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 Maryland, a lis pendens is a notice that a lawsuit has been filed which may affect the title to or possession of real property. This notice is typically recorded in the land records of the county where the property is located. Maryland law requires that a lis pendens be filed in any action that involves the title to real property or the foreclosure of a mortgage or deed of trust on real property. The purpose of filing a lis pendens is to provide constructive notice to potential purchasers or encumbrancers of the property that there is litigation pending that may affect their rights. This means that anyone who acquires an interest in the property after the lis pendens is filed does so subject to the outcome of the litigation. The lis pendens remains in effect until the lawsuit is resolved or the notice is released by the party who filed it. In cases of divorce, foreclosure, or homeowners' association disputes involving property, the lis pendens serves to alert interested parties that there are claims against the property that could impact its transfer or conveyance.