A lis pendens is a notice recorded in the public records announcing that a lawsuit affecting a specific property is pending. It does not decide anything. It binds the property to the outcome, so anyone who buys it or lends against it afterward takes subject to whatever the court eventually orders.
- It is a start date, not a verdict. Cases settle, get dismissed, and get cured, and most of the good outcomes happen here.
- It stops a sale in practice, because a title search finds it and a buyer cannot take clean title while it stands.
- Under Florida Statute 48.23 a properly recorded notice bars enforcement of other interests unless the holder intervenes within 30 days.
- Seeing one tells you a clock exists. It does not tell you how much time is left; the docket does.
Related terms
All termsDistressed Property
A distressed property is one whose owner has less time than the asset does.
InvestmentJudicial Sale (Foreclosure Auction)
A judicial sale is the court-ordered auction that ends a Florida foreclosure.
ClosingTitle Exception
A title exception is something the title policy will NOT cover: an easement, a restrictive covenant, a plat note, a mineral reservation, an encroachment shown by survey.
Terms arrive with the writing.
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