Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 13, §1215 authorizes a defendant to move the court to require the plaintiff or party prosecuting the action to give a cost bond. Failure to furnish within the time set by the court operates as dismissal. We write Louisiana cost bonds in every Louisiana parish district court, the five Louisiana Courts of Appeal, and the three U.S. District Courts for Louisiana.
Louisiana's plaintiff cost bond practice is rooted in the civil law tradition. Under La. Rev. Stat. §13:1215, a defendant may move to require the plaintiff or party prosecuting a case to give a cost bond in such amount as may be fixed by the court, securing the repayment on the final termination of the cause of all costs expended by the defendant in the action.
The §13:1215 framework is broader than the typical non-resident-plaintiff cost-bond regime. The statute applies on defendant's motion regardless of plaintiff residency, though courts apply heightened scrutiny when the plaintiff is a Louisiana resident with demonstrated solvency. The court fixes both the amount of the bond and the time within which it must be furnished; failure to furnish within that delay operates as a dismissal of the cause.
The bond runs through to final judgment and covers all recoverable costs the defendant expends in defending the action. In Louisiana civil law practice, recoverable costs include filing fees, witness fees, expert witness fees taxed as costs, deposition costs, and (where contract or statute provides) attorney's fees taxed as costs.
Louisiana's plaintiff cost bond requirement is codified at La. Rev. Stat. §13:1215. The bond is required on defendant's motion (in most cases) and the bond penalty is set by statute or court discretion. We underwrite to the controlling statute and draft each bond on the form the Louisiana court will accept.
Louisiana §13:1215 cost bonds are written same-day on standard application terms. The bond amount is set by the court and is typically modest — in the four to five-figure range for routine commercial litigation, higher for complex multi-party cases.
Two documents start the file: the petition (Louisiana terminology for complaint) and the defendant's motion and court order. We deliver bonds in PDF for filing with the parish district court clerk. Louisiana parishes accept e-filed bonds through their respective electronic filing systems where available.
Send the complaint or the defendant's motion for cost bond. Same-day issuance for qualified files.