La. Civ. Code art. 2317.1
This is the official text of La. Civ. Code art. 2317.1, part of Louisiana’s Civil Code — louisiana's civil law tradition codifies persons, property, obligations, and family relations here rather than in a separate statutory code.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Damage caused by ruin, vice, or defect in things
Official statutory text
The owner or custodian of a thing is answerable for damage occasioned by its ruin, vice, or defect, only upon a showing that he knew or, in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known of the ruin, vice, or defect which caused the damage, that the damage could have been prevented by the exercise of reasonable care, and that he failed to exercise such reasonable care. Nothing in this Article shall preclude the court from the application of the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur in an appropriate case.
Acts 1996, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 1, ยง1, eff. April 16, 1996.
Acts 1996, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 1, ยง1, eff. April 16, 1996.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Louisiana?
Find a Louisiana lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.