SLS 20RS-386 ORIGINAL
2020 Regular Session
SENATE BILL NO. 242
BY SENATOR CONNICK
CIVIL PROCEDURE. Provides for Litigation Reduction Act. (1/1/21)
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact Civil Code Art. 3493.10 and Code of Civil Procedure Art. 1732(1),
3 and to repeal Civil Code Art. 3492, relative to civil actions; to provide relative to
4 prescriptive periods and jury trials; to extend the general prescriptive period for
5 delictual actions; to provide with respect to jury trials; to provide certain terms,
6 procedures, conditions, and requirements; to provide for an effective date; and to
7 provide for related matters.
8 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
9 Section 1. Civil Code Article 3493.10 is hereby amended and reenacted to read as
10 follows:
11 Art. 3493.10. Delictual actions; two-year prescription; criminal act
12 Delictual actions which arise due to damages sustained as a result of an act
13 defined as a crime of violence under Chapter 1 of Title 14 of the Louisiana Revised
14 Statutes of 1950, except as provided in Article 3496.2, are subject to a liberative
15 prescription of two years. This prescription commences to run from the day injury
16 or damage is sustained. It does not run against minors or interdicts in actions
17 involving permanent disability and brought pursuant to the Louisiana Products
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 242
SLS 20RS-386 ORIGINAL
1 Liability Act or state law governing product liability actions in effect at the time
2 of the injury or damage.
3 Section 2. Code of Civil Procedure Article 1732(1) is hereby amended and reenacted
4 to read as follows:
5 Art. 1732. Limitation upon jury trials
6 A trial by jury shall not be available in:
7 (1) A suit where the amount of no individual petitioner's cause of action
8 exceeds fifty twenty thousand dollars exclusive of interest and costs, except as
9 follows:
10 (a) If an individual petitioner stipulates or otherwise judicially admits sixty
11 days or more prior to trial that the amount of the individual petitioner's cause of
12 action does not exceed fifty twenty thousand dollars exclusive of interest and costs,
13 a defendant shall not be entitled to a trial by jury.
14 (b) If an individual petitioner stipulates or otherwise judicially admits for the
15 first time less than sixty days prior to trial that the amount of the individual
16 petitioner's cause of action does not exceed fifty twenty thousand dollars exclusive
17 of interest and costs, any other party may retain the right to a trial by jury if that
18 party is entitled to a trial by jury pursuant to this Article and has otherwise complied
19 with the procedural requirements for obtaining a trial by jury.
20 (c) Notwithstanding Subsubparagraphs (a) and (b) of this Subparagraph, if,
21 as a result of a compromise or dismissal of one or more claims or parties which
22 occurs less than sixty days prior to trial, an individual petitioner stipulates or
23 otherwise judicially admits that the amount of the individual petitioner's cause of
24 action does not exceed fifty twenty thousand dollars exclusive of interest and costs,
25 a defendant shall not be entitled to a trial by jury.
26 * * *
27 Section 3. Civil Code Article 3492 is hereby repealed in its entirety.
28 Section 4. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the Litigation Reduction Act.
29 Section 5. This Act shall become effective on January 1, 2021.
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 242
SLS 20RS-386 ORIGINAL
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Xavier I. Alexander.
DIGEST
SB 242 Original 2020 Regular Session Connick
Present law provides a general one-year liberative prescriptive period for delictual actions
(C.C. Art. 3492), and a two-year period for delictual actions for damages arising from an act
defined as a crime of violence, except for any act of sexual assault which is subject to a
liberative prescription of three years (C.C. Art. 3493.10). Provides that prescription
commences to run from the day injury or damage is sustained.
Proposed law increases the general one-year prescriptive period for delictual actions to a
two-year prescriptive period and retains the liberative prescription of three years for any act
of sexual assault. Also retains that prescription does not run against minors or interdicts in
actions involving permanent disability and brought pursuant to state product liability laws.
Present law (C.C.P. Art. 1732) authorizes a jury trial when the amount in controversy
exceeds $50,000.
Proposed law reduces the threshold for a jury trial to $20,000.
Effective January 1, 2021.
(Amends C.C. Art. 3493.10 and C.C.P. Art. 1732(1); repeals C.C. Art. 3492)
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions.