Appeal from a justice of the peace court is to the parish court or, if there is no parish court, to the district court of the parish where the justice of the peace is situated.1  Appeals from justice of the peace court are tried de novo in parish or district court, and no further appeal is allowed.2  Once the appeal order is signed and bond paid, if there is a bond, the justice of the peace is divested of jurisdiction but for limited matters.3

Because a trial de novo does not allow for an appeal, it is always best practice to formulate defenses as exceptions where possible. There is no prohibition against taking a writ when an exception is improperly denied.4

At a trial de novo in parish or district court, the whole case is open for decision and is retried as if there had been no prior trial whatsoever.5  Because the case is tried de novo, the record below (if there is one) is immaterial. A tenant may raise new defenses and present new evidence in the trial de novo.6  Again, although no further appeals are allowed in justice of the peace evictions, the court of appeal still has supervisory jurisdiction over the parish or district court’s appellate jurisdiction and may reverse the eviction.7  A writ application to reverse a trial de novo decision by a parish or district court should be accompanied by a request for a stay of the eviction judgment.

• 1La. C.C.P. art. 4924(A).
• 2La. C.C.P. art. 4924(B)–(C).
• 3La. C.C.P. art. 2088.
• 4La. C.C.P. art. 4924.
• 5Some trial de novo courts treat the eviction as a review. Should this occur, it is the advocate’s responsibility to appear in court prepared to make the appropriate objections on the record, as this may give rise to a supervisory writ.
• 6See, e.g., The Home Depot v. State Workers’ Comp. Second Injury Bd., 2005 CA 0674 (La. App. 1 Cir. 03/29/06), 934 So. 2d 125, 127 (defining “de novo” in different statutory context); Nat’l Union Fire Ins. Co. v. La. Workers’ Comp. Second Injury Bd., 2014-0033 (La. App. 1 Cir. 09/19/14), 2014 WL 4667601 (same).
• 7La. C.C.P. art. 4924.

The petition for appeal by trial de novo should include a proposed order staying execution of the eviction. The order, once signed, should be sent to the justice of peace and the landlord. It is critical that you contact the justice of the peace and provide a copy of the stay order, which may require driving to their house and office. Some justices of the peace will halt execution in response to a phone call informing them that an appeal has been filed. However, some will not. Many justices of the peace operate very informally and do not check their email frequently. As a last resort, you should provide a copy of the signed stay order to your client and advise them to stay home the day after the eviction and call you if there is an attempt to execute.  

Appeals must be filed within 15 days of judgment.1  However, as a practical matter, the appeal should be filed as soon as possible to prevent execution of the eviction judgment. Because of the possibility of delays at the parish or district court, you should bring trial de novo paperwork to the eviction and file your appeal immediately after an adverse judgment.

• 1La. C.C.P. art 4925.

Advocates should argue that La. C.C.P. art. 4735 does not apply to appeals by trial de novo from justice of the peace evictions. Instead, these appeals are governed by La. C.C.P. arts. 4924 and 4925. This means that in order to stay a justice of the peace eviction pending trial de novo it should not be necessary that an answer have been filed with the justice of the peace nor that a suspensive appeal bond be paid within 24 hours. This doctrinal position has been accepted by the First and Fifth Circuit Courts of Appeal.1  The position should be encouraged in other circuits on the basis that no written pleadings are required in justice of the peace court,2  and that a trial de novo is a substantively different procedural mechanism, with a substantially different timeline, than a direct appeal to the court of appeal.3  However even if Article 4735 does not apply, a bond could still be required under La. C.C.P. art. 2124. Therefore, it is still risky to suggest no bond is required.

If the tenant can pay a bond, you should propose that the bond be set at monthly rent payable as due.4  If the trial de novo is set before the next month’s rent is due, no bond may be due.5

Because justice of the peace appeal procedure changed in 1986, when conducting legal research in older cases, carefully check that the case is still valid for the proposition for which you are citing it.

• 1See Lakewood Palms, LLC v. Jennings, 22-C-259 (La. App. 5 Cir. 6/20/2022; Augillard v. Strauss, 2015 CW 1241 (La. App. 1 Cir. 8/14/15).
• 2La. C.C.P. 4917(A).
• 3Specifically, a trial de novo is typically set within days or weeks, whereas a direct appeal can take the better part of a year to complete, increasing the risk to the landlord. It is also worth highlighting the lack of formality and procedural protections in justice of the peace court, hence the right to a completely new trial before a formal court of law.
• 4Windmill Creek N. - 1st Lake v. Gowan, 20-85 (La. App. 5 Cir. 2/21/20).
• 5Note that this is an evolving area of the law. Advocates should feel free to contact the authors for updated information or briefing on this issue.

The effect of suspensive and devolutive appeals is functionally the same for justice of the peace court and for parish or district court.1

• 1For these effects, see Section 7.1.4 and Section 7.1.5.