Louisiana Civil Code

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Table of Contents (Download PDF)

• Preliminary Title (Art. 1 to 23)
  • Chapter 1 General Principles (Art. 1 to 8)
  • Chapter 2 Interpretation of Laws (Art. 9 to 13)
  • Chapter 3 Conflict of Laws (Art. 14 to 23)
• Book I Of Persons (Art. 24 to 399)
  • Title I Natural and Juridical Persons (Art. 24 to 37)
  • Title II Domicile (Art. 38 to 46)
  • Title III Absent Persons (Art. 47 to 85)
    • Chapter 1 Curatorship of the Property of Absent Persons (Art. 47 to 53)
    • Chapter 2 Declaration of Death (Art. 54 to 85)
  • Title IV Husband and Wife (Art. 86 to 101)
    • Chapter 1 Marriage: General Principles (Art. 86 to 93)
    • Chapter 2 Nullity of Marriage (Art. 94 to 97)
    • Chapter 3 Incidents and Effects of Marriage (Art. 98 to 100)
    • Chapter 4 Termination of Marriage (Art. 101)
  • Title V Divorce (Art. 102 to 161)
    • Chapter 1 The Divorce Action (Art. 102 to 110)
    • Chapter 2 Provisional and Incidental Proceedings (Art. 111 to 158)
      • Section 1 Spousal Support (Art. 111 to 120)
      • Section 2 Claim for Contributions to Education or Training (Art. 121 to 130)
      • Section 3 Child Custody (Art. 131 to 140)
      • Section 4 Child Support (Art. 141 to 150)
      • Section 5 Provisional and Incidental Proceedings in Actions of Nullity (Art. 151 to 158)
    • Chapter 3 Effects of Divorce (Art. 159 to 161)
  • Title VI Of Master and Servant (Art. 162 to 177)
  • Title VII Parent and Child (Art. 178 to 245)
    • Chapter 1 Filiation (Art. 178 to 183)
    • Chapter 2 Filiation by Proof of Maternity or Paternity (Art. 184 to 198)
      • Section 1 Proof of Maternity (Art. 184)
      • Section 2 Proof of Paternity (Art. 185 to 198)
        • Subsection A The Presumption of Paternity of Husband; Disavowal of Paternity; Contestation; Establishment of Paternity (Art. 185 to 194)
        • Subsection B Presumption of Paternity by Subsequent Marriage and Acknowledgment (Art. 195)
        • Subsection C Other Methods of Establishing Paternity (Art. 196 to 198)
    • Chapter 3 Filiation by Adoption (Art. 199 to 214)
      • Section 1 Effect of Adoption (Art. 199)
      • Section 2 Adoption of Minors (Art. 200 to 211)
      • Section 3 Adoption of Adults (Art. 212 to 214)
    • Chapter 4 Filiation of Children by Assisted Reproductive Technology [Reserved]
    • Chapter 5 Parental Authority of Married Persons (Art. 215 to 235)
      • Section 1 General Principles of Parental Authority (Art. 221 to 223)
      • Section 2 Obligations of Parents (Art. 224 to 226)
      • Section 3 Obligations of Children (Art. 227 to 228)
      • Section 4 Authority Over the Property of the Child (Art. 229 to 231)
      • Section 5 Persons Having Parental Authority and of Its Delegation and Suspension (Art. 232 to 234)
      • Section 6 Termination of Parental Authority (Art. 235)
    • Chapter 6 Obligations of Children and Parents and Other Ascendants (Art. 236 to 245)
  • Title VIII Of Minors, of their Tutorship and Emancipation (Art. 246 to 688)
    • Chapter 1 Of Tutorship (Art. 246 to 364)
      • Section 1 General Dispositions (Art. 246 to 249)
      • Section 2 Of Tutorship by Nature (Art. 250 to 256)
      • Section 3 Of the Tutorship by Will (Art. 257 to 262)
      • Section 4 Of the Tutorship by the Effect of the Law (Art. 263 to 269)
      • Section 5 Of Dative Tutorship (Art. 270 to 272)
      • Section 6 Of the Undertutor (Art. 273 to 280)
      • Section 7 Of Family Meetings (Art. 281 to 291)
      • Section 8 Of the Causes which Dispense or Excuse from the Tutorship (Art. 292 to 301)
      • Section 9 Of the Incapacity For, the Exclusion From, and Deprivation of the Tutorship (Art. 302 to 306)
      • Section 10 Of the Appointment, Recognition, or Confirmation of Tutors, of the Persons Whose Duty it is to Cause Tutors to be Appointed and of the Liability of Such Persons (Art. 307 to 335)
      • Section 11 Of the Administration of the Tutor (Art. 336 to 353)
      • Section 12 Of Continuing or Permanent Tutorship of Mentally Retarded Persons (Art. 354 to 364)
    • Chapter 2 Emancipation (Art. 365 to 388)
  • Title IX Persons Unable to Care for their Persons or Property (Art. 389 to 399)
    • Chapter 1 Grounds for Interdiction (Art. 389 to 391)
    • Chapter 2 General Duties of Curators and Undercurators (Art. 392 to 393)
    • Chapter 3 Effects of Interdiction (Art. 394 to 396)
    • Chapter 4 Modification and Termination of Interdiction (Art. 397 to 398)
    • Chapter 5 Responsibility for Wrongful Filing of Interdiction Petition (Art. 399)
