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Art. 1571.Assignment By Court Rule
Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title V. Trial · Chapter 2. Assignment of Cases For Trial · Enacted 1989 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 1571 requires each Louisiana district court to adopt its own rules for assigning cases to trial, rules that must give adequate notice to all parties and set an order of preference, may not schedule an ordinary proceeding for trial until after the answer is filed, and it protects self-represented parties' judgments even when they fail to update their address of record.
Full Text of Art. 1571
(1) The district courts shall prescribe the procedure for assigning cases for trial, by rules which shall:
(a) Require adequate notice of trial to all parties; and
(b) Prescribe the order of preference in accordance with law.
(2) These rules shall not allow the assignment of ordinary proceedings for trial except after answer filed.
B. A party who appears in proper person before the court shall advise the court of his current address and any change of address during the pendency of the proceedings. The address and change of address shall be entered in the record of the proceedings. The failure of a party to provide such information does not affect the validity of any judgment rendered if notice of trial or other matters was sent to the party's last known address of record.
Amendment History
Acts 1989, No. 284, §1.
Plain-English Summary
This Code does not set a single statewide trial-scheduling formula. Instead, Article 1571 requires each district court to adopt its own local rules for assigning cases to trial, subject to two baseline requirements: the rules must give adequate notice of trial to every party, and they must set an order of preference for scheduling that is consistent with law, including preferences like the one Article 1573 grants to elderly or terminally ill litigants.
Those local rules cannot let a court jump ahead of the pleading stage. An ordinary proceeding cannot be assigned for trial until after the answer has been filed, keeping trial scheduling from outrunning the parties' opportunity to frame the issues in their pleadings.
Article 1571 also addresses self-represented litigants. A party appearing without counsel must keep the court informed of a current address and any change of address, entered into the record of the case. If that party fails to do so, a judgment rendered against them still stands as long as notice of trial or other matters was sent to the party's last known address of record, protecting the process from being derailed by an unreachable litigant while still giving that litigant a real chance to receive notice as long as they keep the court informed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who sets the rules for when a Louisiana case gets assigned a trial date?
Each district court, through its own local rules, subject to Article 1571's baseline requirements of adequate notice and a lawful order of preference.
Can an ordinary proceeding be set for trial before the defendant answers?
No. Local trial-assignment rules cannot allow an ordinary proceeding to be assigned for trial except after the answer has been filed.
What must local trial-assignment rules guarantee to the parties?
Adequate notice of trial to all parties, and an order of preference for scheduling that follows the law.
What happens if a self-represented party moves and does not tell the court?
Any judgment rendered still stands as long as notice was sent to that party's last known address of record; the failure to update the address does not, by itself, invalidate the judgment.
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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