Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome back to the Deep Dive.
Today we are taking on one of the most stressful legal logistics a property owner can face. It really is evicting a tenant for nonpayment of rent, specifically in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.
[00:00:16] Speaker B: Yeah, and there's so much anxiety around it because, you know, when you have a tenant not paying rent, every single day, that process drags on is just lost money.
[00:00:25] Speaker A: Right. And most people just assume it's going to take months no matter what they do.
[00:00:29] Speaker B: But what our source material shows is that the entire timeline, I mean, the speed of the whole thing really hinges on mastering two very specific logistical hurdles.
[00:00:39] Speaker A: And that is our mission for you today. We're going to give you the sort of surgical roadmap to navigate those hurdles so you can minimize those costly delays.
[00:00:46] Speaker B: And get your property back fast.
[00:00:48] Speaker A: We're going to be deep diving into the critical difference between calendar days and business days when you're serving that first.
[00:00:54] Speaker B: Notice and then crucially, how to choose the correct court. Is it the Baton Rouge City court or the 19th Judicial District Court?
[00:01:02] Speaker A: Getting that choice wrong seems like a huge deal.
[00:01:05] Speaker B: It's the biggest factor. It determines success or failure, full stop.
Landlords treat eviction like this, you know, slow general legal thing. But in East Baton Rouge, it's a high speed logistical challenge.
[00:01:18] Speaker A: So if you get the day counting wrong or file in the wrong building.
[00:01:22] Speaker B: You automatically fail, you lose weeks, and you just compound that financial loss.
[00:01:27] Speaker A: Okay, so let's start right at the beginning. Step one, the mandatory five day notice to vacate. Our sources say this is the number one point of failure. Why?
Why is counting five days so hard?
[00:01:39] Speaker B: Because it's so counterintuitive. I mean, in any other part of your life, five days just means five.
[00:01:44] Speaker A: Days, Friday to Friday done.
[00:01:46] Speaker B: Exactly. But here, Louisiana law is very specific. It says five business days.
And that little legal distinction creates this massive gap between what people assume and what the court actually enforces.
[00:01:57] Speaker A: Okay, so if it's five business days, what are the mandatory things you have to exclude from that count?
[00:02:01] Speaker B: There are three, and they are absolutely non negotiable. First, you never, ever count the day you actually post or deliver the notice.
[00:02:08] Speaker A: So that day is day zero, day zero, always.
[00:02:11] Speaker B: Second, you have to exclude all weekends, Saturday and Sunday. Both of them.
[00:02:16] Speaker A: Okay, that makes sense.
[00:02:17] Speaker B: And third, and this is the one that really trips people up, especially down here in Louisiana. You must exclude all state recognized legal holidays.
[00:02:26] Speaker A: And we're not just talking about the big ones like Christmas and New Year's.
We're talking about very Specific Louisiana holidays, things like Mardi Gras, Good Friday, All Saints Day. And these are moving targets on the calendar. Right. They change every single year.
[00:02:42] Speaker B: They do. Which just adds another layer of complexity. If you're just relying on, you know, your standard calendar app on your phone, you could easily miss one. Especially if it's a holiday that closes the courthouse.
[00:02:52] Speaker A: I think we have to walk through that example from the sources. They call it the holiday trap. And it really highlights just how wild this can get.
[00:02:59] Speaker B: It's a perfect example.
[00:03:01] Speaker A: So if I post that notice on a Friday afternoon. Okay, I've already lost the weekend right there.
[00:03:05] Speaker B: Uh huh.
[00:03:06] Speaker A: So day one isn't until Monday.
[00:03:08] Speaker B: That's just the baseline delay. Right. Now let's apply the holiday rule. Let's say that Monday happens to be.
[00:03:13] Speaker A: A state holiday, like New Year's Day. If it falls on a Monday.
[00:03:16] Speaker B: Exactly. Then Monday is also excluded. Your day one doesn't even start until Tuesday.