  • Title X Of Corporations [Repealed]
• Book II Things and the Different Modifications of Ownership (Art. 448 to 869)
  • Title I Things (Art. 448 to 476)
    • Chapter 1 Division of Things (Art. 448 to 475)
      • Section 1 General Principles (Art. 448 to 461)
      • Section 2 Immovables (Art. 462 to 470)
      • Section 3 Movables (Art. 471 to 475)
    • Chapter 2 Rights in Things (Art. 476)
  • Title II Ownership (Art. 477 to 532)
    • Chapter 1 General Principles (Art. 477 to 482)
    • Chapter 2 Right of Accession (Art. 483 to 516)
      • Section 1 Ownership of Fruits (Art. 483 to 489)
      • Section 2 Accession in Relation to Immovables (Art. 490 to 506)
      • Section 3 Accession in Relation to Movables (Art. 507 to 516)
    • Chapter 3 Transfer of Ownership by Agreement (Art. 517 to 525)
    • Chapter 4 Protection of Ownership (Art. 526 to 532)
  • Title III Personal Servitudes (Art. 533 to 645)
    • Chapter 1 Kinds of Servitudes (Art. 533 to 534)
    • Chapter 2 Usufruct (Art. 535 to 629)
      • Section 1 General Principles (Art. 535 to 549)
      • Section 2 Rights of the Usufructuary (Art. 550 to 569)
      • Section 3 Obligations of the Usufructuary (Art. 570 to 602)
      • Section 4 Rights and Obligations of the Naked Owner (Art. 603 to 606)
      • Section 5 Termination of Usufruct (Art. 607 to 629)
    • Chapter 3 Habitation (Art. 630 to 638)
    • Chapter 4 Rights of Use (Art. 639 to 645)
  • Title IV Predial Servitudes (Art. 646 to 774)
    • Chapter 1 General Principles (Art. 646 to 654)
    • Chapter 2 Natural Servitudes (Art. 655 to 658)
    • Chapter 3 Legal Servitudes (Art. 659 to 696)
      • Section 1 Limitations on Ownership (Art. 659 to 672)
      • Section 2 Common Enclosures (Art. 673 to 688)
      • Section 3 Right of Passage (Art. 689 to 696)
    • Chapter 4 Conventional or Voluntary Servitudes (Art. 697 to 774)
      • Section 1 Kinds of Conventional Servitudes (Art. 697 to 707)
      • Section 2 Establishment of Predial Servitudes by Title (Art. 708 to 734)
      • Section 3 Acquisition of Conventional Servitudes for the Dominant Estate (Art. 735 to 743)
      • Section 4 Rights of the Owner of the Dominant Estate (Art. 744 to 750)
      • Section 5 Extinction of Predial Servitudes (Art. 751 to 774)
  • Title V Building Restrictions (Art. 775 to 783)
  • Title VI Boundaries (Art. 784 to 796)
    • Chapter 1 General Principles (Art. 784 to 791)
    • Chapter 2 Effect of Titles, Prescription, or Possession (Art. 792 to 796)
  • Title VII Ownership in Indivision (Art. 797 to 869)
• Book III Of the Different Modes of Acquiring the Ownership of Things (Art. 870 to 3514)
  • Preliminary Title General Dispositions (Art. 870)
  • Title I Of Successions (Art. 871 to 1466)
    • Chapter 1 Of the Different Sorts of Successions and Successors (Art. 871 to 879)
    • Chapter 2 Of Intestate Succession (Art. 880 to 901)
    • Chapter 3 Of the Rights of the State (Art. 902 to 933)
    • Chapter 4 Commencement of Succession (Art. 934 to 938)
    • Chapter 5 Loss of Succession Rights (Art. 939 to 946)
    • Chapter 6 Acceptance and Renunciation of Successions (Art. 947 to 1074)
      • Section 1 General Principles (Art. 947 to 956)
      • Section 2 Acceptance (Art. 957 to 962)
      • Section 3 Renunciation (Art. 963 to 966)
      • Section 4 Acceptance of Succession by Creditors (Art. 967 to 1074)
    • Chapter 7 Of the Seals, and of the Affixing and Raising of the Same [Repealed] (Art. 1075 to 1094)
    • Chapter 8 Of the Administration of Vacant and Intestate Successions (Art. 1095 to 1219)
      • Section 1 General Dispositions (Art. 1095 to 1100)
      • Section 2 Of the Inventory of Vacant and Intestate Successions Subject to Administration [Repealed] (Art. 1101 to 1112)
      • Section 3 Of the Appointment of Curators to Successions, and of the Security they are Bound to Give [Repealed] (Art. 1113 to 1132)
      • Section 4 Of the Duties and Powers of Curators of Vacant Successions and of Absent Heirs (Art. 1133 to 1157)
      • Section 5 Of the Causes for which a Curator of a Succession may be Dismissed or Superseded [Repealed] (Art. 1158 to 1161)
      • Section 6 Of the Sale of the Effects and of the Settlement of Successions Administered by Curators (Art. 1162 to 1190)
      • Section 7 Of the Account to be rendered by the Curators and the Commission Due to them (Art. 1191 to 1209)
      • Section 8 Of the Appointment of Counsel of Absent Heirs, and of their Duties [Repealed] (Art. 1210 to 1219)
    • Chapter 9 Of the Successions of Persons Domiciliated Out of the State, and of the Tax Due by Foreign Heirs, Legatees and Donees [Repealed] (Art. 1220 to 1223)
