A. Except as otherwise provided in Article 4845, a court shall have jurisdiction over an incidental demand only if it would have had jurisdiction over the demand had it been instituted in a separate suit. The only exceptions to this rule are those provided in the state constitution. B. The mode of procedure employed in the incidental action shall be the same as that used in the principal action, except as otherwise provided by law.
Art. 1036.Jurisdiction; Mode of Procedure
Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title I. Pleading · Chapter 6. Incidental Actions · Enacted 1995 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 1036 requires a court to have the same jurisdiction over an incidental demand that it would need if the demand had been filed as a separate suit, subject only to constitutional exceptions, and directs that the incidental action follow the same mode of procedure as the principal action.
Full Text of Art. 1036
Amendment History
Acts 1995, No. 202, §1.
Plain-English Summary
Filing a claim as an incidental demand doesn't lower the jurisdictional bar. Article 1036(A) requires the court to have jurisdiction over an incidental demand just as it would need jurisdiction if that same claim had been filed as its own independent suit — subject to a narrow exception in Article 4845 and to exceptions the state constitution itself allows. A defendant can't use a reconventional demand or third-party demand to bring a claim into a court that couldn't otherwise hear it.
Article 1036(B) addresses a separate question: which set of procedural rules governs how the incidental action is litigated. The answer is direct — the incidental action follows the same mode of procedure as the principal action, unless another law provides otherwise. Louisiana recognizes different modes of procedure (ordinary, summary, and executory proceedings), and an incidental demand doesn't get to pick its own lane; it moves with whichever mode governs the case it's attached to.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a court need special jurisdiction to hear an incidental demand?
The court needs the same jurisdiction it would need if the incidental demand had been filed as its own separate suit, with only narrow constitutional and statutory exceptions.
Can a reconventional demand be used to bring a claim into a court that lacks jurisdiction over it?
No. Article 1036 requires independent jurisdictional grounds for the incidental demand itself.
Does an incidental action follow the same procedural rules as the principal action?
Yes. Article 1036(B) requires the incidental action to use the same mode of procedure as the principal action, unless another law says otherwise.
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: jurisdiction over incidental demand louisianaancillary jurisdiction reconventional demandmode of procedure incidental action