Terms Used In Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure 2502

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • 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.
  • Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.

If a judgment orders the delivery of a thing and the sheriff cannot seize it because the defendant has concealed or removed it from the jurisdiction of the court, or when the judgment orders a defendant to do or refrain from doing an act other than the delivery of a thing, and he refuses or neglects to comply with the order, the party entitled to performance may obtain by contradictory motion the following remedies:

(1)  A writ to distrain the property of the defendant;

(2)  An order adjudging the disobedient party in contempt; or

(3)  A judgment for any damages he may have sustained.  He may likewise sue for damages in a separate action.