Art. 2084.Legal Representative May Appeal

A legal representative in Louisiana practice is someone who administers property or stands in for another person in legal proceedings — a tutor acting for a minor, a curator acting for an interdict, or a succession representative acting for an estate, among others. Because that representative already carries authority to act on behalf of the person or property involved, Article 2084 confirms that authority extends to deciding whether to pursue an appeal.

The article covers two situations: a judgment rendered against the representative in that capacity, and a judgment that affects the property being administered, even where the representative is not personally named. In either case, the standard for deciding whether to appeal is the representative's own judgment call — the article says the representative may appeal "whenever he considers an appeal necessary or advisable," a discretionary standard that does not require separate court permission before filing.

The point of the rule is protective. Minors, interdicts, successions, and other represented interests could otherwise go unprotected on appeal if only the represented person, acting alone, could invoke appellate rights. Article 2084 makes sure someone with the authority and duty to look after those interests can also decide, for the benefit of the person or property represented, whether an appellate court should review an adverse judgment.