Timeliness of writ application in court of appeal

Here’s a citable decision released today by the Louisiana Supreme Court on the timeliness of a writ application filed in a Louisiana court of appeal. Since the decision is (a) short, and (b) light on facts, I’ll just quote it verbatim:

PER CURIAM

Granted. Although the trial court set the return date more than thirty days from the date of the ruling, the court has authority to extend the deadline under Rule 4-3. See Barnard v. Barnard, 96-0859 (La. 6/24/96), 675 So.2d 734. Relator’s application, filed within the time limit authorized by the trial court, is timely.

Accordingly, the application is remanded to the court of appeal for consideration on the merits. 

Boyer v. Boyer, 2024-CC-00372 (La. 5/7/24). Caution: while I don’t know the facts of this case, my experience is that this works only when the writ applicant files its notice of intent within the original 30-day period in Uniform Rule 4-3. In those instances, when the trial court sets a return date beyond the 30-day period, the courts should treat the order as an implied motion and order to extend the return date, which Rule 4-3 authorizes.

For an excruciatingly detailed discussion on the timely filing of writ applications in the court of appeal, see my 20-year-old La. Bar Journal article on that topic.