LOUISIANA LAW EXAM 2026 PROPERTY
LAW AND REAL RIGHTS STUDY GUIDE
COMPLETE QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS
⫸ You represent the owner of a commercial building who contacts you
regarding a problem tenant. The tenant is a large law firm that recently
has split up, and the building owner is concerned that the various
departing factions of the former firm will leave the building without
paying the rent owed by the firm for the remainder of the year. Several
attorneys from the tenant firm already have departed and moved to a
different location, taking various equipment and furnishings with them.
What steps, if any, can the building owner take to secure repayment of
the rental obligation? If something can be done, explain what specific
pleadings you must file on behalf of the building owner, and what
security, if any, is required. Answer: To secure payment of rent arising
from the lease, building owner, as lessor, has a privilege on the lessee's
movables that are found in or upon the leased premises. Since owner has
a lessor's privilege over the remaining furnishings and equipment of
tenant, and it is within the power of the tenant to conceal, dispose of or
remove the property from the parish, during the pendency of an action to
recover unpaid rent, owner may seek a writ of sequestration. Since some
of tenant's property subject to the privilege has already been removed by
tenant, owner may obtain the writ of sequestration even before the
remaining rent is due because building owner has good reason to believe
that lessee will remove the property. No security is required to enforce a
lessor's privilege.
⫸ Client visits you after receiving an executory process seizure notice
regarding a home that he recently purchased. Although Client is current
,on all of his home note payments, the executory process seizure was
issued by his seller's lender, who alleges that the seller has not fulfilled
his payment obligations. Client understands that the seller's outstanding
loan balance was paid off with the sale proceeds that seller received
from client. What, if anything, can Client do to stop the executory
process action from going forward? If something can be done, explain
what specific pleadings you must file on behalf of Client, what relief is
available, and what security, if any, is required. Answer: When a
mortgagor such as seller has sold property to a third party such as Client
and the property is subsequently seized pursuant to executory process,
Client can seek an injunction on the ground that the debt has been
extinguished. Client would have to file a petition for an injunction in the
court where the executory proceeding is pending. Since executory
process proceeds rapidly, Client would need to request a preliminary
injunction to arrest the seizure and sale of the home, required when, as
here, one of the grounds for the injunction is that the debt secured by the
mortgage has been extinguished.
⫸ You are conducting voir dire in a jury trial, and believe that a
prospective juror will be biased against your client based upon the
answers that the prospective juror has provided to your questions.
Describe at least two options you can consider to prevent this
prospective juror from being seated as a juror. Answer: One option
would be to exercise a challenge for cause when a juror, such as the
prospective juror here has formed an opinion in the case or is not
otherwise impartial. The cause of the bias is immaterial. My other option
would be to use a peremptory challenge which can be asserted without
showing cause or even providing a reason for the challenge.
,⫸ You represent Building Corp., which has just been sued for breach of
a construction contract. You believe the lawsuit is improper because the
construction contract at issue contains a mandatory arbitration clause
which requires any disputes arising therefrom to be resolved by
arbitration.
(1) Please succinctly explain what pleadings you would file in response
to the lawsuit, the allegations that you would assert therein and the goal
you seek to achieve by doing so.
(2) Assume the trial court rejects your argument and allows the breach of
construction contract lawsuit to proceed. Please succinctly explain what
actions, if any, you can take to try to reverse the trial court's ruling and
obtain your original desired goal. Answer: 1. I could file (1) either a
dilatory exception of prematurity or a motion to stay the proceedings in
the trial court pending arbitration and (2) a motion to compel arbitration.
In each of these pleadings I would assert that any disputes arising from
the contract must be resolved by arbitration as required under the
contract.
2. Since a decision by the trial court rejecting my argument is an
interlocutory judgment rather than a final judgment on the merits, an
appeal of that decision is not available. However, I can seek a review of
the trial court's ruling by filing an application for Supervisory Writs in
the appropriate State Court of Appeal alleging that the trial court erred in
allowing the action to proceed in the trial court rather than compelling
arbitration.
, ⫸ Plaintiff, a resident of Bossier Parish, entered a written construction
contract with Building Corp., a LA corporation whose registered office
is located in Calcasieu Parish, for the construction of a camp in Sabine
Parish. Plaintiff signed the contract in Bossier Parish while Building
Corp. signed the contract in Calcasieu Parish. All work and services for
the camp construction project were performed in Sabine Parish. The
project was supervised by Building Corp.'s Natchitoches Parish office.
After construction is completed, Plaintiff has a variety of complaints
concerning Building Corp.'s deficient contract performance and would
like to sue Building Corp. for breach of contract. Please identify all
parishes in which venue for a breach of contract action against Building
Corp. would be proper. *For each parish identified, you must explain the
basis for venue in order to receive credit. Answer: Venue is proper in the
parish where the contract was executed, which in this case would be in
Bossier Parish, the parish in which the plaintiff executed the contract,
and Calcasieu Parish where defendant executed the contract. Calcasieu
is also the parish of proper venue under article 42(2) because Building
Corp. is a domestic corporation and this is the parish of its registered
office. Venue is also proper in Sabine Parish because that is the parish
where work or services under the contract were performed. Venue is also
proper in Nathitoches Parish under article 77 because Building Corp. has
an office in this parish which had supervision over performance of the
contract.
