Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 966: Burden and Deadlines

Article 966 of the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure is the state’s summary judgment rule. It lets any party to a civil lawsuit ask the court to decide all or part of the case without a trial, on the ground that the documents in the record show no genuine dispute of material fact and that the law entitles the moving party to judgment. The rule is designed to be used, and Louisiana courts are directed to construe it toward a just, speedy, and inexpensive resolution.¹

Who Can File and When

A defendant can file a motion for summary judgment at any time. A plaintiff can file one any time after the defendant has answered the lawsuit. The rule reaches broadly across Louisiana civil litigation, including contract, insurance, personal injury, and property damage matters.

The one clear boundary sits in Article 969, which bars summary judgment in divorce and annulment proceedings. Everything else in the civil docket is eligible.¹

How the Burden Works

The party filing the motion carries the initial burden. That party must show, through the documents Article 966 allows, that no genuine issue of material fact exists and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The disagreement has to matter to the outcome. A dispute over an irrelevant detail is not a genuine issue of material fact.

Once the movant makes that showing, the burden shifts to the opposing party. The opponent must come forward with specific evidence showing that a real factual question remains for trial. General denials and conclusory statements do not satisfy this burden. In Babin v. Winn-Dixie Louisiana, Inc., the Louisiana Supreme Court rejected an argument that a hazard “could have” existed for some period of time as far short of the factual support needed to survive summary judgment; the plaintiff had no evidence of how long toothpick boxes had been on the floor before his fall, and that gap sank his opposition.¹

The judge deciding the motion does not weigh evidence or assess witness credibility. The evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion, and if reasonable minds could disagree about what the facts show, the motion should be denied and the case should proceed to trial.

What Evidence the Court Will Consider

Article 966 sets out a closed list of documents that may be filed or referenced in support of or in opposition to the motion. Anything outside the list can be ignored by the court, which is where litigants frequently get hurt. The allowed materials are:

Pleadings and memoranda
Affidavits
Depositions
Answers to interrogatories
Certified medical records
Certified copies of public documents or public records
Certified copies of insurance policies
Authentic acts
Private acts duly acknowledged
Promissory notes and assignments
Written stipulations
Admissions

Documents already in the court record can be referenced by title and filing date, but the party has to give the court and opposing counsel a copy with the relevant portions marked. Electronically stored formats authorized by court rules or approved by the clerk may also be used.¹

Format matters as much as content. In Samaha v. Rau, a medical review panel opinion, offered without supporting affidavit or deposition testimony from a medical provider, was held insufficient to carry the movant’s burden. Evidence that would be persuasive at trial can still fail at summary judgment when it is not presented in one of the forms the statute recognizes.¹

Deadlines

Article 966 imposes strict filing deadlines, and missing one can result in the court refusing to consider a filing at all.

The motion and all supporting documents must be filed and served at least 65 days before trial.
Any opposition and supporting documents must be filed and served at least 15 days before the hearing.
The moving party may file a reply memorandum at least 5 days before the hearing, inclusive of legal holidays. No additional documents may accompany the reply.

The statute contains specific provisions for deadlines that fall on legal holidays. Extensions are possible only with the agreement of all parties. A 2025 amendment sharpened the consequences of missing these dates: a court cannot reconsider or revise a partial summary judgment on motion of a party who failed to meet the filing deadlines, and cannot consider any documents filed after those deadlines.¹

Partial Summary Judgment

Summary judgment does not have to resolve the whole case. Article 966 allows a court to grant judgment on a particular issue, theory of recovery, cause of action, or defense while leaving the rest of the lawsuit intact. That can narrow a multi-claim case significantly before trial. The 2025 amendment reinforced this framework by cutting off reconsideration for parties who failed to meet the original filing deadlines, signaling that the legislature expects timely engagement with the process.¹

Written Reasons and Appeal

Whether the court grants or denies the motion, it must state its reasons on the record or in writing. That obligation forces the judge to articulate the legal basis for the ruling and gives the losing party a defined target for appeal.

Louisiana appellate courts review summary judgment decisions de novo. They look at the same evidence the trial court saw and apply the same criteria, without deferring to the trial judge’s conclusions. In Jones v. Estate of Santiago, the Louisiana Supreme Court confirmed that the reviewing court decides for itself whether a genuine issue of material fact exists and whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.¹

Article 966 also includes a safeguard on the appellate side. Before an appellate court can reverse a denial of summary judgment and grant dismissal, it must assign the case for briefing and give the parties an opportunity to request oral argument. A case cannot be lost on appeal without the parties having had a meaningful chance to be heard.

What Losing a Summary Judgment Means Later

A granted summary judgment is a final judgment on the merits, and Louisiana’s res judicata rules apply. Under Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:4231, a valid final judgment is conclusive between the same parties. If the judgment favors the plaintiff, all causes of action arising out of the same transaction or occurrence are extinguished and merged into that judgment. If the judgment favors the defendant, those causes of action are barred from being raised in a later lawsuit.

The preclusive effect reaches specific issues as well. Any issue actually litigated and determined in the summary judgment proceeding, where that determination was essential to the judgment, cannot be relitigated in a later action between the same parties. Losing the motion does not just end the current case; it can foreclose the same claims for good.¹

1
Justia Law. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Art. 966 – Motion for Summary Judgment; Procedure