Even if the rent is overdue, a landlord can only evict a tenant through judicial process.1  An eviction judgment after a self-help eviction does not cure the wrongful eviction.2

A landlord who executes an eviction judgment that is subsequently reversed on devolutive appeal may be liable for wrongful eviction.3

• 1See, e.g., Richard v. Broussard, 495 So. 2d 1291, 1293 n.1 (La. 1986); Horacek v. Watson, 2011-1345 (La. App. 3 Cir. 2012), 86 So. 3d 766; Platinum City LLC v. Boudreaux, 2011-559 (La. App. 3 Cir. 11/23/11), 81 So. 3d 780; Holmes v. DiLeo, 184 So. 356 (Orl. App. 1938); Vogt v. Jannarelli, 198 So. 421 (Orl. App. 1940).
• 2Pelleteri v. Caspian Grp., 2002-2141, 2002-2142 (La. App. 4 Cir. 07/02/03), 851 So. 2d 1230.
• 3See, e.g., Mangelle v. Abadie, 19 So. 670 (La. 1896); New Orleans Hat Attack, Inc. v. N.Y. Life Ins. Co., 95-CA-0055, 95-CA-0056 (La. App. 4 Cir. 11/30/95), 665 So. 2d 1186; see also Smith v. Shirley, 2001-1249 (La. App. 3 Cir. 02/06/02), 815 So. 2d 980.

Self-help or nonjudicial eviction is permissible if the landlord can prove that the tenant abandoned the premises.1  Abandonment is a factual determination that requires proof of both “an act of abandonment and a specific intent to abandon.”2  Indicia of abandonment include a cessation of business activity or residential occupancy, returning keys to the premises, and removal of equipment, furnishings, or other movables from the premises.3

A landlord may be liable if the wrongful eviction preceded the completion of the act of abandonment.4

• 1La. C.C.P. 4731(B).
• 2Indulge Island Grill, L.L.C. v. Island Grill, L.L.C., 2016-1133 (La. App. 4 Cir. 05/10/17), 220 So. 3d 154, 159.
• 3La. C.C.P. art. 4731(B); Ringham v. Computerage of New Orleans, Inc., 539 So. 2d 864 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1989) (finding abandonment where tenant having loaded the contents of part of the leased premises onto a moving van and moving the contents from the remainder of the premises); Bunel of New Orleans, lnc. v. Cigali, 348 So. 2d 993 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1977) (finding that where leased premises were empty and there was no response to the landlord’s notices, the landlord could assume the premises were abandoned); Scott v. MAC-RE, LLC, 16-224 (La. App. 3 Cir. 02/08/17), 211 So. 3d 693, 698–99 (finding abandonment where there was nothing of value left in the apartment, water and electricity were shut off, there was rotten food in the freezer, tenant admitted to having secured another unit, and the landlord did not see the tenant for two months); Lebeau v. Saxon Mortg. Servs., 2018-0199 (La. App. 4 Cir. 04/17/19), 269 So. 3d 970, 975 (finding abandonment where electricity and gas was turned off, furniture and major appliances were removed, and Sheriff’s records showed the property was vacant); 745 Olive St., L.L.C. v. Optimal Wellness, LLC, 54,778 (La. App. 2 Cir. 11/16/22), 351 So. 3d 890, 894 (indicia of abandonment were satisfied where furniture and equipment was removed, keys were left on the counter, and a sign appeared on the door referring to closure of business). But see Porter v. Johnson, 369 So. 2d 1141 (La. App. 1 Cir. 1979) (finding that there was no abandonment where various items of considerable value were left at a leased camp); Capers v. Northpro Props. Mgmt., LLC, 53919 (La. App. 2 Cir. 05/05/21), 321 So. 3d 502, 513 (finding there was no abandonment where utilities remained active, numerous belongings remained in the house, and in the days leading up to repossession tenant’s children were seen at the house).
• 4Mansur v. Cox, 2004-CA-0140 (La. App. 1 Cir. 12/30/04), 898 So. 2d 446 (landlord fired weapon at moving truck while tenant was in the process of moving).

