§ 13:4521 — State and its subdivisions; temporary deferral of court costs; exceptions

Louisiana § 13:4521

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 13: Courts and Judicial Procedure

Text

§4521. State and its subdivisions; temporary deferral of court costs; exceptions
A.(1) Except as provided in R.S. 13:5112, R.S. 19:15 and 116, and R.S. 48:451.3,
and as provided in this Subsection, the state, any political subdivision as defined in this
Section, and any agent, officer, or employee of any such governmental entity when acting
within the scope and authority of such employment or when discharging his official duties
may temporarily defer court costs, including cost of filing a judgment dismissing claims
against the state, political subdivision, or agent, officer, or employee thereof, in any judicial
proceeding instituted or prosecuted by or against the state, any political subdivision, or agent,
officer, or employee thereof in any court of this state or any municipality of this state,
including particularly but not exclusively those courts in the parish of Orleans and the city
of New Orleans. This Section shall also apply to the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty
Association and the Louisiana Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association in any
judicial proceeding instituted by or against them. This Section shall also apply to the
policyholder or other insured of an insolvent insurer in any judicial proceeding instituted by
or against the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association and the Louisiana Life and Health
Insurance Guaranty Association. Costs which are temporarily deferred pursuant to this
Section cannot be shifted to opposing parties during the pendency of such deferment;
however, when a final judgment is rendered dismissing all claims against the state, a political
subdivision, or agent, officer, or employee thereof and when the judgment taxes costs of the
state, political subdivision, or agent, officer, or employee thereof against the opposing party
in accordance with the provisions of Code of Civil Procedure Article 1920, the opposing
party shall be condemned to pay the temporarily deferred court costs.
(2) This Section shall not apply to the policyholder or other insured of an insolvent
insurer in the event of a judicial determination that the claim or policy submitted by the
policyholder or other insured is not a covered claim or covered policy as defined by R.S.
22:2055(3) or 2084(5). An account shall be kept of all costs incurred by the policyholder or
other insured by the public officers to whom these costs would be payable. If judgment is
rendered against the policyholder or other insured, he shall be condemned to pay the costs
incurred by him and those recoverable by the adverse party.
(3) This Section shall not apply to the Department of Children and Family Services
for any proceedings brought by the Department of Children and Family Services or any
district attorney, on behalf of the Department of Children and Family Services, to establish
filiation or enforce support, when such proceedings are subject to a cooperative agreement
between the agency and the clerk of court of the appropriate jurisdiction. Any cooperative
agreement entered into between the clerk of court and the agency shall include
reimbursement for sheriff's costs. The provisions of this Paragraph shall not apply if federal
funds are not available to cover the cost of the agreement.
(4) Neither the Department of Children and Family Services nor any district
attorney's office shall be required to pay court costs in any child welfare proceeding instituted
by such department of district attorney's office.
(5) As the term is used in this Section, "political subdivision" means any parish,
municipality, special district, school board, sheriff, public board, institution, department,
commission, district, agency, authority, or an agency or subdivision of any of these, and any
other public or governmental body of any kind which is not a state agency.
(6) As the term is used in this Section, "court costs" include costs, user fees, and
recording fees charged by each clerk of court or third-party vendor for electronic filing of
civil and criminal pleadings authorized by R.S. 13:754, fees for electronic filing of
documents authorized by R.S. 13:841 and Code of Civil Procedure Article 253(B), and
related convenience, transaction, or service fees for electronic filings.
B. Except when the law imposes personal responsibility for costs on the agent,
officers, or employees, it shall be the responsibility of the governmental entities who
temporarily defer costs as set forth in this Section to pay any deferred costs assessed against
them or their agents, officers, or employees, or to assist in the collection of court costs due
by the opposing litigants by requesting the court to tax costs in accordance with the
provisions of Code of Civil Procedure Article 1920 by requesting that the court include the
cost assessment in a judgment dismissing a claim against the governmental entity or any
agent, officer, or employee thereof. When a judgment is rendered against the state, political
subdivision, or agent, officer, or employee thereof, the costs shall not be payable to the clerk
of court or third-party vendor until the judgment becomes final and definitive under the
provisions of Code of Civil Procedure Articles 2166 and 2167 or otherwise nonappealable
or nonreviewable, and until all issues in the judicial proceeding are adjudicated. The state,
political subdivision, or agent, officer, or employee thereof shall withhold any court costs due
by the opposing litigants from any settlement payment made to the parties and shall forward
such costs to the clerk of court.
C. This Section shall have no application to stenographers' costs for taking
testimony.
D. If an opposing party condemned to pay temporarily deferred court costs fails to
pay the assessed costs within thirty days of the judgment becoming final, the clerk of court
may forward a certified copy of the recorded judgment to the office of debt recovery for
collection. The office of debt recovery may collect any outstanding deferred court costs on
behalf of the clerk of court.

Legislative History

Acts 1964, No. 509, §1; Acts 1978, No. 467, §2; Acts 1980, No. 113, §1; Acts 1990, No. 133, §1; Acts 1991, No. 24, §1; Acts 1992, No. 414, §1; Acts 1993, No. 651, §1; Acts 1993, No. 958, §1, eff. June 25, 1993; Acts 1995, No. 777, §1; Acts 1997, No. 201, §1; Acts 2001, No. 1153, §1, eff. June 29, 2001; Acts 2008, No. 415, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2009; Acts 2016, No. 449, §1, eff. June 9, 2016; Acts 2025, No. 145, §1.