Art. 5059.Computation of Time

Deadlines run through nearly every stage of a Louisiana civil case, and Article 5059 supplies the master rule for counting them. In computing a period allowed or prescribed by law or by a court order, the day of the triggering act, event, or default does not count. The last day of the period does count, unless that last day falls on a legal holiday, in which case the period runs through the end of the next day that is not a legal holiday. A half-holiday counts as a legal holiday for this purpose.

Legal holidays falling in the middle of a period are ordinarily counted as part of it, with three exceptions: where an article expressly excludes them, where a holiday would otherwise be the last day of the period, or where the period runs less than seven days. In those situations, the holiday does not count toward the deadline.

Paragraph D carves out a further, narrower exception for certain administrative proceedings. A legal holiday is excluded altogether when computing a period to seek rehearing, reconsideration, judicial review, or an appeal from a decision or order of an executive-branch state agency. That carve-out itself has a limit: it does not apply to a period for challenging a decision or order of the Department of Revenue, the Department of Environmental Quality, or the Department of Insurance concerning an examination report, which are computed under the general rule instead.

Two other articles in this Book borrow Article 5059's holiday-exclusion approach directly: Articles 5124 and 5126 each give a party four days, exclusive of legal holidays, to cure a defective bond, using the same style of deadline this article defines.