Compensation may be asserted in the reconventional demand.
Art. 1062.Pleading Compensation
Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title I. Pleading · Chapter 6. Incidental Actions · Amendment history unavailable · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 1062 confirms that compensation — Louisiana's civil-law device for extinguishing mutual debts between two parties — may be asserted as a reconventional demand.
Full Text of Art. 1062
Plain-English Summary
Compensation is a Louisiana Civil Code concept: when two people owe each other debts, compensation extinguishes both debts to the extent they match, without either side handing over money. Article 1062 confirms that a defendant can raise compensation through the reconventional demand procedure rather than treating it as a purely defensive matter.
The article is short because it doesn't need to be long — it's a bridge between the Civil Code's substantive law of compensation and the Code of Civil Procedure's mechanism for putting a claim before the court. A defendant who believes the plaintiff owes a debt that offsets the plaintiff's own claim pleads it as a reconventional demand under this chapter's general rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is compensation in Louisiana civil law?
It's the extinguishment of mutual debts between two parties, to the extent the debts match, without either side making an actual payment. It functions much like a setoff.
How does a defendant assert compensation in a Louisiana lawsuit?
Article 1062 lets the defendant plead it as a reconventional demand, following the same rules that govern reconventional demands generally.
Is compensation the same thing as a defense?
Article 1062 treats it as something a defendant can affirmatively plead through the reconventional demand procedure, not merely raise as a defensive matter.
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
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