Evictions occur in four different courts: justice of the peace, city, parish, and district courts. Justice of the peace, city, and parish courts are courts of limited jurisdiction.1
Justice of the peace and district courts have jurisdiction over evictions of residential tenants and occupants regardless of the amount of the monthly or yearly rent or the rent for the unexpired term of the lease.2
City and parish courts have jurisdiction over evictions if the daily rental is less than $150, the weekly rental is less than $500, the monthly rental is less than $3,000, or the annual rental is less than $36,000.3 City and parish courts are courts with a jurisdictional oddity in that these courts do not have express statutory jurisdiction over evictions of tenants where the lease term is other than a day, week, month, or year.4 Jurisdiction is not specified for evictions involving, for example, a lease with a six-month term. This is significant because the landlord must prove jurisdiction in order to use the summary eviction procedure in a city or parish court.5
Courts of limited jurisdiction are also restricted in the types of cases that can be heard. Parish and city court subject matter restrictions differ slightly from limitations upon the justice of the peace.6 A common example is when a plaintiff attempts to evict a bond for deed purchaser.7 Justice of the peace courts, city courts, and parish courts lack jurisdiction to adjudicate issues involving title to immovable property.8
- 1La. C.C.P. art. 4832.
- 2La. C.C.P. art. 4912(A).
- 3La. C.C.P. art. 4844.
- 4Id.
- 5Ne. Realty v. Jackson, 36,276 (La. App. 2 Cir. 08/14/02), 824 So. 2d 1264; Arnona v. Arnona, 477 So. 2d 120 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1985); see also Home Distrib., Inc. v. Dollar Amusement, Inc., 98-1692, p. 6 n.2 (La. App. 1 Cir. 09/24/99), 754 So. 2d 1057, 1061 n. 2 (stating that the law no longer provides a catchall jurisdiction clause for city and parish court evictions).
- 6La. C.C.P. arts. 4847, 4913.
- 7Some courts of limited jurisdiction will hear an eviction in a bond for deed matter if the plaintiff can show proper procedures are followed to cancel the contract. La. R.S. 9:2945.
- 8La. C.C.P. art. 4847(A)(1); La. C.C.P. art. 4913(3); see also Ballard v. Ballard, 53953 (La. App. 2 Cir. 05/26/21), 321 So. 3d 517 (holding that an eviction suit involving a dispute of title to immovable property cannot be heard in city court for lack of subject matter jurisdiction where stepson claiming ownership attempted to evict his stepmother who also claimed an ownership interest via a community property regime).