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 Michigan, a lis pendens is a written notice that a lawsuit involving a claim on a property has been filed and is pending in the courts. This notice is typically recorded with the county register of deeds where the property is located. The purpose of recording a lis pendens is to alert potential buyers or other interested parties that there is litigation that may affect the title to or interest in the property. Michigan law requires that the lis pendens include a legal description of the property, the names of the parties involved, and the nature of the claim. It is governed by Michigan Compiled Laws under MCL 600.2701 to 600.2725. The recording of a lis pendens effectively places a cloud on the title, warning that any subsequent purchaser or encumbrancer takes the property subject to the outcome of the litigation. This can be particularly important in cases of divorce, foreclosure, or homeowners' association disputes over property. It is important to note that the mere filing of a lis pendens does not prevent the sale or transfer of the property, but it does put parties on notice that they acquire the property subject to the resolution of the pending legal action.