A defendant in an incidental action may plead any of the exceptions available to a defendant in a principal action, and may raise any of the objections enumerated in Articles 925 through 927, except that an objection of improper venue may not be urged if the principal action has been instituted in the proper venue. Exceptions pleaded by the defendant in an incidental action shall be subject to all of the provisions of Articles 924 through 934. A party to an incidental action may plead any of the written motions available to a party to a principal action, subject to the provisions of Articles 961 through 969.
Art. 1034.Exceptions and Motions
Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title I. Pleading · Chapter 6. Incidental Actions · Amendment history unavailable · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 1034 gives a defendant in an incidental action the same exceptions and written motions available to a defendant in a principal action, except that improper venue can't be raised if the principal action was filed in the proper venue.
Full Text of Art. 1034
Plain-English Summary
A defendant facing an incidental demand isn't stuck without defenses just because the claim arrived through a reconventional demand, cross-claim, or third-party demand rather than an original petition. Article 1034 gives that defendant the same toolkit available to any defendant: the exceptions listed in Articles 925 through 927, and the written motions available under Articles 961 through 969.
There's one carve-out. A defendant in an incidental action can't object that venue is improper if the principal action was already filed in the proper venue. Once the case is properly seated in a parish, the incidental demands that grow out of it stay there too — a defendant can't use a venue objection to send only the incidental piece of the case somewhere else.
Article 1034 also ties these exceptions to the same procedural rules that govern them in a principal action. Exceptions filed in an incidental action follow Articles 924 through 934, covering everything from the form of the exception to how it's tried, and motions follow the same framework laid out for motions generally.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a defendant in a reconventional demand or cross-claim raise exceptions?
Yes. Article 1034 gives a defendant in any incidental action the same exceptions available under Articles 925 through 927 that a defendant in a principal action could raise.
Can a defendant object to venue in an incidental action?
Not if the principal action was filed in the proper venue. Article 1034 specifically bars an improper-venue objection in that situation.
What rules govern how exceptions in an incidental action are filed and tried?
The same rules that apply generally, set out in Articles 924 through 934.
Can a party to an incidental action file written motions?
Yes. Article 1034 makes the written motions available under Articles 961 through 969 available to any party to an incidental action.
Source & verification. Article text is reproduced verbatim from
the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure (legis.la.gov). Enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.
Last verified July 30, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: exceptions to a reconventional demandvenue objection incidental demand louisianamotions in an incidental actiondefenses to a cross-claim louisiana