Art. 965 Motion for judgment on pleadings

If you're involved in a lawsuit in Louisiana, you or the other side can ask the judge to decide the case early, without a full trial, by filing what's called a motion for judgment on the pleadings. This can happen after both sides have filed their initial court papers, meaning the answer to the lawsuit (and the answer to any counterclaim, if there is one). The catch is that this motion has to be filed early enough that it doesn't hold up the trial schedule.

When the judge looks at this motion, certain facts get treated as true automatically. Any fact the person asking for judgment stated in their own papers, but that the other side never denied, counts as true. Also, any fact the other side stated in their papers counts as true too. Basically, the judge looks only at what both sides have already put in writing and decides whether one side should win based on those admitted or undisputed facts.

This rule exists to save time and avoid unnecessary trials. If the written court papers already show that one side has no real argument left, or that the facts aren't actually in dispute, the case can be resolved faster instead of dragging through a full trial.