A party entitled thereto under the provisions of Article 4872 may transfer the action to the district court in the following manner:
Art. 4873.Transfer to District Court; Procedure; Contest; Effect
Book VIII. Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction · Title I. General Dispositions · Chapter 4. Jury Trials Prohibited; Transfer to District Court · Last amended 2025 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 4873 lays out the transfer procedure in full: the deadline for a motion to transfer, the plaintiff's limited right to oppose it by stipulating a ten-thousand-dollar cap, how the clerk forwards the record, and how the case proceeds once docketed in district court.
Full Text of Art. 4873
(1) Within the delay allowed for answer in the trial court of the limited jurisdiction, or within ten days after answer has been filed, the party shall file a motion to transfer with the clerk of the court in which the suit is pending. The motion shall include a declaration that the matter is one to which the defendant would have been entitled to a trial by jury if commenced in district court, and that the defendant desires a trial by jury. If a party fails to file a motion to transfer within the delays required by this Subparagraph, the matter shall not be transferred.
(2) A plaintiff may oppose the transfer of the action to a district court only if the plaintiff stipulates that the action does not exceed ten thousand dollars exclusive of interest and costs.
(3) If no opposition is filed within ten days after the filing of the motion to transfer, the judge of the court in which the suit is pending shall order the transfer to the district court. If an opposition is timely filed, it shall be tried summarily.
(a) Where a transfer is ordered, the clerk of the court in which the action was initially filed shall forward to the clerk of the court to which the action is transferred a certified copy of the record in the initial court, including pleadings, minute entries, and all other proceedings.
(b) The clerk of the district court shall file the action as a new proceeding in that court, upon payment by the defendant of a filing fee as provided by rule of the district court. All costs accruing thereafter, however, shall be advanced in the same manner as though the action had initially been commenced in the district court by the original plaintiff.
(5) When the matter is docketed by the clerk of the district court, the proceeding shall continue in that court as though originally commenced therein. In the event that transfer is effected prior to answer, the defendant shall file the answer in the district court within the delays provided by Article 1001, commencing from the date on which the transferred proceeding is filed in that court.
(6) The disposition of a motion to transfer and any opposition thereto shall not be appealable but shall be reviewable through the exercise of its supervisory jurisdiction by the court of appeal having appellate jurisdiction over the case.
Amendment History
Amended by Acts 2025, No. 250, §3, eff. 8/1/2025. Amended by Acts 2020EX1, No. 37, §2, eff. 1/1/2021. Acts 1979, No. 46, §1, eff. 1/1/1980.
Plain-English Summary
Article 4873 turns Article 4872's promise of a jury trial into a working procedure, and it does so with real deadlines. A defendant entitled to transfer must file a motion to transfer, in the court where the suit is pending, either within the delay allowed to answer in that court or within ten days after an answer has already been filed. The motion has to declare that the matter would have been jury-eligible if filed in district court and that the defendant wants a jury trial. Miss that window, and the case stays where it is; Article 4873 makes the deadline a hard cutoff.
The plaintiff is not powerless to resist, but the resistance comes at a price. A plaintiff may oppose the transfer only by stipulating that the claim does not exceed ten thousand dollars, exclusive of interest and costs — trading away any larger recovery in exchange for keeping the case in the lower court. If no opposition is filed within ten days of the motion, the judge orders the transfer; if one is filed in time, it gets tried summarily, on an expedited basis rather than through the full ordinary-proceeding calendar.
Once a transfer is ordered, the clerk of the court where the case started forwards a certified copy of the entire record — pleadings, minute entries, everything — to the clerk of the district court. The district court clerk then files the matter as a new proceeding once the defendant pays the required filing fee, and every cost after that point gets advanced the same way it would have if the plaintiff had filed there from the start.
From that point, the case moves forward in the district court as though it had begun there. If the transfer happens before an answer was ever filed, the defendant gets the standard answer delay of Article 1001, running from the date the case is filed in the district court, not from the original citation in the parish or city court. And whatever ruling the trial court makes on a motion to transfer, or an opposition to it, is not something a party can take up on ordinary appeal; the only avenue is a supervisory writ to the court of appeal with jurisdiction over the case.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a motion to transfer for a jury trial?
Within the delay for answering in the parish or city court, or within ten days after an answer is filed. Missing this deadline means no transfer.
Can the plaintiff block the transfer to district court?
Only by stipulating that the claim does not exceed ten thousand dollars, exclusive of interest and costs.
What happens to the case record when a transfer is ordered?
The clerk of the original court sends a certified copy of the record to the district court clerk, which files it as a new proceeding upon payment of a filing fee.
Can I appeal a ruling on a motion to transfer?
No. It is reviewable only through a supervisory writ to the court of appeal, not an ordinary appeal.
When do I have to answer if the case transfers before I've answered in parish court?
Within the ordinary Article 1001 delay, counting from the date the case is filed in district court.
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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