      • Section 1 Of the Successions of Persons Domiciliated Out of the State [Repealed] (Art. 1220)
      • Section 2 Of the Tax Due by Foreign Heirs, Legatees and Donees [Repealed] (Art. 1221 to 1223)
    • Chapter 10 Of Successions Administered by Syndics [Repealed] (Art. 1224 to 1226)
    • Chapter 11 Of Collations (Art. 1227 to 1288)
      • Section 1 What Collation is, and by Whom It is Due (Art. 1227 to1241)
      • Section 2 To Whom the Collation is Due, and What Things are Subject to It (Art. 1242 to 1250)
      • Section 3 How Collations are Made (Art. 1251 to 1288)
    • Chapter 12 Of the Partition of Successions (Art. 1289 to 1414)
      • Section 1 Of the Nature of Partition, and of its Several Kinds (Art. 1289 to 1306)
      • Section 2 Among What Persons Partition Can be Sued For (Art. 1307 to 1321)
      • Section 3 In What Manner the Judicial Partition is Made (Art. 1322 to 1346)
      • Section 4 How the Recorder of the Parish or the Notary is Bound to Proceed in the Judicial Partition (Art. 1347 to 1381)
      • Section 5 Of the Effect of Partition (Art. 1382 to 1383)
      • Section 6 Of the Warranty of Partition (Art. 1384 to 1396)
      • Section 7 Of the Rescission of Partition (Art. 1397 to 1414)
    • Chapter 13 Payment of the Debts of an Estate (Art. 1415 to 1466)
      • Section 1 General Dispositions Introduction (Art. 1415)
      • Section 2 Rights of Creditors (Art. 1416 to 1419)
      • Section 3 Responsibility of Successors among Themselves (Art. 1420 to 1466)
  • Title II Donations (Art. 1467 to 1755)
    • Chapter 1 General Dispositions (Art. 1467 to 1469)
    • Chapter 2 Of the Capacity Necessary for Disposing and Receiving by Donation Inter Vivos or Mortis Causa (Art. 1470 to 1492)
    • Chapter 3 The Disposable Portion and its Reduction in Case of Excess (Art. 1493 to 1518)
    • Chapter 4 Of Dispositions Reprobated by Law in Donations Inter Vivos and Mortis Causa (Art. 1519 to 1522)
    • Chapter 5 Donations Inter Vivos (art. 1523 to 1569.1)
      • Section 1 General Dispositions (Art. 1523 to 1540)
      • Section 2 Of the Form of Donations Inter Vivos (Art. 1541 to 1555)
      • Section 3 Exceptions to the Rule of the Irrevocability of Donations Inter Vivos (Art. 1556 to 1569.1)
    • Chapter 6 Dispositions Mortis Causa (Art. 1570 to 1723)
      • Section 1 Testaments Generally (Art. 1570 to 1573)
      • Section 2 Forms of Testaments (Art. 1574 to 1580.1)
      • Section 3 Of the Competence of Witnesses and of Certain Designations in Testaments (Art. 1581 to 1583)
      • Section 4 Testamentary Dispositions (Art. 1584 to 1604)
      • Section 5 Probate of Testaments (Art. 1605)
      • Section 6 Revocation of Testaments and Legacies (Art. 1606 to 1610.1)
      • Section 7 Rules for the Interpretation of Legacies (Art. 1611 to 1616)
      • Section 8 Disinherison (Art. 1617 to 1723)
    • Chapter 7 Of Partitions Made by Parents and Other Ascendants among their Descendants (Art. 1724 to 1733)
    • Chapter 8 Of Donations Inter Vivos Made in Contemplation of Marriage by Third Persons (Art. 1734 to 1743)
      • Section 1 In General (Art. 1734 to 1736)
      • Section 2 Donations of Present Property (Art. 1737)
      • Section 3 Donations of Property to be Left at Death (Art. 1738 to 1743)
    • Chapter 9 Of Interspousal Donations Inter Vivos (Art. 1744 to 1755)
  • Title III Obligations in General (Art. 1756 to 1905)
    • Chapter 1 General Principles (Art. 1756 to 1759)
    • Chapter 2 Natural Obligations (Art. 1760 to 1762)
    • Chapter 3 Kinds of Obligations (Art. 1763 to 1820)
      • Section 1 Real Obligations (Art. 1763 to 1764)
      • Section 2 Strictly Personal and Heritable Obligations (Art. 1765 to 1766)
      • Section 3 Conditional Obligations (Art. 1767 to 1776)
      • Section 4 Obligations with a Term (Art. 1777 to 1785)
      • Section 5 Obligations with Multiple Persons (Art. 1786 to 1806)
      • Section 6 Conjunctive and Alternative Obligations (Art. 1807 to 1814)
      • Section 7 Divisible and Indivisible Obligations (Art. 1815 to 1820)
    • Chapter 4 Transfer of Obligations (Art. 1821 to 1830)
      • Section 1 Assumption of Obligations (Art. 1821 to 1824)
      • Section 2 Subrogation (Art. 1825 to 1830)
    • Chapter 5 Proof of Obligations (Art. 1831 to 1853)
    • Chapter 6 Extinction of Obligations (Art. 1854 to 1905)
      • Section 1 Performance (Art. 1854 to 1872)
        • Subsection A Imputation of Payment (Art. 1864 to 1868)
        • Subsection B Tender and Deposit (Art. 1869 to 1872)
