REDHIBITION Rescission — Louisiana's Unique Civil-Law Remedy

REDHIBITION RESCISSION under La. Civ. Code art. 2520 et seq. is the most distinctive Louisiana vehicle-defect remedy — no parallel in any other US state. Rescission undoes the sale, returning the buyer to their pre-purchase position more completely than Lemon Law refund.

What rescission does

Article 2520 provides that a buyer can obtain rescission of the sale for redhibitory defect (hidden vice). Rescission means:

• Sale is undone — as if the transaction never occurred.
• Buyer returns the vehicle to the seller.
• Seller returns the purchase price to the buyer.
• Plus interest and expenses of the sale.
• Plus damages if the seller acted in bad faith (art. 2545).

Diminution of price — alternative under art. 2541

If the buyer prefers to keep the vehicle, art. 2541 provides for diminution of price — partial refund reflecting the reduced value due to the defect.

This is useful where:

• The defect is minor enough that the buyer wants to keep the vehicle.
• The buyer values the vehicle’s remaining utility.
• Rescission is impractical (e.g., extensive modifications by buyer).

Bad-faith seller damages — art. 2545

La. Civ. Code art. 2545 provides:

“A seller who knows that the thing he sells has a defect but omits to declare it… is answerable to the buyer in damages, including reasonable attorney fees…”

For Louisiana sellers who knew of the defect and failed to disclose:

• Damages beyond purchase price refund.
• Mandatory attorney fees.

This is particularly powerful for hurricane-flood vehicle non-disclosure cases.

Available for new AND used vehicles

Unlike Lemon Law (new vehicles only) or used-car Lemon Laws in CT/NY/NJ/MA (dealer sales only), Redhibition applies to:

• New vehicles — manufacturer / dealer sales.
• Used vehicles — dealer sales.
• Private-party sales — UNIQUE nationally.

This makes Redhibition the most flexible remedy for Louisiana consumers.

No attempts requirement

Unlike Lemon Law’s 4-attempt threshold, Redhibition has no “reasonable attempts” requirement:

• Hidden vice → direct cause of action.
• No need to give manufacturer / seller opportunity to repair.
• File court action directly.

Prescription periods

La. Civ. Code art. 2534:

• 1 year from discovery for bad-faith seller (knew of defect).
• 1 year from delivery for good-faith seller.
• Maximum 4 years from delivery as outer limit (bad faith).

These are prescriptive (can be tolled) — not peremptive like LUTPA.

Hurricane flood vehicles — paradigm Redhibition

Louisiana’s hurricane history (Katrina 2005, Ida 2021, Laura 2020) creates lingering used-vehicle issues. A used vehicle sold without disclosure of prior flood damage is a classic Redhibition + bad-faith seller case:

• Hidden vice: flood history not apparent.
• Existed at sale: flood was prior.
• Latent: buyer’s inspection wouldn’t reveal it.
• Buyer would not have purchased had they known.
• Bad-faith seller: dealer who knew of flood history and failed to disclose.

Result: Rescission + bad-faith damages + mandatory attorney fees under art. 2545.

Combination with Lemon Law / LUTPA

For new vehicles, plaintiffs typically plead:

1. Lemon Law refund/replacement (§ 51:1941).
2. LUTPA actual + treble (§ 51:1409).
3. REDHIBITION rescission + bad-faith fees (art. 2520 / art. 2545).
4. Magnuson-Moss federal claim.

This maximizes recovery options and fee leverage.

Bottom line

Redhibition rescission is Louisiana’s unique civil-law power tool for vehicle-defect cases. Available for new AND used vehicles (including private-party sales), with no attempts requirement and bad-faith mandatory fees. For hidden vice cases — especially hurricane flood non-disclosure — Redhibition is often the strongest Louisiana remedy.

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