[00:03:21] Speaker A: So a notice that I posted on a Friday afternoon might not legally expire until the following Tuesday or Wednesday. That's. That's insane. Yeah. A five day notice could take seven to nine actual calendar days.
[00:03:34] Speaker B: And that slow start is by design. It's to ensure the tenant gets their full due process time. But for the landlord, it is an absolute minefield.
[00:03:43] Speaker A: And the consequence if you mess this up, if you file your lawsuit one day or even one hour too early, it's absolute.
[00:03:49] Speaker B: The judge has zero choice in the matter. The case gets thrown out completely.
[00:03:54] Speaker A: That seems so punitive for just a simple counting error. Why can't the judge just say, okay, come back tomorrow?
[00:03:59] Speaker B: Because it's a jurisdictional issue. Eviction is a legal action. And Louisiana law requires that you, the landlord, strictly adhere to that statutory notice period before the court can even hear the dispute.
[00:04:10] Speaker A: So the notice has to be perfected.
[00:04:12] Speaker B: It has to be perfected.
If you file prematurely, you haven't legally waited the required time, which means the court cannot hear your claim.
It's a violation of the tenant's rights. And it forces a complete restart.
[00:04:26] Speaker A: A restart. Meaning you have to serve a whole.
[00:04:28] Speaker B: New notice and wait another seven to nine calendar days. You've just lost two weeks of rent because of a math error.
[00:04:34] Speaker A: That makes the stakes crystal clear.
Okay, so let's assume you've mastered the countdown. The notice period has passed, tenant still hasn't paid. What's the second big hurdle?
[00:04:43] Speaker B: The second hurdle is purely logistical, but it's just as fatal if you get it wrong. Choosing the correct court to file.
[00:04:51] Speaker A: In filing your lawsuit, the rule for eviction.
[00:04:53] Speaker B: Right. If you file that in the wrong venue, it's a guarantee dismissal. The courts in East Baton Rouge Parish have very, very strict geographic limits on their authority.
[00:05:03] Speaker A: How does a property owner figure that out? I mean, it's all one parish.
[00:05:07] Speaker B: It comes down to one simple but often confusing.
Does the physical property address fall inside the official incorporated city limits of Baton Rouge?
[00:05:17] Speaker A: A line on a map that most people probably don't even think about.
[00:05:20] Speaker B: Exactly. And it's a complex map. So let's break down the two main options.
[00:05:25] Speaker A: Alright. Let's start with the one that's usually faster.
[00:05:27] Speaker B: That would be option A. Baton Rouge city court. Its jurisdiction is crystal clear.
The property must be located inside the city limits. It's downtown on St. Louis Street.
[00:05:38] Speaker A: And the big advantage here is speed.
[00:05:40] Speaker B: Speed. The city court, you know, it just tends to process these standard residential eviction suits faster than the parish court. And crucially, there's the enforcement side.
[00:05:50] Speaker A: Who handles the final lockout?
[00:05:52] Speaker B: That would be the Baton Rouge city constable. And the constable's office is highly specialized in city limits enforcement. The service of papers, the physical lockouts. Their efficiency is a huge reason why city court is the way to go. If you qualify.
[00:06:06] Speaker A: But what if you don't? What if your property is on the outskirts or you're just not 100% sure about that city limit line?
[00:06:12] Speaker B: Then you default to option B. The 19th Judicial District Court or the JDC. That's the big courthouse on North Boulevard.
[00:06:19] Speaker A: And that's the Parish Court.
[00:06:20] Speaker B: The Parish Court. Its jurisdiction is huge. It covers the entire parish and including all those big unincorporated areas outside the city limits.
[00:06:29] Speaker A: If we're talking about places like Gardere, Shenandoah, parts of Broadmoor.
[00:06:34] Speaker B: Yep, all those areas. Filing in the JDC is basically your safety net. If you have any ambiguity at all about the property's location. It's better to file where you know you have jurisdiction than to risk getting your case thrown out because you were in the wrong building.