      • Section 2 Impossibility of Performance (Art. 1873 to 1878)
      • Section 3 Novation (Art. 1879 to 1887)
      • Section 4 Remission of Debt (Art. 1888 to 1892)
      • Section 5 Compensation (Art. 1893 to 1902)
      • Section 6 Confusion (Art. 1903 to 1905)
  • Title IV Conventional Obligations or Contracts (Art. 1906 to 2291)
    • Chapter 1 General Principles (Art. 1906 to 1917)
    • Chapter 2 Contractual Capacity and Exceptions (Art. 1918 to 1926)
    • Chapter 3 Consent (Art. 1927 to 1947)
    • Chapter 4 Vices of Consent (Art. 1948 to 1965)
      • Section 1 Error (Art. 1948 to 1952)
      • Section 2 Fraud (Art. 1953 to 1958)
      • Section 3 Duress (Art. 1959 to 1964)
      • Section 4 Lesion (Art. 1965)
    • Chapter 5 Cause (Art. 1966 to 1970)
    • Chapter 6 Object and Matter of Contracts (Art. 1971 to 1977)
    • Chapter 7 Third Party Beneficiary (Art. 1978 to 1982)
    • Chapter 8 Effects of Conventional Obligations (Art. 1983 to 2012)
      • Section 1 General Effects of Contracts (Art. 1983 to 1985)
      • Section 2 Specific Performance (Art. 1986 to 1988)
      • Section 3 Putting in Default (Art. 1989 to 1993)
      • Section 4 Damages (Art. 1994 to 2004)
      • Section 5 Stipulated Damages (Art. 2005 to 2012)
    • Chapter 9 Dissolution (Art. 2013 to 2024)
    • Chapter 10 Simulation (Art. 2025 to 2028)
    • Chapter 11 Nullity (Art. 2029 to 2035)
    • Chapter 12 Revocatory Action and Oblique Action (Art. 2036 to 2044)
      • Section 1 Revocatory Action (Art. 2036 to 2043)
      • Section 2 Oblique Action (Art. 2044)
    • Chapter 13 Interpretation of Contracts (Art. 2045 to 2291)
  • Title V Obligations Arising without Agreement (Art. 2292 to 2324.2)
    • Chapter 1 Management of Affairs (Negotiorum Gestio) (Art. 2292 to 2297)
    • Chapter 2 Enrichment without Cause (Art. 2298 to 2314)
      • Section 1 General Principles (Art. 2298)
      • Section 2 Payment of a Thing not owed (Art. 2299 to 2314)
    • Chapter 3 Of Offenses and Quasi Offenses (Art. 2315 to 2324.2)
  • Title VI Matrimonial Regimes (Art. 2325 to 2437)
    • Chapter 1 General Principles (Art. 2325 to 2333)
    • Chapter 2 The Legal Regime of Community of Acquets and Gains (Art. 2334 to 2369.8)
      • Section 1 General Dispositions (Art. 2334 to 2345)
      • Section 2 Management of Community Property (Art. 2346 to 2355.1)
      • Section 3 Termination of the Community (Art. 2356 to 2369.8)
    • Chapter 3 Separation of Property Regime (Art. 2370 to 2431)
    • Chapter 4 Marital Portion (Art. 2432 to 2437)
  • Title VII Sale (Art. 2438 to 2659)
    • Chapter 1 Of the Nature and Form of the Contract of Sale (Art. 2438 to 2446)
    • Chapter 2 Of Persons Capable of Buying and Selling (Art. 2447)
    • Chapter 3 Of Things Which May be Sold (Art. 2448 to 2455)
    • Chapter 4 How the Contract of Sale is to be Perfected (Art. 2456 to 2463)
    • Chapter 5 Of the Price of the Contract of Sale (Art. 2464 to 2466)
    • Chapter 6 At Whose Risk the Thing is, After the Sale is Completed (Art. 2467 to 2473)
    • Chapter 7 Of the Obligations of the Seller (Art. 2474 to 2499)
    • Chapter 8 Eviction (Art. 2500 to 2519)
    • Chapter 9 Redhibition (Art. 2520 to 2548)
    • Chapter 10 Of the Obligations of the Buyer (Art. 2549 to 2566)
    • Chapter 11 Of the Sale with a Right of Redemption (Art. 2567 to 2588)
    • Chapter 12 Rescission for Lesion beyond Moiety (Art. 2589 to 2600)
    • Chapter 13 Sales of Movables (Art. 2601 to 2619)
    • Chapter 14 Agreements Preparatory to the Sale (Art. 2620 to 2641)
      • Section 1 Option (Art. 2620 to 2622)
      • Section 2 Contract to Sell (Art. 2623 to 2624)
      • Section 3 Right of First Refusal (Art. 2625 to 2626)
      • Section 4 Effects (Art. 2627 to 2641)
    • Chapter 15 Assignment of Rights (Art. 2642 to 2654)
    • Chapter 16 Of the Giving in Payment (Art. 2655 to 2659)
  • Title VIII Of Exchange (Art. 2660 to 2667)
  • Title IX Lease (Art. 2668 to 2777)
    • Chapter 1 General Provisions (Art. 2668 to 2672)
    • Chapter 2 Essential Elements (Art. 2673 to 2681)
      • Section 1 The Thing (Art. 2673 to 2674)
      • Section 2 The Rent (Art. 2675 to 2677)
      • Section 3 The Term (Art. 2678 to 2680)
      • Section 4 Form (Art. 2681)
    • Chapter 3 The Obligations of the Lessor and the Lessee (Art. 2682 to 2713)
      • Section 1 Principal Obligations (Art. 2682 to 2683)
      • Section 2 Delivery (Art. 2684 to 2685)
      • Section 3 Use of the Thing by the Lessee (Art. 2686 to 2689)
      • Section 4 Alterations, Repairs, and Additions (Art. 2690 to 2695)
