Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

You need to e-mail that attorney directly.

I think I was the attorney who provided the sample.

Your problem may revolve around your understanding of what a "form" is, and what it will do for you (by the way of saving creativity and work).

Definition #1 of a (legal) "form" would be something like "A pre-printed document containing some standardized language, and also a number of blank spaces, where each user is expected to fill in his or her specific information."

If you are looking for something like this with a name (or purpose) "Withdrawal of Pendency of Action," I don't think you'll find such a form. The Judicial Council hasn't prepared one, and I'm very doubtful such a form could be found at a stationery store.

However, there is at least one additional definition for a legal "form." Nearly all frequently-used legal documents with standardized names and common purposes have been reduced to boilerplate language and status by the legal profession. Very few lawyers re-write such repeat-use documents from scratch. They look in their word processors for previous uses of the same document, or, occasionally, go to a source (text, treatise or practice manual) to see how the authors suggest writing up the desired document. Such repeat-use formula-type documents aren't really "forms" in the preprinted sense, but they are in the pre-thought-out sense. The lawyer using them doesn't have to be overly creative.

Now, to the specific issue of retracting a prior lis pendens. First, the Code of Civil Procedure requires (section 405.50) that the notice of withdrawal be acknowledged (notarized) and executed by the person who recorded the lis pendens (i.e., "notice of pendency of action") or the person's successor. Second, the withdrawal must be filed with the court after it is recorded, with service on all parties to the case.