Is this contract enforceable if it was signed electronically, and does Louisiana's e-signature law reach every kind of Louisiana contract?
Yes, generally: Louisiana adopted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, La. R.S. 9:2601 et seq. ("This Chapter may be cited as the 'Louisiana Uniform Electronic Transactions Act'"), and its core validity rule removes electronic form as an objection: R.S. 9:2607, "A record or signature may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form," "A contract may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because an electronic record was used in its formation," and, critically for a Louisiana-specific writing requirement like art. 1839's transfer-of-immovables rule or art. 1846's over-$500 evidentiary rule, "If a law requires a record to be in writing, an electronic record satisfies the law" and "If a law requires a signature, an electronic signature satisfies the law." An "electronic signature" itself requires genuine signing intent, not just an electronic mark: R.S. 9:2602(8) defines it as "an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with a record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record." A Louisiana Court of Appeal applied that intent requirement to reject informally-initialed emails as binding signatures in Regions Bank v. Cabinet Works, L.L.C., reading the requirement out of the definition itself: an electronic sound, symbol or process associated with a record "must be executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record", and "There must be a showing that the signer intended to do a legally significant act." That court set the subsection letters out as it went, attributing the electronic-form rule to R.S. 9:2607(A), the contract rule to 9:2607(B), the writing and signature rules to 9:2607(C)-(D) and the definition of an electronic signature to 9:2602.
The trap
The Act's own scope section carves out a major category that is easy to overlook: R.S. 9:2603(B) excludes from the Chapter's coverage "A transaction to the extent it is governed by the provisions of Title 10 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950": Title 10 is Louisiana's enactment of the Uniform Commercial Code, so a transaction governed by Louisiana's UCC articles (negotiable instruments, bank deposits, secured transactions, investment securities, letters of credit) falls outside the Act's coverage to that extent. Subsection (B) is not the end of the scope question, and reading it alone overstates the exclusion. Subsection (A) makes the Chapter apply "Except as otherwise provided in Subsection B of this Section", and (C) pulls part of the exclusion back: the Chapter "applies to an electronic record or electronic signature otherwise excluded from the application of this Chapter under Subsection B of this Section to the extent it is governed by a law other than those specified by Subsection B of this Section." So a Title 10 transaction sits outside the Act only so far as Title 10 governs it, and (D) adds that a transaction inside the Act "is also subject to other applicable substantive law." This exclusion is structured differently from a state that has enacted UCC Article 2, because Louisiana never enacted Article 2 at all (sales of movables remain under the Civil Code, which IS within UETA's scope), so the practical bite of the Title 10 exclusion in Louisiana falls on secured transactions, negotiable instruments, and similar UCC-governed dealings, not on ordinary sales contracts. Regions Bank's intent requirement cuts against assuming an initialed or informally-signed-off email automatically counts: the court found initials on settlement-negotiation emails did not establish the senders intended those initials as binding electronic signatures, even though the emails were plainly authored by the parties' own counsel. Article 9:2603(B) also excludes wills, codicils, testamentary trusts, and several categories of consumer notice (utility termination, default/foreclosure/eviction notices, health and life insurance cancellation, product recalls): an e-signature or e-delivery strategy built for ordinary commercial contracts should not be assumed to extend to those categories.
11 authorities
- statuteLa. R.S. 9:2602enactment date not established
The words that state the rule
"Electronic signature" means an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with a record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record.
- case92 So.3d 945Regions Bank v. Cabinet Works, L.L.C.La. Ct. App.decided 2012read it at the source ↗
The words that state the rule
To constitute an electronic signature, however, the “electronic sound, symbol, or process ... associated with a record” must be executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record. La. R.S. 9:2602. There must be a showing that the signer intended to do a legally significant act.
- case92 So.3d 945Regions Bank v. Cabinet Works, L.L.C.La. Ct. App.decided 2012read it at the source ↗
The words that state the rule
Here, the initials or other name indications on the messages here do not establish that Cohn and Bourgeois intended those to be electronic signatures for purposes of the Louisiana Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.
- statuteLa. R.S. 9:2601enactment date not established
The words that state the rule
This Chapter may be cited as the "Louisiana Uniform Electronic Transactions Act".
- statuteLa. Civ. Code art. 1839enactment date not established
The words that state the rule
A transfer of immovable property must be made by authentic act or by act under private signature. Nevertheless, an oral transfer is valid between the parties when the property has been actually delivered and the transferor recognizes the transfer when interrogated on oath.
- statuteLa. Civ. Code art. 1846enactment date not established
The words that state the rule
If the price or value is in excess of five hundred dollars, the contract must be proved by at least one witness and other corroborating circumstances.
- statuteLa. R.S. 9:2607enactment date not established
The words that state the rule
A. A record or signature may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form. B. A contract may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because an electronic record was used in its formation. C. If a law requires a record to be in writing, an electronic record satisfies the law. D. If a law requires a signature, an electronic signature satisfies the law.
- statuteLa. R.S. 9:2603enactment date not established
The words that state the rule
B. This Chapter shall not apply to: (1) A transaction to the extent it is governed by a law governing the creation and execution of wills, codicils, or testamentary trusts. (2) A transaction to the extent it is governed by the provisions of Title 10 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950. (3) (Reserved). (4)(a) Repealed by Acts 2021, No. 68, §3, eff. Jan. 1, 2022. (b) Any notice of any of the following: (i) The cancellation or termination of utility services, including water, heat, and power. (ii) Default, acceleration, repossession, foreclosure, or eviction, or the right to cure, under a credit agreement secured by, or a rental agreement for, a primary residence of an individual. (iii) The cancellation or termination of health insurance or benefits or life insurance benefits, excluding annuities. (iv) Recall of a product, or material failure of a product, that risks endangering health or safety. (c) Any document required to accompany any transportation or handling of hazardous materials, pesticides, or other toxic or dangerous materials. (d) Publications required by law to be published in the official journals provided for in Chapter 2, 4, or 5 of Title 43 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950.
- statuteLa. R.S. 9:2603enactment date not established
The words that state the rule
A. Except as otherwise provided in Subsection B of this Section, this Chapter applies to electronic records and electronic signatures relating to a transaction.
- statuteLa. R.S. 9:2603enactment date not established
The words that state the rule
C. This Chapter applies to an electronic record or electronic signature otherwise excluded from the application of this Chapter under Subsection B of this Section to the extent it is governed by a law other than those specified by Subsection B of this Section. D. A transaction subject to this Chapter is also subject to other applicable substantive law.
- case92 So.3d 945Regions Bank v. Cabinet Works, L.L.C.La. Ct. App.decided 2012read it at the source ↗
The words that state the rule
Louisiana law recognizes electronic communications and electronic signatures, through the Louisiana Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, La. R.S. 9:2601 et seq. “A record or signature may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form.” La. R.S. 9:2607(A). “A contract may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because an electronic record was used in its formation.” La. R.S. 9:2607(B). If a law requires a record to be in writing, or if the law requires a signature, an electronic record or an electronic signature satisfies the law. La. R.S. 9:2607(C)-(D).
“Defective” means that reading found something to correct. What you are reading is the rule as it stands after that reading.