[00:06:50] Speaker A: And the sources mentioned two other little exceptions too. Right. Just to make it even more complicated.
[00:06:55] Speaker B: Right. If your property is actually located in the cities of Baker or Zachary, you don't use either of those downtown courts. You have to file in their own respective city courts.
[00:07:06] Speaker A: And that choice, that single decision, dictates the entire logistical chain from that point forward.
[00:07:11] Speaker B: It does. It determines who serves your papers and ultimately, who shows up for the final lockout. The local constable or the parish sheriff. It's all connected.
[00:07:19] Speaker A: Fascinating. Okay, so let's move past the filing we filed the rule for eviction in the correct court. The notice was perfect.
What happens the second that paperwork is filed?
[00:07:30] Speaker B: The clock immediately starts ticking on the next phase, which is service.
After you file, there are three steps leading up to the lockout. First, the tenant must be legally served with the citation.
[00:07:41] Speaker A: This is the official notice of the court date.
[00:07:44] Speaker B: Right. And our sources were really fun on this. You can't just mail it.
[00:07:47] Speaker A: No. It has to be a physical, legal delivery.
[00:07:50] Speaker B: Absolutely. The court needs proof that the tenant received it, you know, for due process.
And the speed of that delivery is where the timeline can get bogged down, which we can circle back to.
[00:07:59] Speaker A: Okay, so assuming service is successful, what's next?
[00:08:02] Speaker B: Next is the second step, the hearing.
The court sets a date pretty quickly.
[00:08:08] Speaker A: How quickly are we talking?
[00:08:09] Speaker B: The sources say it's a remarkably tight window. Usually between three and ten days after you file the rule for eviction.
[00:08:15] Speaker A: Wow, that's fast.
[00:08:16] Speaker B: It is, which is why getting that initial five day notice right is so important.
Once you're in the system, things move.
[00:08:24] Speaker A: So at the hearing, the landlord wins, proves non payment, and the judge issues a judgment of eviction.
Then what?
[00:08:32] Speaker B: Then the tenant is given a mandatory cooling off period. They get 24 hours. One full day to voluntarily move out.
[00:08:40] Speaker A: But we all know that doesn't always happen.
If they're still there after those 24 hours are up, what is the single biggest mistake a landlord can make? Right then?
[00:08:50] Speaker B: Self help. The sources are screaming this from the rooftops. Do not, under any circumstances, change the.
[00:08:56] Speaker A: Locks yourself or cut off the utilities or move their stuff out.
[00:08:59] Speaker B: Any of it. It might seem logical, but it's an illegal eviction, and it exposes you, the landlord, to some really severe legal and financial penalties.
[00:09:08] Speaker A: So you have the judgment, but you're still not done. You have to file one more piece of paper.
[00:09:11] Speaker B: One final legally required step. You have to file for a warrant of possession.
[00:09:16] Speaker A: And what is that exactly?
[00:09:17] Speaker B: That's the court's official order authorizing the physical enforcement. It's the document that you hand over to either the city constable or the parish sheriff, depending on where you filed.
[00:09:26] Speaker A: And their job is to then schedule a time, meet you at the property, clear the unit, and then stand there while you change the locks.
[00:09:33] Speaker B: Correct. That transfer of possession is only legal when it's supervised by that officer enforcing that warrant.
[00:09:40] Speaker A: Okay, so if we look at this whole timeline, you've got the seven to nine days for the notice, then another three to 10 days until the hearing, plus the 24 hours.
There are all these unavoidable waiting periods.
[00:09:51] Speaker B: Built in there are.
[00:09:53] Speaker A: So where's the strategic advantage? How do you actually speed this up?
[00:09:56] Speaker B: It all comes down to the service speed of that second step. We talked about getting the citation for the lawsuit delivered to the tenant. The court can't set a date until they know the tenant has been notified.
[00:10:07] Speaker A: And if you just let the court handle it through their standard channels, what's the risk?
