Terms Used In Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure 644

  • 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.
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.

If a party subject to the jurisdiction of the court should join as a plaintiff but refuses or fails to do so, he may be joined as a defendant and required to assert his rights in the action or be precluded thereafter from asserting them.

Acts 1995, No. 662, §1.