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 New Jersey, a lis pendens serves as a formal notice to the public that a piece of real property is subject to a pending lawsuit or claim. This notice is typically recorded in the county records where the property is located, thereby becoming part of the property's chain of title. The purpose of recording a lis pendens is to warn potential buyers and others dealing with the property that there are pending legal claims that may affect the property's title or ownership. New Jersey law requires that a lis pendens be filed with the county clerk or register of deeds to provide constructive notice to third parties. The New Jersey statutes governing lis pendens can be found in the New Jersey Statutes Annotated (N.J.S.A.), particularly within the context of property law and civil procedure. The use of lis pendens is common in cases of foreclosure, divorce proceedings involving real property, and homeowners' association disputes over delinquent fees or assessments. It is important for anyone dealing with property that is subject to a lis pendens to understand that the resolution of the pending legal action may significantly impact their rights or interests in the property.