      • Section 5 Lessor's Warranties (Art. 2696 to 2702)
        • Subsection 1 Warranty against Vices or Defects (Art. 2696 to 2699)
        • Subsection 2 Warranty of Peaceful Possession (Art. 2700 to 2702)
      • Section 6 Payment of Rent (Art. 2703 to 2706)
      • Section 7 Lessor's Security Rights (Art. 2707 to 2710)
      • Section 8 Transfer of Interest by the Lessor or the Lessee (Art. 2711 to 2713)
    • Chapter 4 Termination and Dissolution (Art. 2714 to 2744)
      • Section 1 Rules Applicable to All Leases (Art. 2714 to 2719)
      • Section 2 Leases with a Fixed Term (Art. 2720 to 2726)
      • Section 3 Leases with Indeterminate Term (Art. 2727 to 2744)
    • Chapter 5 Of the Letting Out of Labor or Industry (Art. 2745 to 2777)
      • Section 1 Of the Hiring of Servants and Laborers (Art. 2746 to 2750)
      • Section 2 Of Carriers and Watermen (Art. 2751 to 2755)
      • Section 3 Of Constructing Buildings According to Plots, and Other Works by the Job, and of Furnishing Materials (Art. 2756 to 2777)
  • Title X Annuities (Art. 2778 to 2800)
    • Chapter 1 Annuity Contract (Art. 2778 to 2786)
    • Chapter 2 Annuity Charge (Art. 2787 to 2800)
  • Title XI Partnership (Art. 2801 to 2848)
    • Chapter 1 General Principles (Art. 2801 to 2807)
    • Chapter 2 Obligations and Rights of Partners toward Each Other and toward the Partnership (Art. 2808 to 2813)
    • Chapter 3 Relations of the Partnership and the Partners with Third Persons (Art. 2814 to 2817)
    • Chapter 4 Cessation of Membership (Art. 2818 to 2825)
      • Section 1 Causes of Cessation (Art. 2818 to 2822)
      • Section 2 Effects of Cessation of Membership and Rights of the Former Partner (Art. 2823 to 2825)
    • Chapter 5 Termination of a Partnership (Art. 2826 to 2831)
      • Section 1 Causes of Termination (Art. 2826 to 2829)
      • Section 2 Effects of Termination of Partnership and Rights of Former Partners (Art. 2830 to 2831)
    • Chapter 6 Dissolution, Liquidation, and Division of Assets (Art. 2832 to 2835)
    • Chapter 7 Partnership in Commendam (Art. 2836 to 2890)
  • Title XII Loan (Art. 2891 to 2925)
    • Chapter 1 Loan for Use (Commodatum) (Art. 2891 to 2903)
    • Chapter 2 Loan for Consumption (Mutuum) (Art. 2904 to 2912)
    • Chapter 3 Loan on Interest (Art. 2913 to 2925)
  • Title XIII Deposit and Sequestration (Art. 2926 to 2951)
    • Chapter 1 Deposit (Art. 2926 to 2940)
    • Chapter 2 Deposit with Innkeepers (Art. 2941 to 2945)
    • Chapter 3 Conventional Sequestration (Art. 2946 to 2948)
    • Chapter 4 Judicial Sequestration (Art. 2949 to 2951)
  • Title XIV Of Aleatory Contracts (Art. 2982 to 2984)
  • Title XV Representation and Mandate (Art. 2985 to 3034)
    • Chapter 1 Representation (Art. 2985 to 2988)
    • Chapter 2 Mandate (Art. 2989 to 3034)
      • Section 1 General Principles (Art. 2989 to 3000)
      • Section 2 Relations between the Principal and the Mandatary (Art. 3001 to 3015)
      • Section 3 Relations between the Principal, the Mandatary, and Third Persons (Art. 3016 to 3023)
        • Subsection A Relations between the Mandatary and Third Persons (Art. 3016 to 3019)
        • Subsection B Relations between the Principal and Third Persons (Art. 3020 to 3023)
      • Section 4 Termination of the Mandate and of the Authority of the Mandatary (Art. 3024 to 3034)
  • Title XVI Suretyship (Art. 3035 to 3070)
    • Chapter 1 Nature and Extent of Suretyship (Art. 3035 to 3040)
    • Chapter 2 Kinds of Suretyship (Art. 3041 to 3044)
    • Chapter 3 The Effects of Suretyship between the Surety and Creditor (Art. 3045 to 3046)
    • Chapter 4 The Effects of Suretyship between the Surety and Principal Obligor (Art. 3047 to 3054)
    • Chapter 5 The Effects of Suretyship among Several Sureties (Art. 3055 to 3057)
    • Chapter 6 Termination or Extinction of Suretyship (Art. 3058 to 3062)
    • Chapter 7 Legal Suretyship (Art. 3063 to 3070)
  • Title XVII Compromise (Art. 3071 to 3083)
  • Title XVIII Of Respite (Art. 3084 to 3098)
  • Title XIX Of Arbitration (Art. 3099 to 3132)
  • Title XX Security (Art. 3133 to 3140)
  • Title XX-A Pledge (Art. 3141 to 3181)
    • Chapter 1 General Provisions (Art. 3141 to 3167)
    • Chapter 2 The Pledge of the Lessor's Rights in the Lease of an Immovable and its Rent (Art. 3168 to 3181)
  • Title XXI Of Privileges (Art. 3182 to 3277)
    • Chapter 1 General Provisions (Art. 3182 to 3185)
    • Chapter 2 Of the Several Kinds of Privileges (Art. 3186 to 3189)
    • Chapter 3 Of Privileges on Movables (Art. 3190 to 3248)
      • Section 1 Of General Privileges on Movables (Art. 3191 to 3215)
