THOMPSON v. LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER SHREVEPORT LLC LSU LSU (2026)

Pursuant to La. C.C.P. art. 1151, a defendant may amend an answer once without leave of court at any time within ten days after it has been served, and otherwise only by leave of court or by written consent of the adverse party. Amendments are generally allowed if the mover is acting in good faith and the action does not prejudice the adverse party. See Boudoin v. Safeco Ins. Co. of Oregon, 22-0402, p.1 (La. 6/1/22), 338 So. 3d 485, 486 (collecting cases). The decision as to whether to grant or deny an amendment is within the sound discretion of the trial court. Id.

Here, defendant sought leave to amend its answer only after the case had been pending for three years and after the parties and the court had devoted time and resources to the litigation, including ongoing discovery. Under these circumstances, allowing defendant to assert a new affirmative defense would have risked prejudice to plaintiff's strategic decision-making and the orderly and efficient resolution of the proceedings. If the relevant information could only have been learned for the first time during discovery, the court below should be more liberal in allowing amendment, but that was not the case here. We therefore find no abuse of discretion in the trial court's ruling denying leave to amend. We reverse the court of appeal, reinstate the ruling of the trial court, and remand to the trial court for further proceedings.

PER CURIAM

Weimer, C.J., dissents and would deny. Guidry, J., dissents and would deny. Penzato, J., dissents and would deny.