Art. 1551.Pretrial and Scheduling Conference; Order

Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title IV. Pre-Trial Procedure · Chapter 1. Pre-Trial Procedure · Last amended 2025 · Last verified July 30, 2026

In one sentenceArticle 1551 lets the court call the attorneys together, in person, by phone, or by video, for a pretrial and scheduling conference covering deadlines, discovery, exhibit authenticity, and the newly added duty to flag exhibits suspected of being falsified or AI-generated, and the resulting order controls the rest of the case unless later changed to prevent manifest injustice.

Full Text of Art. 1551

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A. In any civil action in a district court, the court may, in its discretion, direct the attorneys for the parties to appear before it for conferences that may be conducted in chambers, by telephone, or by video teleconference to consider any of the following:

(1) The setting of deadlines for the filing of a motion in accordance with Article 1425(F), motion for summary judgment, motion in limine, and any other pretrial motion.

(2) The setting of the trial and the deadline for the filing of any jury bond.

(3) The necessity or desirability of, and the deadline for filing, any amendments to the pleadings.

(4) The simplification of the issues, including stipulations as to material facts, exhibits, and issues that are not disputed, and a determination of the facts, exhibits, and issues to be tried.

(5) The authenticity and admissibility of exhibits that a party intends to introduce at trial, including a pretrial ruling on the admissibility of exhibits or the setting of a hearing date as to the admissibility of exhibits.

(a) If a party has reasonable suspicion that an opposing party's exhibits are falsified, including having been generated by artificial intelligence or altered by any means, the party shall raise these concerns at the pretrial conference or at a pretrial hearing on the admissibility of the exhibits.

(b) If a party knows or has reason to know that its exhibits have been falsified, including having been generated by artificial intelligence or altered by any means, the party shall disclose this fact in accordance with Article 371.

(6) Limitations or restrictions on or regulation of the use of expert testimony pursuant to Code of Evidence Article 702.

(7) The control and scheduling of discovery including any issues relating to disclosure or discovery of electronically stored information, and the form or forms in which it should be produced.

(8) Any issues relating to claims of privilege or protection of trial preparation material, and whether the court should include agreements between counsel relating to those issues in an order.

(9) The identification of witnesses, documents, and exhibits.

(10) The setting of any trial, motion, or exception hearing by audiovisual means, or the presentation of any evidence or testimony by audiovisual means, in accordance with Article 195.1.

(11) Other matters that may aid in the disposition of the action.

B. The court shall render an order that recites the action taken at the conference pursuant to Paragraph A of this Article. The order shall control the subsequent course of the action, unless modified by the court to prevent manifest injustice.

C. If a party's attorney fails to obey a pretrial order, or to appear at the pretrial and scheduling conference, or is substantially unprepared to participate in the conference or fails to participate in good faith, the court, on its own motion or on the motion of a party, after hearing, may make orders as are just, including orders provided in Article 1471(A) (2), (3), and (4). In lieu of or in addition to any other sanction, the court may require the party or the attorney representing the party or both to pay the reasonable expenses incurred by noncompliance with this Paragraph, including attorney fees.

D. If a suit has been pending for more than one year since the date of service of the original petition on all defendants and no trial date has been assigned, upon motion of any party, the court shall set the matter for conference for the purpose of resolving all matters subject to the provisions of this Article, including the scheduling of discovery, assignment for trial, and any other matters that will expedite the resolution of the suit.

Amendment History

Amended by Acts 2025, No. 250, §3, eff. 8/1/2025. Amended by Acts 2018, No. 254, §1, eff. 8/1/2018. Acts 1997, No. 1056, §1; Acts 2008, No. 824, §3, eff. 1/1/2009.

Plain-English Summary

Article 1551 gives district courts a case-management tool: the discretion to call the attorneys in for a pretrial and scheduling conference, held in chambers, by telephone, or by video teleconference. The list of topics is broad -- deadlines for pretrial motions, motions for summary judgment, and motions in limine; the trial date and jury bond deadline; whether the pleadings need amending; which facts and issues are truly contested and which aren't; limits on expert testimony; and the scheduling of discovery, including electronically stored information.

One part of the article reflects a recent addition to Louisiana practice: a party with reasonable suspicion that an opposing party's exhibits have been falsified or altered -- including by artificial intelligence -- has to raise that concern at the pretrial conference or at a hearing on the exhibits' admissibility. And a party who knows, or has reason to know, that its own exhibits have been falsified or AI-generated has to disclose that fact. Demonstrative exhibits are carved out of both duties.

Whatever happens at the conference gets memorialized in a written order that recites the action taken, and that order then controls the rest of the case, unless the court later modifies it to prevent manifest injustice. That binding effect gives the conference real teeth: it isn't just a scheduling chat, it's an order the parties are expected to live with through trial.

An attorney who ignores a pretrial order, skips the conference, or shows up unprepared or without good faith participation faces sanctions drawn from Article 1471, plus the reasonable expenses the noncompliance caused. And if a suit has sat for more than a year since service on all defendants with no trial date set, any party can force a scheduling conference by motion, so cases don't stall indefinitely without one.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can a Louisiana court address at a pretrial and scheduling conference?

Trial and motion deadlines, amendments to pleadings, discovery scheduling, limits on expert testimony, and the authenticity and admissibility of exhibits, among other case-management matters.

Does the resulting pretrial order bind the rest of the case?

Yes. It controls the subsequent course of the action unless the court later modifies it to prevent manifest injustice.

Do parties have to disclose if they suspect an exhibit was falsified or generated by AI?

Yes. A party with reasonable suspicion about an opposing exhibit, or actual knowledge about its own, must raise it at the pretrial conference or at a hearing on the exhibit's admissibility.

What happens if my attorney skips the conference or ignores the pretrial order?

The court may impose sanctions drawn from Article 1471, plus the reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees, the noncompliance caused.

Can the court be forced to hold a scheduling conference if my case has stalled?

Yes. If the suit has been pending more than a year since service on all defendants with no trial date set, any party can move for a conference.

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: pretrial conferencescheduling orderpretrial ordercase management conference