        • §1 Of Funeral Charges (Art. 3192 to 3194)
        • §2 Of Law Charges (Art. 3195 to 3198)
        • §3 Of Expenses during the Last Sickness (Art. 3199 to 3204)
        • §4 Of the Wages of Servants (Art. 3205 to 3207)
        • §5 Of Supplies of Provisions (Art. 3208 to 3213)
        • §6 Of the Privilege of Clerks (Art. 3214 to 3215)
      • Section 2 Of the Privileges on Particular Movables (Art. 3216 to 3236)
        • §1 Of the Privilege of the Lessor (Art. 3218 to 3219)
        • §2 Of the Privilege of the Creditor on the Thing Pledged (Art. 3220 to 3221)
        • §3 Of the Privilege of a Depositor (Art. 3222 to 3223)
        • §4 Of Expenses Incurred for the Preservation of the Thing (Art. 3224 to 3226)
        • §5 Of the Privilege of the Vendor of Movable Effects (Art. 3227 to 3231)
        • §6 Of the Privilege of the Innkeeper on the Effects of the Traveler (Art. 3232 to 3236)
      • Section 3 Of the Privilege on Ships and Merchandise (Art. 3237 to 3248)
    • Chapter 4 Of Privileges on Immovables (Art. 3249 to 3251)
    • Chapter 5 Of Privileges which Embrace both Movables and Immovables (Art. 3252 to 3253)
    • Chapter 6 Of the Order in which Privileged Creditors are to be Paid (Art. 3254 to 3270)
    • Chapter 7 How Privileges are Preserved and Recorded (Art. 3271 to 3276)
    • Chapter 8 Of the Manner in which Privileges are Extinguished (Art. 3277)
  • Title XXII Mortgages (Art. 3278 to 3337)
    • Chapter 1 General Provisions (Art. 3278 to 3286)
    • Chapter 2 Conventional Mortgages (Art. 3287 to 3298)
    • Chapter 3 Judicial and Legal Mortgages (Art. 3299 to 3306)
    • Chapter 4 The Effect and Rank of Mortgages (Art. 3307 to 3314)
    • Chapter 5 Third Possessors (Art. 3315 to 3318)
    • Chapter 6 Extinction of Mortgages (Art. 3319)
    • Chapter 7 Inscription of Mortgages and Privileges (Art. 3320 to 3337)
  • Title XXII-A Of Registry (Art. 3338 to 3411)
    • Chapter 1 General Provisions (Art. 3338 to 3353)
    • Chapter 2 Mortgage Records (Art. 3354 to 3411)
      • Section 1 General Provisions (Art. 3354 to 3356)
      • Section 2 Method and Duration of Recordation (Art. 3357 to 3365)
      • Section 3 Cancellation (Art. 3366 to 3411)
  • Title XXIII Occupancy and Possession (Art. 3412 to 3444)
    • Chapter 1 Occupancy (Art. 3412 to 3420)
    • Chapter 2 Possession (Art. 3421 to 3444)
      • Section 1 Notion and Kinds of Possession (Art. 3421 to 3423)
      • Section 2 Acquisition, Exercise, Retention, and Loss of Possession (Art. 3424 to 3434)
      • Section 3 Vices of Possession (Art. 3435 to 3436)
      • Section 4 Precarious Possession (Art. 3437 to 3440)
      • Section 5 Transfer, Tacking, and Proof of Possession (Art. 3441 to 3444)
  • Title XXIV Prescription (Art. 3445 to 3505)
    • Chapter 1 General Principles (Art. 3445 to 3461)
      • Section 1 Prescription (Art. 3445 to 3457)
      • Section 2 Peremption (Art. 3458 to 3461)
    • Chapter 2 Interruption and Suspension of Prescription (Art. 3462 to 3472)
      • Section 1 Interruption of Prescription (Art. 3462 to 3466)
      • Section 2 Suspension of Prescription (Art. 3467 to 3472)
    • Chapter 3 Acquisitive Prescription (Art. 3473 to 3491)
      • Section 1 Immovables: Prescription of Ten Years in Good Faith and Under Just Title (Art. 3473 to 3485)
      • Section 2 Immovables: Prescription of Thirty Years (Art. 3486 to 3488)
      • Section 3 Movables: Acquisitive Prescription of Three Years or Ten Years (Art. 3489 to 3491)
    • Chapter 4 Liberative Prescription (Art. 3492 to 3505)
      • Section 1 One Year Prescription (Art. 3492 to 3493)
      • Section 1-A Two Year Prescription (Art. 3493.10)
      • Section 2 Three Year Prescription (Art. 3494 to 3496.1)
      • Section 3 Five Year Prescription (Art. 3497 to 3498)
      • Section 4 Ten Year Prescription (Art. 3499 to 3501.1)
      • Section 5 Thirty Year Prescription (Art. 3502)
      • Section 6 Interruption and Suspension of Liberative Prescription (Art. 3503 to 3505)
  • Title XXV Of the Signification of Sundry Terms of Law Employed in this Code (Art. 3506 to 3514)
• Book IV Conflict of Laws (Art. 3515 to 3556)
  • Title I General Provisions (Art. 3515 to 3518)
  • Title II Status (Art. 3519 to 3522)
  • Title III Marital Property (Art. 3523 to 3527)
  • Title IV Successions (Art. 3528 to 3534)
  • Title V Real Rights (Art. 3535 to 3536)
  • Title VI Conventional Obligations (Art. 3537 to 3541)
  • Title VII Delictual and Quasi-Delictual Obligations (Art. 3542 to 3548)
  • Title VIII Liberative Prescription (Art. 3549 to 3556)

