A. Except as otherwise provided by law, the civil jurisdiction of a parish court is concurrent with the district court in cases where the amount in dispute, or the value of the property involved, does not exceed twenty thousand dollars. B. The civil jurisdiction of a parish court is concurrent with the district court in cases or proceedings instituted by the state, a parish, a municipality, or other political subdivision of the state for injunctive relief or other civil relief for the cessation or abatement of any acts or practices which may violate any parish or municipal ordinance or any state law. In such case, the court shall have jurisdiction irrespective of the amount in dispute or the value of the property involved.
Art. 4842.Parish Court Jurisdiction; Amount In Dispute; Injunctive Actions By a Political Subdivision
Book VIII. Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction · Title I. General Dispositions · Chapter 2. Civil Jurisdiction · Last amended 1995 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 4842 sets a parish court's general civil jurisdiction at up to twenty thousand dollars, concurrent with the district court, and separately gives it jurisdiction over government-initiated injunction suits enforcing an ordinance or state law regardless of the dollar amount involved.
Full Text of Art. 4842
Amendment History
Acts 1986, No. 152, §2, eff. 6/28/1986; Acts 1986, No. 1038, §1; Acts 1987, No. 448, §2, eff. 7/9/1987; Acts 1992, No. 939, §1; Acts 1995, No. 204, §1.
Plain-English Summary
Unlike city courts, which carry a patchwork of jurisdictional ceilings that vary court by court, Article 4842 gives every parish court a single, uniform dollar cap. A parish court's civil jurisdiction runs concurrent with the district court's for any case where the amount in dispute, or the value of the property involved, does not exceed twenty thousand dollars.
Paragraph B adds a distinct kind of case that escapes the dollar cap altogether. When the state, a parish, a municipality, or another political subdivision sues in a parish court for an injunction, or other civil relief, to stop or correct conduct that violates a parish or municipal ordinance or a state law, the parish court has jurisdiction no matter how much money, if any, is technically at stake.
That carve-out fits the underlying case. A government suit to shut down an ordinance violation, an illegal land use, or a public-nuisance operation is not about a dollar figure; it is about stopping ongoing conduct. Article 4842 lets a parish court handle that kind of enforcement suit without forcing the government to first calculate, and then justify, some amount in dispute that the case does not naturally have.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the dollar limit on a Louisiana parish court's civil jurisdiction?
Twenty thousand dollars. Article 4842 gives a parish court jurisdiction concurrent with the district court up to that amount, or up to that value of the property involved.
Can a parish court hear a government injunction suit for more than twenty thousand dollars?
Yes, if the suit is brought by the state, a parish, a municipality, or another political subdivision to stop conduct violating an ordinance or state law. Article 4842(B) removes the dollar cap for that category of case.
Why does the amount-in-dispute cap not apply to government enforcement suits?
Because those suits seek to stop ongoing conduct rather than recover a sum of money, so tying them to a dollar threshold would not fit the relief being sought.
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
Also known as: parish court jurisdiction LouisianaArticle 4842 Louisianaparish court $20,000 jurisdictional limitinjunctive relief parish court Louisianapolitical subdivision injunction parish court