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 Rhode Island, a lis pendens serves as a formal notice to the public that there is a pending lawsuit involving a specific piece of real property. This notice is particularly important for potential buyers, as it indicates that the property is subject to legal claims that could affect future ownership. The notice of lis pendens is typically recorded in the public records, such as the county records, where the property is located. This recording is intended to provide constructive notice to anyone dealing with the property that there are pending legal actions associated with it. In Rhode Island, the process for filing a lis pendens is governed by state statutes, which can be found in the state's property code or code of civil procedure. The use of lis pendens is common in cases of divorce, where the division of real property assets is in question, in foreclosure proceedings initiated by banks, and in actions by homeowners’ associations to collect delinquent fees or assessments through foreclosure. An attorney can provide specific guidance on the process and implications of filing a lis pendens in Rhode Island.