Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure 893 – Pleading of damages
Terms Used In Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure 893
- Allegation: something that someone says happened.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
A.(1) No specific monetary amount of damages shall be included in the allegations or prayer for relief of any original, amended, or incidental demand. The prayer for relief shall be for such damages as are reasonable in the premises except that if a specific amount of damages is necessary to establish the jurisdiction of the court, the right to a jury trial, the lack of jurisdiction of federal courts due to insufficiency of damages, or for other purposes, a general allegation that the claim exceeds or is less than the requisite amount is required. By interrogatory, an opposing party may seek specification of the amount sought as damages, and the response may thereafter be supplemented as appropriate.
(2) If a petition is filed in violation of this Article, the claim for a specific monetary amount of damages shall be stricken upon the motion of an opposing party, and the court may award attorney fees and costs against the person who signed the petition, the party on whose behalf the petition was filed, or both.
B. The provisions of Paragraph A of this Article shall not be applicable to a suit on a conventional obligation, promissory note, open account, or other negotiable instrument, for alimony or child support, on a tax claim, or in a garnishment proceeding.
C. The prohibitions in Paragraph A of this Article apply only to an original, amended, or incidental demand. Evidence at trial or hearing of a specific monetary amount of damages shall be adduced in accordance with the Louisiana Code of Evidence or other applicable law.
Added by Acts 1988, No. 443, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1989. Amended by Acts 1989, No. 724, §1, eff. July 8, 1989; Acts 1992, No. 332, §1; Acts 2004, No. 334, §1; Acts 2021, No. 259, §2.