A. If a party or an officer, director, or managing agent of a party or a person designated under Article 1442 or 1448 to testify on behalf of a party fails to obey an order to provide or permit discovery, including an order made under Article 1464 or 1469, the court in which the action is pending may make such orders in regard to the failure as are just, including any of the following:
Art. 1471.Failure to Comply With Order Compelling Discovery; Sanctions
Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title III. Production of Evidence · Chapter 3. Discovery · Last amended 2022 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 1471 gives the court a menu of sanctions for a party who disobeys a discovery order -- from deeming facts established and barring evidence to striking pleadings, dismissing the case, or entering a default judgment -- plus a near-automatic award of the expenses the disobedience caused.
Full Text of Art. 1471
(1) An order that the matters regarding which the order was made or any other designated facts shall be taken to be established for the purposes of the action in accordance with the claim of the party obtaining the order.
(2) An order refusing to allow the disobedient party to support or oppose designated claims or defenses, or prohibiting him from introducing designated matters in evidence.
(4) In lieu of any of the foregoing orders or in addition thereto, an order treating as a contempt of court the failure to obey any orders except an order to submit to a physical or mental examination.
(5) Where a party has failed to comply with an order under Article 1464, requiring him to produce another for examination, such orders as are listed in Subparagraphs (1), (2), and (3) of this Paragraph, unless the party failing to comply shows that he is unable to produce such person for examination.
B. Absent exceptional circumstances, a court may not impose sanctions under this Article on a person or party for failing to provide electronically stored information lost as a result of the routine, good-faith operation of an electronic information system.
C. In lieu of any of the foregoing orders or in addition thereto, the court shall require the party failing to obey the order or the attorney advising him or both to pay the reasonable expenses, including attorney fees, caused by the failure, unless the court finds that the failure was substantially justified or that other circumstances make an award of expenses unjust.
Amendment History
Amended by Acts 2021, No. 174, §1, eff. 1/1/2022. Amended by Acts 2018, No. 195, §1, eff. 8/1/2018. Acts 1976, No. 574, §1; Acts 2008, No. 824, §3, eff. 1/1/2009.
Plain-English Summary
Once a court has ordered a party to provide or permit discovery, ignoring that order carries consequences under Article 1471. The reach extends beyond the party itself, to an officer, director, or managing agent of a party, and to a person designated to testify on a party's behalf. The sanctions available range widely: the court can treat the facts the discovery order addressed as established against the disobedient party, bar that party from supporting or opposing designated claims or defenses, exclude designated evidence, strike pleadings, stay the case, dismiss it outright, or enter a default judgment -- and it can also treat the failure itself as contempt.
One narrow exception matters: contempt isn't available for refusing to submit to a physical or mental examination, though the rest of the sanctions ladder still applies. When a party has instead failed to produce someone else for an examination ordered under Article 1464, the same core sanctions apply unless the party shows it's truly unable to produce that person.
Electronically stored information gets a safe harbor: absent exceptional circumstances, a court can't sanction a party for losing electronically stored information through the routine, good-faith operation of an electronic system -- ordinary auto-deletion or overwrite processes, not deliberate destruction.
Finally, expenses aren't just one option among many -- they're close to mandatory. In addition to whatever other sanction the court chooses, it has to require the disobedient party, its attorney, or both to pay the reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees, that the failure caused, unless the failure was substantially justified or an award would be unjust.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can a Louisiana court do if I ignore its order to provide discovery?
Options range from deeming disputed facts established against you and excluding your evidence to striking your pleadings, dismissing the case, or entering a default judgment.
Can I be held in contempt for refusing a court-ordered medical exam?
No, contempt is unavailable for that specific refusal, though the other sanctions on Article 1471's list remain available.
Am I protected if I lose electronic data through normal system operation?
Yes, absent exceptional circumstances. Sanctions don't apply to electronically stored information lost through the routine, good-faith operation of an electronic information system.
Will I have to pay the other side's expenses if I violate a discovery order?
Generally yes -- the court must order you, your attorney, or both to pay the reasonable expenses caused, unless your failure was substantially justified or an award would be unjust.
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: discovery sanctionsdismissal for discovery violationdefault judgment discovery sanctionESI safe harbor