Summary proceedings may be used for trial or disposition of the following matters only:
Art. 2592.Use of Summary Proceedings
Book V. Summary and Executory Proceedings · Title I. Summary Proceedings · Chapter 1. Summary Proceedings · Last amended 2016 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 2592 lists the only matters a Louisiana court may try or dispose of through a summary proceeding, a closed list running from incidental attorney-fee disputes and new-trial applications to judicial partitions, bond issues, and other matters the law specifically routes onto the summary track.
Full Text of Art. 2592
(1) An incidental question arising in the course of judicial proceedings, including the award of and the determination of reasonableness of attorney fees.
(2) An application for a new trial.
(3) An issue which may be raised properly by an exception, contradictory motion, or rule to show cause.
(4) An action against the surety on a judicial bond after judgment has been obtained against the principal, or against both principal and surety when a summary proceeding against the principal is permitted.
(5) The homologation of a judicial partition, of a tableau of distribution or account filed by a legal representative, or of a report submitted by an auditor, accountant, or other expert appointed by the court; and an opposition to any of the foregoing, to the appointment of a legal representative, or to a petition for authority filed by a legal representative.
(6) A habeas corpus, mandamus, or quo warranto proceeding.
(7) The determination of the rank of mortgages, liens, and privileges on property sold judicially, and of the order of distribution of the proceeds thereof.
(8) The original granting of, subsequent change in, or termination of custody, visitation, and support for a child; support for a spouse; injunctive relief; support between ascendants and descendants; use and occupancy of the family home or use of community movables or immovables; or use of personal property.
(9) An action to compel an accounting at termination of parental authority; and an action to seek court approval to alienate, encumber, or lease the property of a minor, to incur an obligation of a minor, or to compromise the claim of a minor.
(11) An action to enforce the right to a written accounting provided for in R.S.9:2776.
(13) All other matters in which the law permits summary proceedings to be used.
Amendment History
Amended by Acts 2015, No. 260, §2, eff. 1/1/2016. Amended by Acts 1964, No. 4, §1; Acts 1974, No. 130, §1; Acts 1976, No. 321, §1; Acts 1984, No. 90, §1; Acts 1986, No. 116, §1; Acts 1987, No. 565, §2; Acts 1988, No. 817, §3, eff. 7/18/1988; Acts 1989, No. 118, §1; Acts 1990, No. 1008, §4, eff. 1/1/1991; Acts 1990, No. 1009, §4, eff. 1/1/1991; Acts 1992, No. 688, §1, eff. 7/6/1992; Acts 2008, No. 824, §3, eff. 1/1/2009.
Plain-English Summary
Article 2591 explains what a summary proceeding is; Article 2592 says when a party may use one. The list is closed rather than illustrative — "only" matters that fit one of thirteen categories belong on the summary track, and everything else defaults to an ordinary proceeding under Book II.
Several categories track disputes that arise inside a case already underway rather than freestanding lawsuits: an incidental question, including a fight over the reasonableness of attorney fees; an application for a new trial; an issue properly raised by exception, contradictory motion, or rule to show cause; and an action against the surety on a judicial bond once judgment has already been entered against the principal. These share a common thread — a court already has the underlying matter before it, and a full ordinary trial on a side issue would slow the case for no good reason.
Other categories cover proceedings that are, by nature, urgent or narrow: homologating a judicial partition, an account, or an expert's report, and opposing any of those; habeas corpus, mandamus, and quo warranto; ranking mortgages, liens, and privileges on judicially sold property; child custody, visitation, support, spousal support, and related domestic matters; accountings tied to the end of parental authority and court approval to deal with a minor's property; annulling a probated testament; enforcing certain statutory accounting rights; and enforcing or setting aside a compromise. A final catch-all category — every other matter the law permits to be tried summarily — keeps the list from having to be rewritten every time some other statute authorizes a summary hearing.
The purpose behind all thirteen categories is the same: some disputes need to be resolved quickly, without waiting on the fuller discovery and pleading schedule an ordinary proceeding allows, because delay itself would cause harm or because the issue is narrow enough not to need the fuller process. Article 2592 keeps that shortcut available only where the legislature decided speed matters more than the added formality, rather than letting any litigant choose the faster track by preference.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kinds of cases can be brought as a summary proceeding in Louisiana?
Only the matters Article 2592 lists, including incidental questions like attorney-fee disputes, new-trial applications, issues raised by exception or rule to show cause, judicial bond claims, partition homologations, habeas corpus and mandamus, ranking of mortgages and liens, child custody and support matters, and any other matter another law specifically permits to be tried summarily.
Can I choose a summary proceeding just because it would resolve my case faster than an ordinary lawsuit?
No. Article 2592's list is closed. A matter has to fit one of its categories, or fall under a separate statute authorizing summary treatment, before it can be tried on the summary track.
Are attorney-fee disputes handled as a summary proceeding?
Yes. Article 2592(1) includes the award and reasonableness of attorney fees among the incidental questions that may be tried summarily.
What happens to a dispute that doesn't fit any category in Article 2592?
It proceeds as an ordinary proceeding under Book II, with the full citation, answer, and discovery process, unless some other law specifically authorizes summary treatment for that particular matter.
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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