A. When the grounds of the objections pleaded in the declinatory exception may be removed by amendment of the petition or other action of plaintiff, the judgment sustaining the exception shall order the plaintiff to remove them within the delay allowed by the court; if the court finds, on sustaining the objection that service of citation on the defendant was not requested timely, it may either dismiss the action as to that defendant without prejudice or, on the additional finding that service could not have been timely requested, order that service be effected within a specified time. B. If the grounds of the objection cannot be so removed, or if the plaintiff fails to comply with an order requiring such removal, the action, claim, demand, issue, or theory subject to the exception shall be dismissed; except that if an action has been brought in a court of improper jurisdiction or venue, the court may transfer the action to a proper court in the interest of justice.
Art. 932.Effect of Sustaining Declinatory Exception
Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title I. Pleading · Chapter 3. Exceptions · Last amended 2006 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 932 provides that a sustained declinatory exception either gives the plaintiff a court-ordered deadline to fix a curable defect or results in dismissal, and allows the court to transfer a case to the proper court instead of dismissing it when jurisdiction or venue was improper.
Full Text of Art. 932
Amendment History
Acts 2003, No. 545, §1; Acts 2006, No. 750, §1.
Plain-English Summary
Sustaining a declinatory exception doesn't automatically end the lawsuit. Article 932 first asks whether the problem can be fixed. If the grounds behind the exception can be removed by amending the petition or by some other action the plaintiff can take, the judgment sustaining the exception doesn't dismiss the case outright — it orders the plaintiff to fix the problem within a deadline the court sets.
There's a special rule for defective service. If the court finds the defendant wasn't timely served because the plaintiff never timely requested service, the court can dismiss the action against that defendant without prejudice — meaning the plaintiff could refile. Or, if the court also finds that service could not have been requested on time, it can instead order that service be made within a specific new deadline, letting the same suit continue.
If the defect can't be fixed at all, or the plaintiff doesn't comply with the court's order to fix it, Article 932 calls for dismissal — but only of the specific action, claim, demand, issue, or theory the exception targeted, not necessarily the entire case if other claims survive. And when the underlying problem is that the plaintiff filed in the wrong court — improper jurisdiction or improper venue — Article 932 gives the court another option beyond dismissal: transferring the case to the proper court, in the interest of justice, so the plaintiff doesn't have to start over from scratch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does sustaining a declinatory exception always dismiss the lawsuit?
No. If the defect can be fixed, the court orders the plaintiff to fix it within a set deadline instead of dismissing anything. Dismissal comes only if the defect can't be cured or the plaintiff doesn't comply with the court's order.
What happens if a case was filed in the wrong court?
Article 932 lets the court transfer the case to the proper court in the interest of justice, rather than dismissing it, when the problem is improper jurisdiction or improper venue.
What if a defendant wasn't served in time because the plaintiff never requested service?
The court can dismiss the action against that defendant without prejudice, meaning the plaintiff can refile. If service could not have been requested on time, the court can instead set a new deadline for service.
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
Also known as: sustained declinatory exception effectdismissal without prejudice louisianatransfer of venue louisiana