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 Louisiana (LA), a lis pendens is a notice filed in the public records that indicates the pendency of a legal action involving real property. This notice serves to warn all interested parties, particularly potential purchasers or encumbrancers of the property, that there is litigation pending that may affect the title or right to possession of the property in question. The concept of lis pendens is rooted in the principle that a buyer or subsequent lienholder is bound by the outcome of litigation if they have been given proper notice of the pending action. In Louisiana, the filing of a lis pendens is governed by the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure. Specifically, Article 3751 and following articles outline the procedure for filing a notice of lis pendens, which must be recorded in the mortgage records of the parish where the property is located. The notice must contain certain information, including the names of the parties involved, a description of the property, and details of the lawsuit. Failure to file a lis pendens may result in a purchaser or mortgagee acquiring the property free of the outcome of the pending litigation. It is commonly used in cases of divorce, foreclosure, and homeowners' association disputes over property. An attorney can provide specific guidance on the use and implications of a lis pendens in Louisiana.