A legal practice headquartered in Metairie, Louisiana, Nielsen Carter & Treas LLC represents clients in constitutional, statutory, regulatory, and insurance issues. The statute of limitations is the law that prohibits prosecutors from charging someone with a crime committed a number of years ago and plaintiffs from filing a suit against someone for a civil wrong committed a number of years ago. In essence, the statute of limitations sets deadlines for suing someone. If a plaintiff brings a claim past the deadline, the defendant can plead the suit is time barred by the statute and the case will be dismissed.

1. Louisiana’s Statute of
Limitations on Civil Suits
Nielsen Carter & Treas LLC

2. Introduction
• A legal practice headquartered in Metairie,
Louisiana, Nielsen Carter & Treas LLC represents
clients in constitutional, statutory, regulatory, and
insurance issues. The statute of limitations is the law
that prohibits prosecutors from charging someone
with a crime committed a number of years ago and
plaintiffs from filing a suit against someone for a
civil wrong committed a number of years ago. In
essence, the statute of limitations sets deadlines for
suing someone. If a plaintiff brings a claim past the
deadline, the defendant can plead the suit is time
barred by the statute and the case will be dismissed.

3. Civil Suits
• In Louisiana, a majority of civil suits have a one-year
deadline to be instituted. This is the case for civil
actions including fraud, libel, personal injury, injury
to personal property, and trespass. Exceptions
include civil actions for collection of rent, which has
a three-year deadline, and breach of contract which
has a 10-year deadline. In NFIP litigation, the
statute of limitations is one year from the date of
denial or partial denial of a flood loss claim. This is
embedded in the Standard Flood Insurance Policy
itself and in the federal statues governing the
National Flood Insurance Act.