A. A parish court or a city court may exercise jurisdiction quasi in rem over movable or immovable property, or jurisdiction in rem over movable property, in the manner provided by law, if the property is situated within the territorial jurisdiction of the court. B. A parish court or a city court may issue a writ of seizure and sale in an executory proceeding to enforce a privilege or mortgage on movable or immovable property.
Art. 4850.Jurisdiction In Rem Or Quasi In Rem; Executory Proceedings
Book VIII. Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction · Title I. General Dispositions · Chapter 2. Civil Jurisdiction · Enacted 1986 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 4850 lets a parish or city court exercise quasi in rem jurisdiction over movable or immovable property and in rem jurisdiction over movable property located within its territory, and lets it issue a writ of seizure and sale in an executory proceeding to enforce a mortgage or privilege.
Full Text of Art. 4850
Amendment History
Acts 1986, No. 156, §1.
Plain-English Summary
Jurisdiction based on property, rather than on a person, comes in two related forms. In rem jurisdiction lets a court decide rights in a piece of property itself; quasi in rem jurisdiction lets a court use property located within its territory as the basis for deciding a claim, even one that is at bottom a personal claim against the property's owner. Article 4850 brings both concepts, already used in a general sense elsewhere in this Code, into the parish and city court setting.
A parish or city court can exercise quasi in rem jurisdiction over movable or immovable property, and in rem jurisdiction over movable property, whenever that property sits within the court's territorial jurisdiction. Notice the asymmetry: in rem jurisdiction here reaches only movable property, not immovable property, which lines up with Article 4847's separate bar on a parish or city court deciding a case involving title to immovable property.
Article 4850 also authorizes the executory proceeding, a streamlined procedure elsewhere in this Code that lets a creditor enforce a mortgage or privilege on property by seizure and sale without a full ordinary trial on the underlying debt. A parish or city court can issue the writ of seizure and sale that drives that proceeding, extending this enforcement tool down to the limited-jurisdiction level.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between in rem and quasi in rem jurisdiction?
In rem jurisdiction lets a court decide rights in a piece of property directly. Quasi in rem jurisdiction lets a court use property within its territory as the basis for a claim that is, at bottom, a personal claim against the owner.
Can a parish court decide a case based on immovable property located in its territory?
It can exercise quasi in rem jurisdiction over immovable property, but in rem jurisdiction under Article 4850 reaches only movable property, consistent with the separate bar on deciding title to immovable property.
Can a city court foreclose on a mortgage through an executory proceeding?
Yes. Article 4850 lets a parish or city court issue a writ of seizure and sale in an executory proceeding to enforce a privilege or mortgage on movable or immovable property.
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: in rem quasi in rem jurisdiction Louisiana city courtArticle 4850 Louisianaexecutory proceeding parish court Louisianawrit of seizure and sale city courtproperty jurisdiction limited jurisdiction court Louisiana