Rule Text
(a) Contradictory Exceptions and Motions. All exceptions and motions, including those incorporated into an answer, shall be accompanied by a proposed order requesting that the exception or motion be set for hearing. If the exceptor or mover fails to comply with this requirement, the court may strike the exception or motion, may set the matter for hearing on its own motion, or take other action as the court deems appropriate. To assist the court in scheduling the hearing, the exception or motion, and any opposition thereto, shall state:
(1) whether or not the case is set for trial and, if so, the trial date; and (2) whether testimony will be offered at the hearing.
(b) Time between filing and hearing for motions for summary judgment is governed by La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 966.
(c) Time between filing and hearing. In cases other than juvenile and family law proceedings, no hearing on an exception or motion will be scheduled until at least fifteen calendar days after filing. A party seeking to have an exception or motion heard less than fifteen days after filing shall show good cause and shall state in the exception or motion the reasons why an expedited hearing is necessary.
(d) Ex parte motions. Paragraphs (a) and (b) do not apply to:
(1) unopposed motions;
(2) motions in which all affected parties have joined; or
(3) motions permitted by law or by these Rules to be decided ex parte.
Any motion that may be decided ex parte shall be accompanied by a proposed order, except a motion for the court to give in writing its findings of fact and reasons for judgment under La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 1917.
(e) Motions and Exceptions Referred to the Merits. If a party filing a motion or exception wishes to refer it to the merits, the party shall file an unopposed motion, accompanied by a proposed order, asking that it be referred to the merits. This Rule does not apply to motions for summary judgment (see Rule 9.10). If the court finds that the interests of justice would be served by referring the motion or exception to the merits, the court may do so.
(f) Unopposed motion. An “unopposed motion” is one to which all affected parties have consented. Before representing to the court that the motion is unopposed, the mover shall contact all parties affected by the motion and obtain their consent. The moving party shall certify in the motion that the consent requirement has been met.
Amendment history: Adopted April 1, 2002, effective April 1, 2002; amended June 2, 2003, effective July 1, 2003; amended October 29, 2003, effective January 4, 2004; amended November 3, 2008, effective January 1, 2009; amended November 20, 2009, effective January 1, 2010; amended April 20, 2010, effective June 1, 2010; amended April 29, 2014, effective June 1, 2014; amended October 7, 2015, effective January 1, 2016.
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
When you file an exception or motion in court, you need to attach a proposed order asking the judge to schedule a hearing. You also need to say whether the case already has a trial date and whether you plan to bring in testimony at the hearing. If you skip the proposed order, the judge can throw out your filing, schedule the hearing on their own, or handle it some other way.
For most cases (except juvenile and family law cases), you have to wait at least 15 days after filing before the court will hold a hearing. If you need a faster hearing, you must explain in your filing why it's urgent and show good cause for skipping the normal wait time. Motions for summary judgment follow different timing rules under a separate law.
Some motions don't need to follow these waiting periods. This includes motions nobody objects to, motions where all sides already agree, or motions the law allows to be decided without a hearing. Even these motions usually need a proposed order attached, unless they're asking the judge to write out findings of fact after a decision.
If you want your motion or exception to be dealt with later, at trial, instead of at a separate hearing, you can ask the court to do this, but only if nobody opposes the request. You'll need to file an unopposed motion with a proposed order. Before you tell the court a motion is unopposed, you have to actually reach out to everyone affected by it and get their agreement. Then you must state in the motion that you did this and got their consent.
Committee Notes
(a) The Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure takes precedence over the District Court Rules See Comment (a) to Rule 1.0. See also Act 422 (House Bill No. 696) of the Louisiana Legislature’s 2015 Regular Session, which will after the deadlines for filing requirements and delays for motions for summary judgment effective January 1, 2016.
(b) Rule 9.8(a) provides that the court may strike an exception or motion if not accompanied by an order scheduling the matter for a hearing or may set the matter for hearing on its own motion. See La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 964.
(c) See La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 2593 with regard to exceptions to a contradictory motion, rule to show cause, opposition, or petition in a summary proceeding.
(d) This Rule does not govern the time that an exception shall be pled. La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 928(B) permits a party to plead a peremptory exception “at any stage of the proceeding in the trial court prior to a submission of the case for a decision ....” But under La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 929(B), the trial court has the option of trying and disposing of a late-filed exception “either in advance of or on the trial of the case.” This Rule preserves the trial court’s option under La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 929(B). Although this Rule generally requires a fifteen day period between the filing and the hearing of an exception, it also gives the trial court discretion to shorten the period “for good cause shown.” See also Rule 1.4, which allows a trial judge in a particular case to deviate from a Rule “in the interest of justice and upon notice to all parties ....”