In the post-Katrina context, a court has found that a landlord was not liable for wrongful eviction where a natural disaster rendered the apartment uninhabitable and the landlord disposed of the tenant’s property after good faith efforts to contact him.1  However, as of August 1, 2022, absence from the unit cannot be relied upon as an “indicia of abandonment” for the first 30 days after a declared disaster.2  Failure to comply with this article may subject a landlord to costs, attorney’s fees, and a statutory penalty of twice the monthly rent should the tenant be forced to sue for wrongful eviction.3  In addition, should a tenant need to file a petition for injunctive relief to obtain a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction in order to secure access to the unit in the 30 days after a named disaster, the security bond is waived.4

• 1Strickland v. Gordon, 2009-CA-0856 (La. App. 4 Cir. 03/03/10), 33 So. 3d 368.
• 2La. C.C.P. art 4731(c).
• 3La. C.C.P. art 4731(c)(2)–(3). Arguably the penalties outlined in this article could apply to any violation of Article 4731, i.e., any wrongful eviction action.
• 4La. C.C.P. art. 4731(c)(4).

A tenant can enjoin or recover damages for a landlord’s nonjudicial eviction or termination of utility services prior to completion of the judicial eviction process.1  Damages for property wrongfully removed from a leased unit are available even if some of the property was returned after being exposed to damaging elements.2  An occupant who has no landlord-tenant relationship with the owner can still recover damages for wrongful eviction.3

Both special and general damages are available for wrongful eviction.4  Special damages might include lost or damaged personal property, lost work, or moving expenses. General damages might include mental anguish, humiliation, embarrassment, inconvenience, and loss of use of the apartment.5  Mental anguish constitutes personal injury where a landlord’s liability insurance policy covers non-bodily “personal injury.”6

A wrongful eviction may give rise to liability in tort and contract.7  As a precaution, advocates should file within one year so as to comply with the prescriptive period for tort actions. Wrongful eviction has been held to constitute a bad faith violation of an obligation that subjects a landlord to both foreseeable and unforeseeable damages.8  A wrongful eviction may constitute an unfair trade practice in violation of La. R.S. 51:1401, et seq.9  In 2010 the Louisiana Supreme Court broadened the definition of parties eligible for relief under the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (LUTPA), which may make it easier to succeed on such a claim.10

Tenants with fixed-term leases could be entitled to large damage awards for wrongful evictions. For example, a tenant with a fixed-term lease who has made leasehold improvements may be entitled to damages in the amount of the value of the improvements, prorated over the remainder of the lease term.11  Each person in the household could have a cause of action for damages.12

Damages should be proven with sufficient specificity.13  However, a tenant may be entitled to damages for property illegally removed from a leased unit even if receipts and other documentation of losses were lost in the wrongful eviction.14

