Art. 1003 Form of answer

When you file an answer to a lawsuit in Louisiana, it has to follow some basic formatting and content rules. Your answer needs to respond to each claim in the lawsuit by either admitting or denying it, and it must follow the same formatting standards used in other court documents.

Your answer also needs to explain, briefly and clearly, the facts behind any defenses you're raising. If you have specific legal defenses (called affirmative defenses), you have to spell those out too. Simply denying the claims isn't enough if you're relying on a defense like the statute of limitations or a signed release, for example. You need to state the facts that support it.

Finally, your answer must include a request for what you actually want the court to do, whether that's dismissing the case, awarding damages, or something else. You're allowed to ask for different outcomes as backup options, in case your main request doesn't work out. For instance, you could ask the court to dismiss the case entirely, but if that fails, ask for a reduced judgment instead.