TITLE II - OWNERSHIP

 

CHAPTER 1 - GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Art. 477. Ownership is the right that confers on a person direct, immediate, and exclusive authority over a thing. The owner of a thing may use, enjoy, and dispose of it within the limits and under the conditions established by law. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1; Acts 1995, No. 640, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996; HR 17, 1998 1st Ex. Sess.; HCR 13, 1998 R.S.; Acts 2020, No. 20, §1]

Art. 478. The right of ownership may be subject to a resolutory condition, and it may be burdened with a real right in favor of another person as allowed by law. The ownership of a thing burdened with a usufruct is designated as naked ownership. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

Art. 479. The right of ownership may exist only in favor of a natural person or a juridical person. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

Art. 480. Two or more persons may own the same thing in indivision, each having an undivided share. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

Art. 481. The ownership and the possession of a thing are distinct.

Ownership exists independently of any exercise of it and may not be lost by nonuse. Ownership is lost when acquisitive prescription accrues in favor of an adverse possessor. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

Art. 482. The ownership of a thing includes by accession the ownership of everything that it produces or is united with it, either naturally or artificially, in accordance with the following provisions. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

CHAPTER 2 - RIGHT OF ACCESSION

SECTION 1 - OWNERSHIP OF FRUITS

Art. 483. In the absence of rights of other persons, the owner of a thing acquires the ownership of its natural and civil fruits. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

Art. 484. The young of animals belong to the owner of the mother of them. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

Art. 485. When fruits that belong to the owner of a thing by accession are produced by the work of another person, or from seeds sown by him, the owner may retain them on reimbursing such person his expenses. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

Art. 486. A possessor in good faith acquires the ownership of fruits he has gathered. If he is evicted by the owner, he is entitled to reimbursement of expenses for fruits he was unable to gather.

A possessor in bad faith is bound to restore to the owner the fruits he has gathered, or their value, subject to his claim for reimbursement of expenses. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

Art. 487. For purposes of accession, a possessor is in good faith when he possesses by virtue of an act translative of ownership and does not know of any defects in his ownership. He ceases to be in good faith when these defects are made known to him or an action is instituted against him by the owner for the recovery of the thing. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

Art. 488. Products derived from a thing as a result of diminution of its substance belong to the owner of that thing. When they are reclaimed by the owner, a possessor in good faith has the right to reimbursement of his expenses. A possessor in bad faith does not have this right. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

Art. 489. In the absence of other provisions, one who is entitled to the fruits of a thing from a certain time or up to a certain time acquires the ownership of natural fruits gathered during the existence of his right, and a part of the civil fruits proportionate to the duration of his right. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

SECTION 2 - ACCESSION IN RELATION TO IMMOVABLES

Art. 490. Unless otherwise provided by law, the ownership of a tract of land carries with it the ownership of everything that is directly above or under it.

