Art. 1473.Failure to Attend Deposition, Serve Answers Or Respond to Request For Inspection
Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title III. Production of Evidence · Chapter 3. Discovery · Enacted 1976 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 1473 punishes a party's outright failure to show up for a deposition or to respond at all to interrogatories or a production request, with the same sanctions menu and expense-shifting as Article 1471, and it won't excuse the failure just because a party thought the discovery was objectionable.
Full Text of Art. 1473
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If a party or an officer, director, or managing agent of a party or a person designated under Articles 1442 or 1448 to testify on behalf of a party fails to appear before the officer who is to take his deposition, after being served with a proper notice, or to serve answers or objections to interrogatories submitted under Article 1457, after proper service of the interrogatories, or to serve a written response to a request for inspection submitted under Article 1461, after proper service of the request, the court in which the action is pending on motion may make such orders in regard to the failure as are just, and among others it may take any action authorized under Paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of Article 1471. In lieu of any order or in addition thereto, the court shall require the party failing to act or the attorney advising him or both to pay the reasonable expenses, including attorney's 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.
The failure to act described in this Article may not be excused on the ground that the discovery sought is objectionable unless the party failing to act has applied for a protective order as provided by Article 1426.
Amendment History
Acts 1976, No. 574, §1.
Plain-English Summary
Article 1473 covers a different failure than Article 1471. Article 1471 punishes disobeying a court order that compelled discovery; Article 1473 punishes never engaging with discovery in the first place -- failing to appear for a properly noticed deposition, failing to serve any answer or objection to interrogatories after proper service, or failing to serve any written response to a production request after proper service. No prior motion to compel is required before these sanctions become available.
The reach matches Article 1471's: it covers not just the party itself but an officer, director, or managing agent, and any person designated to testify on the party's behalf. When one of these failures happens, the court can impose the same core sanctions listed in Article 1471(1) through (3) -- deemed-established facts, exclusion of evidence, or pleading and dismissal sanctions -- and must, absent substantial justification or unfairness, require the failing party or its attorney to pay the reasonable expenses the failure caused.
One escape hatch is explicitly closed off: a party can't excuse a no-show or a non-response on the ground that the discovery sought was objectionable, unless it applied for a protective order under Article 1426 before ignoring the discovery. Thinking a deposition notice or an interrogatory is improper isn't a license to ignore it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between Article 1471 and Article 1473 sanctions?
Article 1471 addresses disobeying a court order compelling discovery. Article 1473 addresses failing outright to show up for a deposition or respond to interrogatories or a production request, with no compel order needed first.
Can I skip my deposition if I think the questions will be objectionable?
No, not unless you first applied for a protective order under Article 1426. Believing the discovery is objectionable doesn't excuse a failure to appear or respond.
What sanctions can follow a no-show at a deposition?
The same core sanctions available under Article 1471(1) through (3), plus the reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees, the failure caused.
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:deposition no-show sanctionsfailure to respond to discoveryfailure to appear for depositiondiscovery expenses without compel order