Statute of Limitations for Assault and Battery (intentional tort) in Louisiana

Overview

In Louisiana, the default statute of limitations (SOL) for an intentional tort like assault and battery is 1 year under La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 9:2800.9 (general/default period).

That means if you’re evaluating whether a claim filed in court is timely, you typically start by counting 365 days from the triggering event and then check whether any recognized exception, tolling rule, or procedural timing issue applies. DocketMath’s /tools/statute-of-limitations calculator helps you run that timeline quickly—especially when you have a clear “date of incident” (sometimes also called the assault/battery date).

Limitation period

Louisiana’s general/default SOL is 1 year for the kind of intentional-tort timeframe reflected in La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 9:2800.9.

What “1 year” means in practice

In an SOL workflow, you generally compare a start date to a filing date:

• Incident date: when the assault/battery occurred
• Discovery date: when the harmed party learned key facts (only if a valid discovery-based/tied-to-timeliness rule applies to your specific situation)
• Last occurrence date: relevant when there are multiple incidents, and the pleadings tie the claim to a particular occurrence

Then you check whether the filing date is on or before the computed SOL deadline.

How the calculator changes with different inputs

When you run DocketMath’s /tools/statute-of-limitations, the result will typically move between “timely” and “late” depending on two core inputs:

• Start date (moves the deadline earlier or later)
• Filing date (determines whether the filing falls before or after the deadline)

A quick example (illustrative dates only, not legal conclusions):

If you adjust the start date by only a few days, timeliness can change—so it’s important to use the most defensible incident/discovery date available.

The “default” nature of this period

Important: No claim-type-specific sub-rule was found in the provided brief. As a result, the 1-year SOL above should be treated as the general/default period, not a guarantee that every assault/battery fact pattern follows the same exact timing rules.

Key exceptions

Louisiana SOL questions often hinge on whether an exception, tolling concept, or procedural doctrine can effectively pause the clock or change how the start date is determined. With only the default 1-year period identified here, you should treat “no exception identified” as a prompt to verify whether exceptions could apply.

Common categories that can affect SOL outcomes

Before relying only on a straight “1 year from X date” timeline, check whether your situation fits into any of these practical issue categories:

• Tolling due to incapacity or legal disability (where the injured person’s legal status affects when the clock starts)
• Special statutory frameworks (some claims have distinct timelines; the brief did not identify a claim-specific assault/battery sub-rule)
• Multiple incidents (repeated conduct can raise disputes over which incident anchors the start date)
• Procedural timing questions (what counts as the operative event for “commencement” or filing in your case)

How to approach exceptions without guessing

A practical way to evaluate exceptions using your facts:

1. List the dates you have: incident date(s), any discovery/notice dates, and the filing date.
2. Match the facts to an exception category: disability/tolling, special statutory structure, repeated incidents, or procedural timing.
3. Run DocketMath using alternate plausible start dates (when you have more than one defensible date).

This creates a “timeline sensitivity” check—showing whether your timeliness conclusion is stable or depends heavily on which start date is chosen.

Statute citation

For the jurisdictional data used in this brief, the general/default SOL period is:

• La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 9:2800.9 — 1-year general SOL

The brief’s jurisdictional data is referenced via:
https://louisianabaptists.org/resources/sexual-abuse-response-resources/sexual-abuse-definitions-and-louisiana-statutes/?utm_source=openai

Note: This is used here as a statute reference pointer for the jurisdictional data in this brief. A final legal determination depends on the operative facts and any applicable doctrines or exceptions.

Use the calculator

DocketMath’s /tools/statute-of-limitations helps you compute the SOL deadline using the US-LA general/default timeline described above.

Inputs to provide

In the calculator workflow, you’ll typically enter:

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana (US-LA)
• Start date: the date your timeline starts (often the incident/assault-battery date)
• Filing date: the date the claim is filed (or the date you’re evaluating)

Outputs you should look for

After you run the calculation, check for:

• The calculated deadline (the last day the 1-year period would run under the default framework)
• A timeliness label (for example, “timely” vs. “late”)
• Any day-counting behavior the tool displays (some tools show a specific calendar deadline)

Practical workflow (step-by-step)

• Run DocketMath once using your best-known incident date.
• If you have a plausible alternate start date (such as discovery/notice tied to the situation), run it again using that date.
• Compare outcomes:

  • If both runs show timeliness, the SOL timing risk is lower.
  • If one run shows timely and another shows late, the difference in dates is likely the key issue to investigate further.

For a quick start:
Statute of Limitations Calculator

Related reading

• Choosing the right statute of limitations tool for Vermont — How to choose the right calculator
• Statute of limitations in Singapore: how to estimate the deadline — Full how-to guide with jurisdiction-specific rules
• Choosing the right statute of limitations tool for Connecticut — How to choose the right calculator