[00:10:11] Speaker B: The risk is just volume. I mean, think about it. The sheriff's office, the court staff, they handle thousands of legal papers every day. Your eviction citation is just one in a massive pile.
[00:10:22] Speaker A: So it could sit for a day or two.
[00:10:24] Speaker B: A day, Two days, maybe more. And every day it's delayed. Your court date gets pushed back, adding potentially weeks to the whole process, which.
[00:10:32] Speaker A: Is where that idea of using specialized logistical support comes in. A private process server.
[00:10:37] Speaker B: Precisely. Their whole job is to prioritize your paper. Speed here isn't about, you know, cutting legal corners. It's about flawlessly executing the logistical steps.
[00:10:47] Speaker A: So getting that proof of service back to the court immediately.
[00:10:50] Speaker B: Right. So when the clerk looks at the file, the confirmation is already there. It completely shuts down the number one delay tactic that tenants use, which is claiming, oh, I never got the paper.
[00:11:00] Speaker A: There was that anecdote in the sources that really drove this home.
A client with a tenant in Gardere.
[00:11:06] Speaker B: Which we know is JDC territory, and.
[00:11:09] Speaker A: This tenant supposedly knew every trick in the book, but because they mastered the day counting and use a process server to get immediate, flawless service, they still.
[00:11:19] Speaker B: Got the property back in weeks, not months.
[00:11:22] Speaker A: It just shows that meticulous execution of these kind of boring administrative steps is what neutralizes a tenant's ability to play games with the timeline.
[00:11:32] Speaker B: It's the difference between just following the law and proactively managing the flow of your own case.
[00:11:36] Speaker A: The sources even listed out those services, things like processed serving for that fast delivery, courthouse filing runs to all the local courts and even skip tracing to find tenants who've already left. If you need to pursue collections, it's.
[00:11:50] Speaker B: All about tackling those bottlenecks. Now, it is really important before we wrap up that we give you the critical context here.
[00:11:56] Speaker A: Right.
[00:11:57] Speaker B: All this detailed information we've been talking about, it's pulled from sources that specialize in process serving and filing. And it is for educational purposes only.
[00:12:06] Speaker A: This deep dive is absolutely not legal advice.
Eviction laws, especially in Louisiana, can and do change.
[00:12:14] Speaker B: So if you are actually proceeding with an eviction, you must consult a qualified Baton Rouge attorney for your specific situation.
[00:12:22] Speaker A: That is non negotiable completely.
[00:12:23] Speaker B: Our goal today was just to shine a light on the logistical pressure points.
[00:12:27] Speaker A: Excellent. So let's recap the two essential takeaways for you to manage the East Baton Rouge eviction timeline.
[00:12:33] Speaker B: First, you have to master the business day count for that five day notice. Get those holiday and weekend exclusions perfect.
[00:12:40] Speaker A: And second, you absolutely must nail the jurisdiction check. City court versus Parish court. Get it right before you even think about filing.
[00:12:49] Speaker B: Because that one decision determines the speed of your service and the legality of your final lockout.
[00:12:55] Speaker A: So to bring this all together, here's a final provocative thought for you to consider.
We've talked about how critical legal holidays are. Think about a huge, regionally specific event like Mardi Gras.
[00:13:06] Speaker B: It's a legal holiday and it shifts every single year. Sometimes it's a multi day thing.
[00:13:11] Speaker A: So how might a truly sophisticated landlord in Baton Rouge have to proactively delay sending a five day notice? Maybe wait a whole week just to make sure the notice period doesn't expire during the Mardi Gras break so that.
[00:13:23] Speaker B: The courthouse will actually be open and the filing will be valid the day after it expires?
[00:13:27] Speaker A: Exactly. Planning a delay to guarantee a clean.
[00:13:30] Speaker B: Filing, that's a sign of true logistical mastery. It's tying local culture directly into your legal strategy.
[00:13:36] Speaker A: And that is knowledge you can apply right now. Thanks for joining us for this deep dive. Now go out there and put your new knowledge to work.