The owner may make works on, above, or below the land as he pleases, and draw all the advantages that accrue from them, unless he is restrained by law or by rights of others. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

Art. 491. Buildings, other constructions permanently attached to the ground, standing timber, and unharvested crops or ungathered fruits of trees may belong to a person other than the owner of the ground. Nevertheless, they are presumed to belong to the owner of the ground, unless separate ownership is evidenced by an instrument filed for registry in the conveyance records of the parish in which the immovable is located. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

Art. 492. Separate ownership of a part of a building, such as a floor, an apartment, or a room, may be established only by a juridical act of the owner of the entire building when and in the manner expressly authorized by law. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

Art. 493. Buildings, other constructions permanently attached to the ground, and plantings made on the land of another with his consent belong to him who made them. They belong to the owner of the ground when they are made without his consent.

When the owner of buildings, other constructions permanently attached to the ground, or plantings no longer has the right to keep them on the land of another, he may remove them subject to his obligation to restore the property to its former condition. If he does not remove them within ninety days after written demand, the owner of the land may, after the ninetieth day from the date of mailing the written demand, appropriate ownership of the improvements by providing an additional written notice by certified mail, and upon receipt of the certified mail by the owner of the improvements, the owner of the land obtains ownership of the improvements and owes nothing to the owner of the improvements. Until such time as the owner of the land appropriates the improvements, the improvements shall remain the property of he who made them and he shall be solely responsible for any harm caused by the improvements.

When buildings, other constructions permanently attached to the ground, or plantings are made on the separate property of a spouse with community assets or with separate assets of the other spouse and when such improvements are made on community property with the separate assets of a spouse, this Article does not apply. The rights of the spouses are governed by Articles 2366, 2367, and 2367.1. [Acts 1984, No. 933, §1; Acts 2003, No. 715, §1] NOTE:  See HCR No 306, 2004 R.S., relative to retroactive effects.

Art. 493.1. Things incorporated in or attached to an immovable so as to become its component parts under Articles 465 and 466 belong to the owner of the immovable. [Acts 1984, No. 933, §1]

Art. 493.2. One who has lost the ownership of a thing to the owner of an immovable may have a claim against him or against a third person in accordance with the following provisions. [Acts 1984, No. 933, §1]

Art. 494. When the owner of an immovable makes on it constructions, plantings, or works with materials of another, he may retain them, regardless of his good or bad faith, on reimbursing the owner of the materials their current value and repairing the injury that he may have caused to him. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

Art. 495. One who incorporates in, or attaches to, the immovable of another, with his consent, things that become component parts of the immovable under Articles 465 and 466, may, in the absence of other provisions of law or juridical acts, remove them subject to his obligation of restoring the property to its former condition.

If he does not remove them after demand, the owner of the immovable may have them removed at the expense of the person who made them or elect to keep them and pay, at his option, the current value of the materials and of the workmanship or the enhanced value of the immovable. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

Art. 496. When constructions, plantings, or works are made by a possessor in good faith, the owner of the immovable may not demand their demolition and removal. He is bound to keep them and at his option to pay to the possessor either the cost of the materials and of the workmanship, or their current value, or the enhanced value of the immovable. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

Art. 497. When constructions, plantings, or works are made by a bad faith possessor, the owner of the immovable may keep them or he may demand their demolition and removal at the expense of the possessor, and, in addition, damages for the injury that he may have sustained. If he does not demand demolition and removal, he is bound to pay at his option either the current value of the materials and of the workmanship of the separable improvements that he has kept or the enhanced value of the immovable. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

Art. 498. One who has lost the ownership of a thing to the owner of an immovable may assert against third persons his rights under Articles 493, 493.1, 494, 495, 496, or 497 when they are evidenced by an instrument filed for registry in the appropriate conveyance or mortgage records of the parish in which the immovable is located. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1. Acts 1984, No. 933, §1]

Art. 499. Accretion formed successively and imperceptibly on the bank of a river or stream, whether navigable or not, is called alluvion. The alluvion belongs to the owner of the bank, who is bound to leave public that portion of the bank which is required for the public use.

The same rule applies to dereliction formed by water receding imperceptibly from a bank of a river or stream. The owner of the land situated at the edge of the bank left dry owns the dereliction. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

Art. 500. There is no right to alluvion or dereliction on the shore of the sea or of lakes. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

Art. 501. Alluvion formed in front of the property of several owners is divided equitably, taking into account the extent of the front of each property prior to the formation of the alluvion in issue. Each owner is entitled to a fair proportion of the area of the alluvion and a fair proportion of the new frontage on the river, depending on the relative values of the frontage and the acreage. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

Art. 502. If a sudden action of the waters of a river or stream carries away an identifiable piece of ground and unites it with other lands on the same or on the opposite bank, the ownership of the piece of ground so carried away is not lost. The owner may claim it within a year, or even later, if the owner of the bank with which it is united has not taken possession. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

Art. 503. When a river or stream, whether navigable or not, opens a new channel and surrounds riparian land making it an island, the ownership of that land is not affected. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

Art. 504. When a navigable river or stream abandons its bed and opens a new one, the owners of the land on which the new bed is located shall take by way of indemnification the abandoned bed, each in proportion to the quantity of land that he lost.

If the river returns to the old bed, each shall take his former land. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

Art. 505. Islands, and sandbars that are not attached to a bank, formed in the beds of navigable rivers or streams, belong to the state. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]

Art. 506. In the absence of title or prescription, the beds of nonnavigable rivers or streams belong to the riparian owners along a line drawn in the middle of the bed. [Acts 1979, No. 180, §1]