When beginning a representation in a foreclosure case, review the pleadings, exhibits, and notices that were served on the client. Identify any hard deadlines that must be addressed immediately.

• Be familiar with La. C.C.P. 5059 – Computation of time.
• Be aware of La. R.S. 1:55 – Days of public rest, legal holidays, and half-holidays. Under this statute:

Only the enumerated holidays in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, days of closure under Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, Mardi Gras only in those parishes in which the governing authority of the parish declares a holiday under authority of Paragraph (A)(3) of this Section, and all Saturdays and Sundays shall be considered as legal holidays for the purposes of Code of Civil Procedure Article 5059.

If the lawsuit is via ordinaria, determine

• Whether service is proper and when responsive pleadings are due.
• Whether the time for filing responsive pleadings as elapsed.
• Whether a judgment has been signed.
• Whether there is a pending motion for summary judgment.
• Whether the deadlines for writs and/or an appeal have passed.
• Whether a writ of fieri facias (fifa) has been issued.

If the lawsuit is via executiva, check the date that the order of seizure and sale was signed and the date the client was served with the notice of seizure. Confirm that the client was legally served; anything less than personal service should be scrutinized. Domiciliary service is frequently flawed.

If the order has been signed, determine whether the time for appeal has run. Devolutive appeal is not allowed. The suspensive appeal deadline is only 15 days after service of the La. C.C.P. art. 2721 notice of seizure.1

Determine the earliest date that the sale may be scheduled. This date must be at least 60 days from signing of order of seizure.2

Determine whether there is enough time to apply for a preliminary injunction to arrest the seizure and sale3  and have it served and heard. A temporary restraining order (TRO) is not available if immovable property is involved.4  Service of notice of hearing on the preliminary injunction is required. Remember that service notice of an application for a preliminary injunction on the foreclosing creditor might take days or weeks. A hearing on the preliminary injunction must, of course, be held prior to the sale. The hearing on the application must be held no earlier than two days after service and not later than 10 days after service of the notice of hearing.5

• 1See La. C.C.P. art. 2642(B).
• 2La. R.S. 13:3852(A).
• 3See La. C.C.P. art. 2751, et seq.
• 4La. C.C.P. art. 2752.
• 5La. C.C.P. art. 3602, et seq.

Determine whether the property has already been sold by the sheriff. In some cases, the first time a homeowner finally realizes the significance of a foreclosure lawsuit is when the buyer at a sheriff sale knocks on the door and announces that the homeowner has to move out within a few days.

If the sale has already happened, determine whether the sheriff’s proces verbal has been filed in the conveyance records of the parish where the property is located. Although, under Louisiana law, the sheriff’s sale is complete “when the hammer falls,” the reality is that there may be one final opportunity to set aside the sale if the sheriff has not yet filed the proces verbal.