Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

You can get all the forms you want at www.courtinfo.ca.gov/forms, but maybe your situation won't be covered by a canned form. Lawsuits aren't for amateurs, and lis pendenses REALLY aren't for amateurs. Record an improper lis pendens and you WILL get stuck for thousands of dollars in attorney fees.

There isn't a Judicial Council form for a lis pendens. As one of the other attorneys pointed out the other day, it is formally known as a Notice of Pendency of Action. They are only appropriate in actions that involve disputes over title. Lay people like you are getting bad information on the street that a "lis pendens" is appropriate to cloud someone's title to force them to pay you on a debt they owe you.

When you are represented by an attorney, the attorney may sign the notice of pendency of action (lis pendens.) He then records it and files it with the court upon recordation. If you are representing yourself, and are not an attorney, you are not allowed to sign the notice of pendency of action (lis pendens). You would have to apply to the court to have the judge issue it.

The reason for this requirement is the abuse of the lis pendens by lay people. I would take Mr. Stone's warning to heart. The improper recordation of lis pendens can create a lot of heartache that you will not want.

What you want and what you are legally entitled to do are two different things. IF you have a valid monetary claim on the property that justifies lis pendens, you can have an attorney prepare and record the proper notice. Understand that if you file such a 'cloud on title' without proper legal grounds, you will be subject to substantial legal liability and damages in a lawsuit the property owner could bring against you. Consult with counsel before doing anything rash. If all you have is grounds for a lawsuit against the owner, then follow the proper process for that. IF serious about hiring counsel to help you, feel free to contact me.

Mr. Roach got it right this time (though I am the attorney he is referring to who gave the earlier answer). Mr. Nelson is flat out WRONG. You cannot record a lis pendens based on a monitary claim. The claim MUST involve a claim to some TITLE in the property, i.e., a claim of some right to ownership, posession, occupancy, or use of, or a adjudication of a lien on the property. And, no you can't get a lien just because someone owes you money. The only liens that I know of that can be establishes without the debtor granting the lien are a vendors lien for a seller who is not paid in full for the property, and a mechanics lien for construction contractors and material suppliers who provide works of improvement to the property. Recording a lis pendens without proper grounds is slander of title and can expose you to liability for a great deal of money.

Mr. McCormick is not the attorney that I referred to. The attorney that I referred to is Bryan Whipple. That question, and the responses, are located here: http://www.lawguru.com/legal-questions/california-real-estate/file-lis-pendens-property-california-533794637/a.

Mr. Whipple appears to be an experienced and professional practitioner of law. A vendor's lien is not recognized in California, as providing notice to third parties. "We hold that the recordation of a notice of vendor's lien does not provide constructive notice to bona fide purchasers for value, and thus we reverse the judgment." (Brown v. Johnson (3rd Dist. 1979) 98 Cal.App.3d 844.)