If the trial court is of the opinion that the verdict is so excessive or inadequate that a new trial should be granted for that reason only, it may indicate to the party or his attorney within what time he may enter a remittitur or additur. This remittitur or additur is to be entered only with the consent of the plaintiff or the defendant as the case may be, as an alternative to a new trial, and is to be entered only if the issue of quantum is clearly and fairly separable from other issues in the case. If a remittitur or additur is entered, then the court shall reform the jury verdict or judgment in accordance therewith.
Art. 1814.Remittitur Or Additur As Alternative to New Trial; Reformation of Verdict
Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title V. Trial · Chapter 7. Jury Trial · Enacted 1989 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 1814 lets a trial court that finds a jury's damages award excessive or inadequate offer the losing side a remittitur, a court-ordered reduction, or the shortchanged side an additur, a court-ordered increase, as a consented-to alternative to ordering a whole new trial, available only when the damages amount can be cleanly separated from the rest of the case.
Full Text of Art. 1814
Amendment History
Added by Acts 1989, No. 173, §1.
Plain-English Summary
When a trial court concludes a jury's award is so far out of line — too high or too low — that the only reason to order a new trial is to fix the dollar amount, Article 1814 offers a shortcut. The court can tell the affected party or its attorney how much time they have to enter a remittitur or an additur instead of going through an entirely new trial. A remittitur reduces an excessive award; an additur increases an inadequate one. Either device reforms the number without retrying the case.
Neither device can be imposed unilaterally. Article 1814 requires the consent of whichever party would otherwise have to gamble on a new trial: a remittitur, reducing what a plaintiff would recover, requires the plaintiff's consent; an additur, increasing what a defendant would owe, requires the defendant's consent. A party who does not consent keeps the option of a new trial instead of accepting the court's adjusted number.
The device is also limited by scope, not just by consent. Article 1814 applies only where the issue of quantum — the dollar amount of damages — is cleanly separable from the other issues in the case. Where liability and damages are bound up together in a way the court cannot untangle, remittitur and additur are not available, and a new trial covering the whole case remains the only fix. Once a remittitur or additur is entered, the court reforms the jury's verdict or judgment to reflect the new figure.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is remittitur?
A court-ordered reduction of an excessive jury damages award, offered as an alternative to a new trial and entered only with the plaintiff's consent.
What is additur?
A court-ordered increase of an inadequate jury damages award, offered as an alternative to a new trial and entered only with the defendant's consent.
Can a court impose a remittitur or additur without the affected party's consent?
No. Article 1814 requires the consent of the party who would otherwise get to try the case again — the plaintiff for a remittitur, the defendant for an additur.
Is remittitur or additur always available when a verdict seems off?
No. It applies only when the damages amount is cleanly separable from the other issues in the case, and only where the excessive or inadequate size of the award is the sole reason a new trial would otherwise be granted.
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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