Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: notice of pendency of lis pendens

Normally the Lis Pendens contains a case number. We need to review it, but can help you have it removed if no case was filed. Please call us if you have any questions.

Re: notice of pendency of lis pendens

Your term "file" is a little too vague for a direct and unqualified answer. One "files" papers with the court; one "records" instruments at the recorder's office. The proper action depends upon where this lis pendens was placed into an official record - the court clerk's office, the recorder's, or both. Or possibly neither or somewhere else.

"Lis pendens" and you may know is legal Latin for "litigation pending," and a lis pendens is properly recorded and filed, in that sequence, promptly after a lawsuit affecting ownership or possession of real property is filed.

The modern term for lis pendens is "notice of pendency of action," but the old term is still widely used.

At court, a lis pendens can be removed either by withdrawal or expungement. See Code of Civil Procedure sections 405.30 to 405.60. Withdrawal is voluntary and can be done only by the personwho filed it in the first place. Expungement is by court order. If the problem is improper filing in court, seek a voluntary withdrawal. If necessary to go after an expungement, talk to your lawyer about damages for "slander of title," a tort that is sometimes present due to improper use of a lis pendens.

If the problem is at the recorder's office, I would try first to confer with a higher-up officer in the recorder's office to see whether they made a mistake in accepting the document for recording and will voluntarily expunge it; if not, treat this as an improper court use and ask your ex to have a withdrawal prepared and recorded, pointing out that if you have to file an action for expungement you will be seeking damages.