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Read. Follow. Verify.Louisiana revises Code of Civil Procedure rules on abandonment, trials, default judgments, and appeals
Last action · May 15, 2026: Effective date: See Act.Sponsor: Nicholas Muscarello
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What This Bill Does
Louisiana updates civil court procedures, establishing new affidavit requirements for dismissing abandoned lawsuits after three years, requiring clerks to provide trial notices by mail or electronic means without a prior written request, and adjusting appeal cost deadlines.
Parties involved in civil lawsuits face modified timelines and evidentiary burdens for claiming case , paying appeal costs, and requesting trials, altering how civil litigation proceeds through Louisiana district and appellate courts.
- The Louisiana State Law Institute is an official advisory law revision commission that prepares continuous revisions of the state's legal codes. context
- Code of Civil Procedure Article 561 governs the abandonment of legal actions in Louisiana trial and appellate courts due to inactivity. context
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Civil litigants
Litigants face updated rules, timelines, and evidentiary burdens regarding case abandonment, default judgments, trial notices, and appeal cost payments.
Clerks of court
Clerks are required to send trial notices automatically, process default judgments within 72 hours, handle revised appeal cost notices, and manage transmissions.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I still need to submit a written request to receive notice of a trial date?
What is required to dismiss a civil action based on abandonment?
How long does an appellant have to pay estimated appeal costs?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Signed into law.
Procedural history
22 actions- May 15, 2026HouseEnrolledSigned by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 127.
- May 15, 2026HouseEffective date: See Act.
- May 13, 2026SenateEnrolledSigned by the President of the Senate.
- May 13, 2026HouseSent to the Governor for executive approval.
- May 12, 2026HouseEnrolledEnrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
- May 11, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, roll called, yeas 100, nays 0, Senate amendments concurred in.
Show 16 earlier actions
- May 7, 2026HouseScheduled for concurrence on 05/11/2026.
- May 6, 2026HouseReceived from the Senate with amendments.
- May 5, 2026SenateFloorSenate floor amendments read and adopted. Read by title, passed by a vote of 36 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
- Apr 27, 2026SenateFloorReported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
- Apr 22, 2026SenateIntroducedRead by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
- Apr 21, 2026SenateCommitteeReported favorably.
- Mar 31, 2026SenateCommitteeRead second time by title and referred to the Committee on Judiciary A.
- Mar 30, 2026SenateReceived in the Senate. Rules suspended. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
- Mar 26, 2026HouseFloorRead third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 91, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
- Mar 25, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 03/26/2026.
- Mar 24, 2026HouseFloorRead by title, amended, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
- Mar 23, 2026HouseReported with amendments (8-0).
- Mar 9, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Civil Law and Procedure.
- Feb 13, 2026HousePrefiled.
- Feb 13, 2026HouseCommitteeUnder the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Civil Law and Procedure.
- Feb 13, 2026HouseFirst appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/13/2026.
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Codification of Jurisprudential Rules on Abandonment
The amendments to Article 561 formally adopt current jurisprudential rules regarding how steps in prosecution interrupt abandonment and allow defendants to renounce the defense.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.la.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy10Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz15Current news / social attention level
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