What Is a Lis Pendens?

A lis pendens is a document that gets filed with the court at the beginning of a lawsuit that affects title to real property. Lis pendens is Latin for “suit pending.” After being filed with the court, the Plaintiff will also record the lis pendens in Official Records just like a mortgage and deed get recorded. For example, in a foreclosure or partition lawsuit, the Plaintiff will file a complaint, lis pendens, and summons. The complaint, summons, and lis pendens are then served to the defendants by a process server. The purpose of a lis pendens is to notify the owners and third parties that a lawsuit is pending that affects the real property. The practical effect is that a party is notified of the lawsuit when they do a title search. You do not need to respond to the lis pendens, but if you were served with a complaint and summons you need to respond to the complaint. Once the lis pendens is recorded in Official Records it never gets deleted or removed, but instead a subsequent document called a “Dissolution of Lis Pendens” or “Order Dissolving Lis Pendens” is filed in Official Records which extinguishes the lis pendens.