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 Mexico, a lis pendens serves as a formal notice to the public that a piece of real estate is subject to a pending legal action. This notice is typically recorded in the county records where the property is located, thereby becoming part of the property's title history. The purpose of a lis pendens is to warn potential buyers or other interested parties that the property's title could be affected by the outcome of the lawsuit, and any transfer of ownership might not eliminate the legal claim. New Mexico statutes govern the use and procedure of filing a lis pendens, which can be found in the state's property code or rules of civil procedure. The notice is commonly used in cases of divorce when property division is pending, during foreclosure proceedings by banks, or by homeowners' associations seeking to enforce payment of fees or assessments. It is important for property owners and potential buyers to understand that a lis pendens indicates litigation that could impact property rights and ownership.