⫸ Father and his 16 year old son visit you and ask what steps they need
to take in order to have 16 year old son judicially emancipated. They
LAW AND REAL RIGHTS STUDY GUIDE
COMPLETE QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS
⫸ You represent the owner of a commercial building who contacts you
regarding a problem tenant. The tenant is a large law firm that recently
has split up, and the building owner is concerned that the various
departing factions of the former firm will leave the building without
paying the rent owed by the firm for the remainder of the year. Several
attorneys from the tenant firm already have departed and moved to a
different location, taking various equipment and furnishings with them.
What steps, if any, can the building owner take to secure repayment of
the rental obligation? If something can be done, explain what specific
pleadings you must file on behalf of the building owner, and what
security, if any, is required. Answer: To secure payment of rent arising
from the lease, building owner, as lessor, has a privilege on the lessee's
movables that are found in or upon the leased premises. Since owner has
a lessor's privilege over the remaining furnishings and equipment of
tenant, and it is within the power of the tenant to conceal, dispose of or
remove the property from the parish, during the pendency of an action to
recover unpaid rent, owner may seek a writ of sequestration. Since some
of tenant's property subject to the privilege has already been removed by
tenant, owner may obtain the writ of sequestration even before the
remaining rent is due because building owner has good reason to believe
that lessee will remove the property. No security is required to enforce a
lessor's privilege.
⫸ Client visits you after receiving an executory process seizure notice
regarding a home that he recently purchased. Although Client is current
,on all of his home note payments, the executory process seizure was
issued by his seller's lender, who alleges that the seller has not fulfilled
his payment obligations. Client understands that the seller's outstanding
loan balance was paid off with the sale proceeds that seller received
from client. What, if anything, can Client do to stop the executory
process action from going forward? If something can be done, explain
what specific pleadings you must file on behalf of Client, what relief is
available, and what security, if any, is required. Answer: When a
mortgagor such as seller has sold property to a third party such as Client
and the property is subsequently seized pursuant to executory process,
Client can seek an injunction on the ground that the debt has been
extinguished. Client would have to file a petition for an injunction in the
court where the executory proceeding is pending. Since executory
process proceeds rapidly, Client would need to request a preliminary
injunction to arrest the seizure and sale of the home, required when, as
here, one of the grounds for the injunction is that the debt secured by the
mortgage has been extinguished.
⫸ You are conducting voir dire in a jury trial, and believe that a
prospective juror will be biased against your client based upon the
answers that the prospective juror has provided to your questions.
Describe at least two options you can consider to prevent this
prospective juror from being seated as a juror. Answer: One option
would be to exercise a challenge for cause when a juror, such as the
prospective juror here has formed an opinion in the case or is not
otherwise impartial. The cause of the bias is immaterial. My other option
would be to use a peremptory challenge which can be asserted without
showing cause or even providing a reason for the challenge.
,⫸ You represent Building Corp., which has just been sued for breach of
a construction contract. You believe the lawsuit is improper because the
construction contract at issue contains a mandatory arbitration clause
which requires any disputes arising therefrom to be resolved by
arbitration.
(1) Please succinctly explain what pleadings you would file in response
to the lawsuit, the allegations that you would assert therein and the goal
you seek to achieve by doing so.
(2) Assume the trial court rejects your argument and allows the breach of
construction contract lawsuit to proceed. Please succinctly explain what
actions, if any, you can take to try to reverse the trial court's ruling and
obtain your original desired goal. Answer: 1. I could file (1) either a
dilatory exception of prematurity or a motion to stay the proceedings in
the trial court pending arbitration and (2) a motion to compel arbitration.
In each of these pleadings I would assert that any disputes arising from
the contract must be resolved by arbitration as required under the
contract.
2. Since a decision by the trial court rejecting my argument is an
interlocutory judgment rather than a final judgment on the merits, an
appeal of that decision is not available. However, I can seek a review of
the trial court's ruling by filing an application for Supervisory Writs in
the appropriate State Court of Appeal alleging that the trial court erred in
allowing the action to proceed in the trial court rather than compelling
arbitration.
, ⫸ Plaintiff, a resident of Bossier Parish, entered a written construction
contract with Building Corp., a LA corporation whose registered office
is located in Calcasieu Parish, for the construction of a camp in Sabine
Parish. Plaintiff signed the contract in Bossier Parish while Building
Corp. signed the contract in Calcasieu Parish. All work and services for
the camp construction project were performed in Sabine Parish. The
project was supervised by Building Corp.'s Natchitoches Parish office.
After construction is completed, Plaintiff has a variety of complaints
concerning Building Corp.'s deficient contract performance and would
like to sue Building Corp. for breach of contract. Please identify all
parishes in which venue for a breach of contract action against Building
Corp. would be proper. *For each parish identified, you must explain the
basis for venue in order to receive credit. Answer: Venue is proper in the
parish where the contract was executed, which in this case would be in
Bossier Parish, the parish in which the plaintiff executed the contract,
and Calcasieu Parish where defendant executed the contract. Calcasieu
is also the parish of proper venue under article 42(2) because Building
Corp. is a domestic corporation and this is the parish of its registered
office. Venue is also proper in Sabine Parish because that is the parish
where work or services under the contract were performed. Venue is also
proper in Nathitoches Parish under article 77 because Building Corp. has
an office in this parish which had supervision over performance of the
contract.
⫸ Father and his 16 year old son visit you and ask what steps they need
to take in order to have 16 year old son judicially emancipated. They
