Rule Text
A judgment rendered in accordance with Civil Code Article 102 shall be an absolute nullity when:
(1) Less than the requisite period of time, in accordance with Article 103.1, has elapsed between service of the petition, or between execution of written waiver of service of the petition, and filing of the rule to show cause.
(2) Less than the requisite period of time, in accordance with Article 103.1, has elapsed between the date the parties commenced living separate and apart and filing of the rule to show cause.
(3) The requirements of this Title with respect to jurisdiction and venue have not been met.
Amendment history: Acts 1990, No. 1009, §5, eff. Jan. 1, 1991; Acts 1991, No. 367, §2; Acts 1995, No. 386, §2; Acts 2006, No. 743, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2007.
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
If a divorce judgment is granted but certain rules were not followed first, the judgment can be treated as if it never happened at all. This is called an "absolute nullity." It means the court's decision has no legal effect, even if no one appeals it.
This can happen in three situations. First, if the couple did not wait long enough after the other spouse was served with divorce papers (or signed a waiver of service) before the court held the hearing. Second, if the couple did not actually live separately for the full amount of time the law requires before the hearing took place. Third, if the case was filed in the wrong court, or the court did not have proper authority over the people or the case.
If any of these problems happened, the divorce judgment does not count. Either spouse can point out the problem later, and the court will treat the divorce as if it never legally occurred. This protects people from being divorced too quickly or in a court that never had the right to decide their case.
