Art. 1002.Answer Or Other Pleading Filed Prior to Signing of Default Judgment

Article 1001 sets deadlines for an answer, but Article 1002 makes clear those deadlines are not the end of the story. The word notwithstanding at the start of the article signals an override: whatever period Article 1001 allows, a defendant who misses it is not automatically shut out of the case.

Louisiana confirms a default judgment in two steps. First, when a defendant fails to answer in time, the plaintiff can have a preliminary default entered against that defendant. Second, the plaintiff must later confirm that default with a judgment the court signs, typically after presenting proof of the claim. Article 1002 gives the defendant a window that runs through both steps: an answer or any other pleading filed before the court signs the confirming judgment stops the default and puts the case back on an adversarial footing, even if a preliminary default already sits on the record.

The article reaches beyond a formal answer — other pleading covers documents like a preliminary exception as well. What matters is timing: once the judgment confirming the default is signed, Article 1002's protection ends. A defendant who wants to avoid a default judgment has an incentive to act well before that point, since arriving after the judgment is signed is too late for this article to help.