Lis pendens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the concept of staying proceedings, when a law suit is pending elsewhere, see Lis alibi pendens.
In US law, a lis pendens is a written notice that a
lawsuit has been filed concerning real estate, involving either the
title to the property or a claimed ownership interest in it. The notice
is usually filed in the county land records office. Recording a lis pendens
against a piece of property alerts a potential purchaser or lender that
the property’s title is in question, which makes the property less
attractive to a buyer or lender. After the notice is filed, anyone who
nevertheless purchases the land or property described in the notice
takes subject to the ultimate decision of the lawsuit.Lis pendens is Latin for "suit pending."[1] This may refer to any pending lawsuit or to a specific situation with a public notice of litigation that has been recorded in the same location where the title of real property has been recorded. This notice secures a plaintiff's claim on the property so that the sale, mortgage, or encumbrance of the property will not diminish plaintiff's rights to the property, should the plaintiff prevail in its case. In some jurisdictions, when the notice is properly recorded, lis pendens is considered constructive notice to the other litigants or other unrecorded or subordinate lienholders. The term is sometimes abbreviated as "lis pend".
The recording office will record a lis pendens upon request of anyone who claims to be entitled to do so (e.g. because he has filed a lawsuit). If someone else with an interest in the property (e.g. the owner) believes the lis pendens is not proper, he can then file suit to have it expunged.
Some states’ lis pendens statutes require the filer of the notice, in the event of a challenge to the notice, to establish that it has probable cause or a good likelihood of success on the merits of its case in the underlying lawsuit; other states do not have such a requirement.[2]
lis pendens applies in matters of parental responsibility as well.[3]
