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 Missouri, a lis pendens is a notice that signals there is a lawsuit pending over a particular piece of real property. This notice serves to warn all interested parties, especially potential buyers, that the property is subject to litigation and that any interest they acquire in the property could be affected by the outcome of the lawsuit. The concept of lis pendens is rooted in the principle that buyers should be aware of any legal claims or disputes that may impact the title or ownership of the property they intend to purchase. In Missouri, the process for filing a lis pendens is typically governed by the state's statutes, which can be found in the Revised Statutes of Missouri (RSMo). Specifically, the procedure is outlined in Chapter 527 of the RSMo, which deals with notices of pendency of action. The statutes require that the lis pendens notice be filed with the recorder of deeds in the county where the property is located. This filing serves as a public record, alerting anyone who performs a title search on the property that there is an ongoing legal action associated with it. The use of lis pendens is common in cases of foreclosure, divorce proceedings involving real property, and disputes over property ownership or claims.