A judgment may be annulled prior to or pending an appeal therefrom, or after the delays for appealing have elapsed. A judgment affirmed, reversed, amended, or otherwise rendered by an appellate court may be annulled only when the ground for nullity did not appear in the record of appeal or was not considered by the appellate court. An action of nullity does not affect the right to appeal.
Art. 2005.Annulment of Judgments; Effect of Appeal
Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title VI. Judgments · Chapter 4. Modification In Trial Court · Amendment history unavailable · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 2005 allows a judgment to be annulled before, during, or after an appeal, but limits nullity of an appellate court's own judgment to grounds that did not appear in the appeal record or were not considered on appeal, and confirms that an action of nullity does not affect the right to appeal.
Full Text of Art. 2005
Plain-English Summary
An action of nullity and an appeal are not mutually exclusive remedies in Louisiana, and Article 2005 spells out how the two interact. A judgment can be annulled before an appeal is even taken, while the appeal is pending, or after the deadlines for appealing have run out entirely. Nothing about the nullity action requires a party to choose one path or wait for the other to finish.
The article draws a tighter line once an appellate court has acted on the case. A judgment that an appellate court has affirmed, reversed, amended, or otherwise rendered can be annulled only on a ground that did not appear in the record of the appeal, or that the appellate court did not consider. That limitation keeps the nullity action from becoming a backdoor way to relitigate issues the appellate court already examined and resolved — nullity is available for what the appeal never reached, not as a second chance to argue points the appellate court already rejected.
The final sentence protects the reverse direction: pursuing an action of nullity does not affect the right to appeal. A party is not forced to give up an appeal in order to pursue nullity, or vice versa, so long as each remedy is used for what it is meant to reach — nullity for the specific defects Articles 2002 and 2004 define, and an appeal for the ordinary review of the judgment on its merits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a judgment be annulled while an appeal of that judgment is still pending?
Yes. Article 2005 allows a judgment to be annulled prior to an appeal, while the appeal is pending, or after the deadlines for appealing have elapsed.
Can I use an action of nullity to reargue something the appellate court already decided?
No. Once an appellate court has affirmed, reversed, amended, or otherwise ruled on a judgment, that judgment can be annulled only on a ground that did not appear in the appeal record or that the appellate court did not consider.
Does filing an action of nullity give up my right to appeal?
No. Article 2005 states directly that an action of nullity does not affect the right to appeal, so a party can pursue both remedies without one displacing the other.
Why does Article 2005 limit nullity of an appellate judgment to grounds outside the appeal record?
To prevent the action of nullity from functioning as a second appeal on issues the appellate court has already examined and resolved, while still leaving room for genuine nullity grounds the appeal never had occasion to consider.
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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