When the grounds of the objection pleaded by the peremptory exception may be removed by amendment of the petition, the judgment sustaining the exception shall order such amendment within the delay allowed by the court. If the grounds of the objection raised through the exception cannot be so removed, or if the plaintiff fails to comply with the order to amend, the action, claim, demand, issue, or theory shall be dismissed.
Art. 934.Effect of Sustaining Peremptory Exception
Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title I. Pleading · Chapter 3. Exceptions · Enacted 2003 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 934 requires a court sustaining a curable peremptory exception to order the plaintiff to amend the petition within a set deadline, and calls for dismissal only if the defect can't be cured or the plaintiff fails to amend.
Full Text of Art. 934
Amendment History
Acts 2003, No. 545, §1.
Plain-English Summary
Even the peremptory exception, Louisiana's most powerful defense against a claim, doesn't automatically end a lawsuit the moment it's sustained. Article 934 asks the same threshold question the declinatory and dilatory exceptions ask: can the problem be fixed by amending the petition? If it can, the judgment sustaining the exception orders the plaintiff to amend within a deadline the court sets, rather than dismissing the case on the spot.
A petition that fails to state a cause of action, for example, might be missing an allegation the plaintiff can add. Rather than throw the case out for a drafting gap, Article 934 gives the plaintiff a chance to fill it in.
Dismissal comes only when amendment won't help — the defect is one no amended petition could cure, such as a claim already barred by prescription — or when the plaintiff had the chance to amend and didn't. At that point, the action, claim, demand, issue, or theory the exception targeted is dismissed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does sustaining a peremptory exception always end the case?
No. If the defect the exception raised can be fixed by amending the petition, the court orders the plaintiff to amend within a set deadline instead of dismissing the case immediately.
When does the court dismiss the case after sustaining a peremptory exception?
Only if the defect can't be cured by amendment at all, or if the plaintiff was given the chance to amend and didn't.
Can a claim barred by prescription be saved by amending the petition?
Generally not. Prescription is the kind of defect amendment typically can't cure, so a sustained prescription exception usually leads to dismissal rather than a chance to amend.
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 peremptory exception effectleave to amend louisianadismissal after peremptory exception