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LouisianaHB 1422026 Regular SessionHouseWALLET

CIVIL/PROCEDURE: Provides for the continuous revision of the Code of Civil Procedure

Sponsored By: Nicholas Muscarello (Republican)

Signed by Governor

Judiciary ACivil Law and Procedure

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

9 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 0 costs, 5 mixed.

More ways to keep cases active

A step to prosecute or defend a case in trial court interrupts Louisiana’s three-year abandonment period. Authorized discovery counts even when it is not filed in court, including depositions taken with or without formal notice. This protection applies to parties served with discovery or attending or represented at the deposition. After the period expires, a defendant can give up the abandonment defense. Succession cases, which handle estates, are exempt regardless of whether an executor or administrator is appointed or a will is probated.

Parties get advance trial date notices

Court clerks must send written trial-date notices to lawyers and parties without lawyers, without requiring a written request. Notices must be sent at least 10 days before trial. Clerks can use authorized electronic delivery or certified mail. A party or lawyer can waive notice only in writing or on the court record.

Related appeals share the same judges

Appeals and requests for appellate review of orders issued at the same time must share one randomly selected panel. The rule covers orders from the same lower-court case or consolidated cases. A different panel assignment requires good cause.

Courts cannot freely hide public hazards

Courts generally cannot block or seal discovery about a public hazard by canceling or limiting a subpoena. Exceptions cover trade secrets and confidential research, development, or business information. Requests to cancel subpoenas follow protective-order procedures, which require good cause. The court where a deposition will occur or a subpoena was issued can handle these requests.

Appeal costs have deadlines and relief

People appealing must pay estimated record costs within 20 days after the clerk sends the estimate. If they select parts of the record, payment is due within 20 days after the revised estimate is sent. A written request showing good cause can earn one extension of up to 20 days. A timely request to lower the estimate starts a new 20-day payment period when the court acts. Missing payment can lead to dismissal or a final 10-day payment period, followed by dismissal for continued nonpayment. Cost notices can arrive by certified mail, designated email, or commercial courier; email counts when sent only with delivery confirmation. Rehearing notices use U.S. mail or email, not fax.

Appealing parties face record selection deadlines

An appellant has 10 days after the clerk sends estimated-cost notices to choose portions of the appeal record. The other party has 14 days after receiving that selection to add more portions. Without any selections, the record includes the complete transcript and filed documents. Missing portions can be added later through a supplemental record.

Court rulings get appeal and notice limits

Some judgments decide only part of a case. Partial final judgments covered by Article 1915(A) can be appealed when the law allows appeals in that case. Other partial final judgments require an express law allowing an appeal. Article 1914’s notice rules do not apply to specified class-action certification decisions or appealable rulings granting or denying preliminary injunctions. Those exceptions do not mean that every notice requirement is removed.

Inactive cases face dismissal and challenge deadlines

After three years without a qualifying step, a party or interested person can seek dismissal without prejudice by affidavit. The affidavit must confirm no timely step and no defendant waiver of abandonment. The direct dismissal process also checks for record filings during those three years and written communications during the final year. If those filings or communications exist, the court must either dismiss without an adversary hearing or set one. A request to undo dismissal without a hearing is due within 30 days after sheriff service; the original dismissal requester bears the proof burden. Appeals are due within 60 days after sheriff service, or clerk transmission for a dismissal after a hearing or denial of that request. For claims enforcing a contract-based obligation, abandonment dismissal preserves the lawsuit’s effect on the time limit for bringing the claim. These abandonment changes apply only to dismissal motions filed on or after the law’s effective date.

Small claims transfers require larger counterclaims

The threshold for transferring small-claims cases based on qualifying counterclaims rises from more than $3,000 to more than $5,000. Before trial, the defendant must start an ordinary civil case in a court able to hear the qualifying counterclaim. The defendant must file an affidavit with a true copy of the claim and give copies to the plaintiff. The defendant pays a $10 transfer fee, plus other court costs; the judge must transfer and combine the cases for trial. Plaintiffs owe no transfer, appearance, or filing fee as a condition of transfer, but can owe costs after an adverse judgment.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

  • Nicholas Muscarello

    Republican • House

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 235 • No: 0

House vote • 5/11/2026

Read by title, roll called, yeas 100, nays 0, Senate amendments concurred in.

Yes: 100 • No: 0

Senate vote • 5/5/2026

Senate 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.

Yes: 36 • No: 0

House vote • 3/26/2026

Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 91, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.

Yes: 91 • No: 0

House vote • 3/23/2026

Reported with amendments

Yes: 8 • No: 0

Actions Timeline

  1. Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 127.

    5/15/2026House

  2. Effective date: See Act.

    5/15/2026House

  3. Signed by the President of the Senate.

    5/13/2026Senate

  4. Sent to the Governor for executive approval.

    5/13/2026House

  5. Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.

    5/12/2026House

  6. Read by title, roll called, yeas 100, nays 0, Senate amendments concurred in.

    5/11/2026House

  7. Scheduled for concurrence on 05/11/2026.

    5/7/2026House

  8. Received from the Senate with amendments.

    5/6/2026House

  9. Senate 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.

    5/5/2026Senate

  10. Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.

    4/27/2026Senate

  11. Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.

    4/22/2026Senate

  12. Reported favorably.

    4/21/2026Senate

  13. Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Judiciary A.

    3/31/2026Senate

  14. Received in the Senate. Rules suspended. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.

    3/30/2026Senate

  15. Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 91, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.

    3/26/2026House

  16. Scheduled for floor debate on 03/26/2026.

    3/25/2026House

  17. Read by title, amended, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.

    3/24/2026House

  18. Reported with amendments (8-0).

    3/23/2026House

  19. Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Civil Law and Procedure.

    3/9/2026House

  20. Prefiled.

    2/13/2026House

  21. Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Civil Law and Procedure.

    2/13/2026House

  22. First appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/13/2026.

    2/13/2026House

Bill Text

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