ENROLLED
2020 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 50
BY REPRESENTATIVE ROBBY CARTER
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the Louisiana State Law Institute to study and make recommendations
regarding the laws on preliminary default judgments.
WHEREAS, it is of the utmost importance that the law regarding civil procedure be
useful and efficient; and
WHEREAS, modern pleadings have evolved such that there may be older laws of
civil procedure which are no longer meaningful or useful; and
WHEREAS, preliminary defaults are no longer used in city courts; and
WHEREAS, preliminary defaults are referred to in district courts as judgments of
default, but are actually not judgments; and
WHEREAS, preliminary defaults are, in practical terms, minute entries which can
be mailed in, require no hearing, and may serve no practical purpose; and
WHEREAS, under the rules of Louisiana Civil Procedure, a defendant has fifteen
days from the day it is served with a petition to file responsive pleadings; and
WHEREAS, a defendant has two extra days to file responsive pleadings after a
preliminary default has been entered against it; and
WHEREAS, under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a defendant has twenty days
to file a responsive pleading to a complaint; and
WHEREAS, judicial efficiency might be enhanced through the elimination of
preliminary defaults in Louisiana courts and the adoption of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure to allow a defendant twenty days to file responsive pleadings, rather than fifteen
days.
Page 1 of 2 HR NO. 50 ENROLLED
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request that the Louisiana State Law Institute
study the rules of preliminary defaults and make recommendations, if any, to enhance
judicial efficiency and clarity with the rules of pleadings and that the Louisiana State Law
Institute report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature of Louisiana on or
before March 1, 2021.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to the director of the Louisiana State Law Institute.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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