An action does not abate on the death of a party. The only exception to this rule is an action to enforce a right or obligation which is strictly personal.
Art. 428.No Abatement On Death of Party
Title II. Actions · Chapter 1. General Dispositions · Amendment history unavailable · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 428 keeps a pending lawsuit alive when a party dies, so the case does not automatically end, unless the right or obligation being enforced is strictly personal to the deceased party.
Full Text of Art. 428
Plain-English Summary
Article 428 states a simple survival rule: a party's death does not, by itself, end a pending civil action. The suit continues, typically carried on by whoever now holds the deceased party's rights or stands in their place, rather than dying along with them.
The one exception covers a right or obligation that is strictly personal. Some legal rights are tied so closely to one individual that they make no sense in anyone else's hands, an obligation depending on personal trust, an action seeking a status only that person could hold. When that's what the suit is about, death does end it, because there is no one left who could stand in for the deceased on that particular claim.
Read together with Articles 426 and 427, this article completes the picture: an ordinary obligation, and the lawsuits arising from it, outlive the parties on both sides, while a strictly personal right or duty does not.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a lawsuit end automatically when a party dies?
No. Article 428 keeps the action alive despite a party's death, with one narrow exception.
What counts as a "strictly personal" right or obligation?
One tied so closely to a specific individual that it cannot meaningfully be enforced by, or against, anyone else, such as a right resting on personal trust or a status only that person could hold.
What happens procedurally when a party to a pending suit dies?
The action itself survives under Article 428; the deceased party's successor or representative generally continues in their place so the case can proceed to judgment.
Source & verification. Article text is reproduced verbatim from
the vLex (Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, 2026 Edition). Enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.
Last verified July 30, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: abatement of action Louisianalawsuit survives death of a partystrictly personal obligationsubstitution after death civil action