If a party subject to the jurisdiction of the court should join as a plaintiff but refuses or fails to do so, he may be joined as a defendant and required to assert his rights in the action or be precluded thereafter from asserting them.
Art. 644.Party Plaintiff Who Refuses Or Fails to Sue
Title III. Parties · Chapter 1. Joinder · Enacted 1995 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 644 lets a plaintiff force a reluctant co-owner or co-claimant, who should join the suit as a plaintiff but will not, into the case as a defendant instead, so that person must assert their rights in the action or lose the chance to raise them later.
Full Text of Art. 644
Amendment History
Acts 1995, No. 662, §1.
Plain-English Summary
Some lawsuits belong to more than one person, but not everyone with a stake wants to sue. A co-owner may prefer to stay out of the dispute, or may distrust the litigation strategy of the person pushing the claim. Article 644 keeps that reluctance from stalling the case. If a person who should be a plaintiff refuses or fails to join voluntarily, and the court has power over them, the plaintiff who is moving forward can name them as a defendant instead.
Once brought in that way, the reluctant party faces a choice: assert their rights in the pending action, or lose the ability to raise them afterward. The mechanism protects the parties who are actively litigating from being blocked by someone who wants the benefit of the claim without the burden of the lawsuit, while still giving the reluctant party a full chance to participate and protect their own share of the right.
This tool works alongside the broader joinder framework in Articles 641 and 645 — it addresses one particular reason a needed party might be missing from the case: unwillingness rather than unavailability.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why would a plaintiff sue someone who should be on the same side of the case?
Because that person's cooperation is needed to pursue the claim in full, and Article 644 gives the plaintiff a way to bring them into the suit even when they will not join voluntarily.
What happens to a reluctant co-plaintiff named as a defendant under Article 644?
They must assert whatever rights they have in the pending action, or they lose the ability to raise those rights in a later suit.
Does Article 644 apply if the missing person cannot be found or served?
No. It applies to someone within the court's reach who refuses or fails to join; a person who cannot be reached at all falls under the Article 642 analysis instead.
Can the person named as a defendant under Article 644 still win money or relief?
Yes. Being aligned as a defendant does not strip away their underlying rights — it only forces them to raise those rights in the current suit instead of a separate one.
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: involuntary plaintiff Louisianareluctant co-owner will not sueforcing a party to join as defendantArticle 644 Louisiana Code of Civil Procedurerefuses to join as plaintiff