Art. 2725.Seizure and Sale of a Motor Vehicle Out-Of-State; Procedure

A motor vehicle is easy to move across state lines, and a debtor's vehicle is not always sitting in Louisiana when a default happens. Article 2725 addresses what a secured party can do when the collateral securing the debt is a vehicle located outside the state, since Louisiana's sheriff has no authority to seize property beyond its borders.

Rather than forcing the creditor to wait until the vehicle returns to Louisiana, Article 2725 lets the secured party proceed under the procedural law of the state where the vehicle sits, as an alternative to Louisiana's own seizure and sale procedure. Choosing that route does not cost the creditor anything under Louisiana law: the article preserves every right Louisiana law grants, including the right to pursue a deficiency judgment afterward, as long as the creditor can show the out-of-state seizure and sale complied with that state's own law.

Article 2725 also gives the secured party a second option after seizing the vehicle under the other state's procedure: bring it back to Louisiana and sell it here, at public or private sale, without appraisal. That option is not automatic -- it is available only if the mortgage itself authorizes a sale without appraisal, tracking the same appraisal-waiver logic Article 2723 sets for property seized and sold entirely within Louisiana.