• 1Kite v. Gus Kaplan Inc., 98-0715 (La. 11/17/99), 747 So. 2d 503 (forcible relocation of business to inadequate location); Gennings v. Newton, 567 So. 2d 637 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1990) (lock-out and electricity shutoff); Weber v. Bon March Pharmacy, 378 So. 2d 520 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1979) (electricity shutoff); Vogt v. Jannarelli, 198 So. 421 (Orl. App. 1940) (utility shutoff); White v. Bd. of Supervisors of S. Univ., 365 So. 2d 583 (La. App. 1 Cir. 1978) (lock-out); Buchanan v. Daspit, 245 So. 2d 506 (La. App. 3 Cir. 1971) (illegal entry and removal of property); Robinson v. Bonhaye, 195 So. 365 (Orl. App. 1940) (removal of windows and doors).
• 2Capers v. NorthPro Props. Mgmt., LLC, 53,919 (La. App. 2 Cir. 5/5/21), 321 So. 3d 502, 515 (tenant entitled to jurisdictional limit of $15,000 for lost property where items were illegally moved from home into a dumpster and then returned from the dumpster), writ denied, 2021-00768 (La. 10/1/21), 324 So. 3d 1055.
• 3Boisdore v. Int'l City Bank & Tr. Co., 361 So. 2d 925 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1978).
• 4Weber v. McMilian, 285 So. 2d 349, 351 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1973); Dos Santos v. Belmere Ltd. P'ship, 2017-0283 (La. App. 1 Cir. 9/15/17), 2017 WL 4082287; Duhon v. Briley, 2012-1137 (La. App. 4 Cir. 5/23/13), 117 So. 3d 253.
• 5See, e.g., Gennings, 567 So. 2d at 642; Kite, 747 So. 2d at 512 (maintaining but reducing general damages award with analysis).
• 6Kite, 747 So. 2d at 513.
• 7Duhon v. Briley, 2012-1137 (La. App. 4 Cir. 5/23/13), 117 So. 3d 253, 260.
• 8La. C.C. art. 1997; Smith v. Shirley, 2001-1249 (La. App. 3 Cir. 02/06/02); 815 So. 2d 980.
• 9New Orleans Riverwalk Assocs. v. Robert P. Guastella Equities, 94-2092 (La. App. 4 Cir. 11/16/95), 664 So. 2d 151, 160 (affirming award of attorney fees under LUTPA where commercial lessor “attempted to drive [commercial lessee] out of business” when it “tried to stop liquor sales, refused to fix drainage problems, interfered with the air conditioning system for two and one-half months, tried to cut off live entertainment as well as the outside bar and brought in competitors”); Tyler v. Rapid Cash, L.L.C., 40,656 (La. App. 2 Cir. 05/17/06), 930 So. 2d 1135 (self-help repossession of a vehicle without judicial process is an unfair trade practice because it “offended public policy and was unethical”); Pelleteri v. Caspian Grp., 2002-2141, 2002-2142 (La. App. 4 Cir. 07/02/03), 851 So. 2d 1230 (found without explanation that the wrongful eviction, on the facts of this case, was not an unfair trade practice); Scott v. MAC-RE, LLC, 16-224 (La. App. 3 Cir. 02/08/17), 211 So. 3d 693, 699 (affirming judgment in favor of landlord where tenant brought wrongful eviction and LUTPA claims after determining tenant abandoned premises, but denying attorney fees to landlord under LUTPA upon finding that tenant’s claim was not in bad faith); Plater v. Ironwood Land Co., 39,085 (La. App. 2 Cir. 12/8/04), 889 So. 2d 475 (finding that LUTPA was applicable, but that the defendant’s actions did not rise to the level of unfair or deceptive trade practices, where tax sale purchaser leased to residential tenant during redemption period, and tenant was evicted when tax debtor redeemed the property).
• 10Cheramie Servs., Inc. v. Shell Deepwater Prod., Inc., 2009-1633 (La. 4/23/10), 35 So. 3d 1053.
• 11See, e.g., Provenzano v. Populis, 428 So. 2d 556 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1983); Leake v. Hardie, 245 So. 2d 729 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1971); Knapp v. Guerin, 81 So. 302 (La. 1919); La. C.C. art. 2695.
• 12Cf. Pizanne v. A.V. Dufor, 112 So. 2d 733 (Orl. App. 1959).
• 13Platinum City LLC v. Boudreaux, 2011-559 (La. App. 3 Cir. 11/23/11), 81 So. 3d 780.
• 14Capers v. NorthPro Properties Mgmt., LLC, 53,919 (La. App. 2 Cir. 5/5/21), 321 So. 3d 502, 515.

In some cases, a landlord may be liable for wrongful eviction even where threats alone interfere with the tenant’s peaceful possession and/or cause the tenant to vacate.1  However, at least one court has ruled that the tenant’s physical access to the property must be barred to constitute a wrongful eviction.2

• 1Mansur v. Cox, 2004-0140 (La. App. 1 Cir. 12/30/04), 898 So. 2d 446, 448–49 (finding landlord liable for damages where tenant tried to move during lease and landlord confronted and fired gun while tenant was moving); Pelleteri v. Caspian Grp., 2002-2141, 2002-2142 (La. App. 4 Cir. 07/02/03), 851 So. 2d 1230 (landlord liable for wrongful eviction after threatening to padlock property, which caused tenant to remove most of his items, but landlord did actually padlock the property later).
• 2Lebeau v. Saxon Mortg. Servs., 2018-0199 (La. App. 4 Cir. 04/17/19), 269 So. 3d 970, 975 (verbally ordering tenant off property and changing some but not all of the locks did not constitute wrongful eviction because mortgagor was not denied physical entry to the property).