s minutes noting that you failed to respond.12Justia. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 1701 – Preliminary Default The preliminary default sets up the next step: confirmation.
To confirm a default judgment, the plaintiff must prove a prima facie case with competent evidence. For contract-based claims, affidavits and attached exhibits can be enough. For personal injury and other fault-based claims, the plaintiff typically needs live testimony plus corroborating evidence.13Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 1702 – Default Judgment
If you have made any appearance in the case, the plaintiff must send you or your attorney notice of intent to take a default judgment at least seven days before the court renders it. That notice must go by certified mail, commercial courier, or actual delivery, and the plaintiff must file proof of the notice in the record.13Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 1702 – Default Judgment Even where no appearance has been made, if the claim involves personal injury, notice must still be sent by regular mail to the address where service was obtained at least seven days beforehand. These notice requirements are strictly enforced.
Setting Aside a Default Judgment
If a default judgment was entered against you, two main avenues exist for challenging it. Under Article 2002, a judgment can be annulled at any time if you were never properly served, if it was rendered against an incompetent person not represented as required by law, or if the court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction.14Justia. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 2002 – Annulment for Vices of Form
Under Article 2004, a judgment obtained through fraud or ill practices can be annulled, but you must bring that action within one year of discovering the fraud.15Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 2004 – Annulment for Vices of Substance Courts have sometimes treated a plaintiff’s failure to comply with the Article 1702 notice requirements as an ill practice sufficient to set aside the judgment.
Counterclaims Within the Same Window
If you have your own claims against the plaintiff, raise them with your answer as a reconventional demand (Louisiana’s term for a counterclaim). If your claim arises from the same transaction or occurrence as the plaintiff’s lawsuit, you must raise it in the reconventional demand or risk losing the right to bring it later in a separate suit.16Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 1061 – Reconventional Demand Claims unrelated to the plaintiff’s case may also be asserted, but they are not compulsory.
Fixing an Answer After You File It
If you realize you left something out, you can amend your answer once without court permission within 10 days after it has been served.17Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 1151 – Amendment of Petition and Answer After that 10-day window closes, you need either the other side’s written consent or the court’s permission. Courts generally allow amendments freely when the case is still early and no one is prejudiced by the change. If you forgot an affirmative defense, catching it quickly is the difference between a clean fix and a contested motion.