A lis pendens is a pending lawsuit or legal action, or a formal notice of a pending lawsuit or legal action. For example, a lis pendens is an official public notice that a piece of real property has a pending lawsuit or claim attached to it—which may be especially relevant to potential buyers of the property, as a sale of the property will probably not extinguish or resolve the pending claim.

Lis pendens might also refer to the jurisdiction (power, authority, control) a court acquires over property while a legal action is pending. Or lis pendens may refer to a notice recorded in the public records (often county records) in the chain of title to a piece of real property—which is required or permitted in some jurisdictions to put all persons on notice that the property is the subject of litigation or of a claim. This notice informs potential buyers of the property that their future ownership of the property may be subject to other claims.

Lis pendens is often used when spouses are going through the divorce process and their real property assets, for example, have not been finally divided by their agreement or by the court. Banks commonly use the lis pendens process to put the public on notice that a property is in foreclosure. And a homeowners’ association may file a lis pendens when it seeks to foreclose on a homeowner’s home to satisfy delinquent fees or assessments.

The procedure for a lis pendens is usually located in a state’s statutes—often in the property code or in the code of civil procedure, for example.

In Illinois, a lis pendens is a notice that alerts the public to the fact that a property is involved in a pending legal action. It is typically recorded in the county's public records where the property is located, thereby affecting the chain of title and informing potential buyers or other interested parties that any interest they acquire in the property could be subject to the outcome of the litigation. Illinois law requires the party filing a lis pendens to provide notice to the property owner and to record the notice with the recorder of deeds in the county where the property is located. This is governed by the Illinois Compiled Statutes, specifically 735 ILCS 5/2-1901, which outlines the process for filing a lis pendens. The statute requires that the notice include the names of the parties involved, the nature of the claim, and a description of the property. The use of lis pendens is common in cases of foreclosure, divorce proceedings involving property division, and homeowners' association disputes over delinquent fees. It serves to protect the filing party's claim to the property while the lawsuit is pending and ensures that any subsequent purchaser of the property is aware of the potential legal complications associated with their purchase.