Art. 123.Forum Non Conveniens

Title I. Courts · Chapter 2. Venue · Last amended 2012 · Last verified July 30, 2026

In one sentenceArticle 123 lets a Louisiana district court transfer a case to another Louisiana court, or dismiss one arising from out-of-state conduct in favor of a more appropriate foreign forum, for the convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice, while protecting the plaintiff's claim from expiring in the meantime.

Full Text of Art. 123

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(1) For the convenience of the parties and the witnesses, in the interest of justice, a district court upon contradictory motion, or upon the court's own motion after contradictory hearing, may transfer a civil case to another district court where it might have been brought; however, no suit brought in the parish in which the plaintiff is domiciled, and in a court which is otherwise a court of competent jurisdiction and proper venue, shall be transferred to any other court pursuant to this Article.

(2) For purposes of Subparagraph (1) of this Paragraph, domicile shall be the location pursuant to Article42 where the plaintiff would be subject to suit had he been a defendant.

B. Upon the contradictory motion of any defendant in a civil case filed in a district court of this state in which a claim or cause of action is predicated upon acts or omissions originating outside the territorial boundaries of this state, when it is shown that there exists a more appropriate forum outside of this state, taking into account the location where the acts giving rise to the action occurred, the convenience of the parties and witnesses, and the interest of justice, the court may dismiss the suit without prejudice; however, no suit in which the plaintiff is domiciled in this state, and which is brought in a court which is otherwise a court of competent jurisdiction and proper venue, shall be dismissed pursuant to this Article.

C. In the interest of justice, and before the rendition of the judgment of dismissal, the court shall require the defendant or defendants to file with the court a waiver of any defense based upon prescription that has matured since the commencement of the action in Louisiana, provided that a suit on the same cause of action or on any cause of action arising out of the same transaction or occurrence is commenced in a court of competent jurisdiction in an appropriate foreign forum within sixty days from the rendition of the judgment of dismissal. Such waiver shall be null and of no effect if such suit is not filed within this sixty-day period. The court may further condition the judgment of dismissal to allow for reinstatement of the same cause of action in the same forum in the event a suit on the same cause of action or on any cause of action arising out of the same transaction or occurrence is commenced in an appropriate foreign forum within sixty days after the rendition of the judgment of dismissal and such foreign forum is unable to assume jurisdiction over the parties or does not recognize such cause of action or any cause of action arising out of the same transaction or occurrence.

Amendment History

Added by Acts 1970, No. 294, §1; Acts 1988, No. 818, §1, eff. 7/18/1988; Acts 1999, No. 536, §1, eff. 6/30/1999; Acts 2012, No. 713, §1.

Plain-English Summary

Forum non conveniens is a doctrine that lets a court decline to keep a case, even though venue and jurisdiction are technically proper there, because another forum would serve the parties, the witnesses, and the interest of justice better. Article 123 builds this doctrine into two distinct tools. Subsection A lets a district court, on a contradictory motion or on its own motion after a contradictory hearing, transfer a civil case to another Louisiana district court where it might have been brought, for the convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice. It draws one firm line: a suit filed in the parish where the plaintiff is domiciled, in a court that already has competent jurisdiction and proper venue, cannot be transferred under this article. For that purpose, the plaintiff's domicile is measured the same way Article 42 measures it for a defendant.

Subsection B goes further than a transfer between Louisiana courts — it allows outright dismissal, without prejudice, when the claim is predicated on acts or omissions that originated outside Louisiana and a more appropriate forum exists outside the state, considering where the underlying acts occurred, the convenience of the parties and witnesses, and the interest of justice. The same protection for plaintiffs applies here: a suit brought by a plaintiff domiciled in Louisiana, in a court of competent jurisdiction and proper venue, cannot be dismissed under this article.

Subsection C protects a plaintiff whose Louisiana suit is dismissed in favor of a foreign forum from losing the claim to prescription — Louisiana's civil-law term for the running of a legal deadline that extinguishes a claim, similar to what other states call a statute of limitations. Before dismissing, the court must require the defendant to waive any prescription defense that matured after the Louisiana suit was filed, so long as the plaintiff refiles in an appropriate foreign court within sixty days of the dismissal. That waiver becomes void if the refiling deadline is missed, and the court may also condition the dismissal on letting the plaintiff reinstate the same claim in Louisiana if the foreign forum turns out unable or unwilling to take the case.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is forum non conveniens?

A doctrine letting a court decline to keep a case, even though it has proper jurisdiction and venue, because another forum would better serve the parties, the witnesses, and the interest of justice.

Can a Louisiana court send my case to another state's court entirely?

Not by transfer — Article 123(A) only allows transfer between Louisiana district courts. But under subsection B, if the claim arises from conduct that originated outside Louisiana, the court can dismiss the suit without prejudice so it can be refiled in a more appropriate foreign forum.

Can a plaintiff who sues in his own home parish be sent elsewhere under this article?

No. Both subsections A and B expressly protect a plaintiff who sues in the parish of his own domicile, in a court that already has competent jurisdiction and proper venue, from being transferred or dismissed under Article 123.

What protects my claim if the court dismisses it in favor of another state's courts?

Article 123(C) requires the defendant to waive any prescription defense that matured after the Louisiana suit was filed, as long as you refile in an appropriate foreign court within sixty days of the dismissal. That waiver becomes void if you miss the sixty-day window.

Source & verification. Article text is reproduced verbatim from the vLex (Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, 2026 Edition). Enacted by the Louisiana Legislature. Last verified July 30, 2026. · Official source

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