After commencement of a derivative action by or on behalf of parties alleged to be members of a class, the court, on its own motion, or on the motion of any party or on trial of any exception directed to such issue, shall determine whether the action may be properly maintained as a class action as a prerequisite to any further proceedings therein. If the court finds that the action should be maintained as a class action, it shall certify the action accordingly. If not, the court may permit amendment of the pleadings in the action to permit maintenance thereof as a proceeding on behalf of parties expressly named therein under Article616.
Art. 613.Procedure
Title II. Actions · Chapter 5. Class and Derivative Actions · Enacted 1997 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 613 requires the court — on its own motion, a party's motion, or trial of an exception — to decide whether a derivative action brought on behalf of a class can proceed as a class action before the case moves forward, and lets the pleadings be amended into a joinder action under Article 616 when class treatment does not fit.
Full Text of Art. 613
Amendment History
Acts 1997, No. 839, §1, eff. 7/1/1997.
Plain-English Summary
Once someone files a derivative action on behalf of parties alleged to make up a class, Article 613 requires that question to be resolved before the case goes any further: can this action proceed as a class action? The court can raise the question on its own, a party can raise it by motion, or it can come up during trial of an exception aimed at the issue. However it arises, the court has to decide it as a threshold matter, not something to be sorted out alongside the merits.
If the court finds the action fits the class-action mold, it certifies the action, and the case proceeds under the derivative-class-action framework — Article 612's representation requirement, Article 594's dismissal-and-compromise safeguards, Article 595's expense provisions. If the court finds it does not fit, the case is not dismissed outright: the court may instead let the pleadings be amended so the action continues as a proceeding on behalf of the specific, expressly named parties under Article 616 — the joinder-based alternative for situations where a class is not the right vehicle.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does a court decide whether a derivative action can proceed as a class action?
At the outset, before the case moves forward on any other issue. The court reaches this question on its own motion, on a party's motion, or during trial of an exception raising the issue.
What happens if the court decides the action should not proceed as a class action?
The court may allow the pleadings to be amended so the action continues instead as a proceeding on behalf of the parties expressly named in it, under Article 616's joinder-based procedure.
Can the parties themselves decide whether a derivative action is a class action?
No. Article 613 makes this a determination for the court to make as a prerequisite to further proceedings, regardless of how the parties characterized the action when they filed it.
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: la c.c.p. art. 613derivative class action procedure louisianacertifying derivative action louisiana