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 Vermont, a lis pendens is a notice that signals there is pending litigation involving real property. This notice is typically recorded in the public land records of the county where the property is located. The purpose of a lis pendens is to warn all interested parties, particularly potential purchasers or encumbrancers of the property, that there are claims against the property that may affect its ownership or value. Vermont law requires that a lis pendens be filed with the town clerk's office in the town where the property is situated. The filing of a lis pendens in Vermont does not automatically prevent the transfer of property, but it does put subsequent purchasers or lienholders on notice that they take the property subject to the outcome of the pending litigation. This can be particularly relevant in cases of divorce, foreclosure, or homeowners' association disputes over property. The specific procedures and effects of a lis pendens are governed by Vermont statutes, which can be found in the Vermont Statutes Annotated, particularly within titles relating to property and civil procedure.