Terms Used In Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure 464

  • Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
  • 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.
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.

When the court lacks jurisdiction of, or when the venue is improper as to, one of the actions cumulated, that action shall be dismissed.

When the cumulation is improper for any other reason, the court may: (1) order separate trials of the actions; or (2) order the plaintiff to elect which actions he shall proceed with, and to amend his petition so as to delete therefrom all allegations relating to the action which he elects to discontinue.  The penalty for noncompliance with an order to amend is a dismissal of plaintiff’s suit.