Art. 2344.Online Auctions
Book IV. Execution of Judgments · Title II. Money Judgments · Chapter 2. Judicial Sale Under Fieri Facias · Enacted 2023 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
Full Text of Art. 2344
Amendment History
Added by Acts 2023, No. 390, §1, eff. 8/1/2023.
Plain-English Summary
Article 2344 lets the sheriff move an entire judicial sale onto a computer network or similar electronic system accessible to the public, in place of holding it at a designated physical location. The rest of the article works to preserve, in digital form, the same protections the chapter builds around an in-person sale.
On the notice side, publication still follows Article 2331's schedule, but the notice must also identify the platform's electronic address and specify when bidding is scheduled to open. Before bidding opens, the platform itself has to display the advertisement, the mortgage certificate, and any other certificate that Article 2334 would otherwise require the sheriff to read aloud, along with the superior-encumbrance announcement Article 2335 requires at an in-person sale. An online bidder is meant to see the same information a bidder standing at the sale in person would hear.
The bidding mechanics have their own structure. Online auctions can only run on days the sheriff could otherwise hold a judicial sale. Each new bid resets a two-minute window, so bidding cannot close the instant a bid arrives, and every bid amount posts publicly and immediately so bidders can watch where the auction stands in real time. The sheriff can set a minimum bid increment and can require bidders other than the debtor or the seizing creditor to meet reasonable qualifications, such as a deposit or proof of available funds, disclosed on the platform in advance.
Two further provisions round out the article. A debtor who asks the sheriff beforehand can learn of a location offering free use of a computer to bid in the auction. And a seizing creditor who bids, or who tells the platform he is present or will not bid, is treated as present at the sale for purposes of Article 2338's rule protecting an absent superior creditor. Beyond what this article specifically changes, an online sale still has to follow the rest of this chapter and the chapter that follows it, applied as far as they reasonably can be to a virtual format.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Louisiana sheriff hold a judicial sale entirely online?
Yes. Article 2344 allows the sheriff to sell seized property through an online auction conducted on an electronic platform accessible to the public, instead of an in-person sale.
What has to be posted on the platform before online bidding opens?
How does online bidding stay open, is there a countdown before it closes?
Yes. Bidding stays open until at least two minutes have passed since the most recent bid, or since bidding opened if no bid has been entered, so a late bid keeps the auction going rather than ending it.
What if a debtor does not have a computer to bid online?
The debtor can ask the sheriff beforehand, and the sheriff must inform the debtor of a location where a computer or similar accommodation is available at no charge.
Does bidding online count as being present at the sale for the seizing creditor's protections under Article 2338?
Yes. Entering a bid, or telling the platform he is present or will not bid, constitutes presence at the sale for purposes of Article 2338.