Art. 928.Time of Pleading Exceptions

Naming an exception and knowing its grounds only matters if it's raised on time. Article 928 sets that clock, and it treats the declinatory and dilatory exceptions differently from the peremptory exception.

Paragraph A puts the declinatory and dilatory exceptions on a tight leash. Both must be pleaded before or in the answer, and before or along with any pleading that asks the court for relief — with a short list of exceptions that don't count against the defendant, such as entering or removing an attorney of record, asking for more time to plead, posting security for costs, or dissolving an attachment based on the defendant's nonresidence. In every case, both exceptions have to be pleaded before a default judgment is signed against the defendant. Miss that window, and Article 925 or 926 waives the objection outright. If a defendant is raising both the declinatory and dilatory exceptions, they have to be filed together, and Article 928 lets him combine them into a single pleading without worrying about order or alternative pleading.

Paragraph B cuts the peremptory exception loose from that deadline. It can be filed at almost any point in the trial court proceeding, right up until the case is submitted for a decision, and it can be filed alongside the declinatory exception, the dilatory exception, or both. That looser timeline makes sense given what the peremptory exception argues — that the claim doesn't legally exist or is barred by law is a problem that doesn't go away just because the case has moved further along.