LIS PENDENS

(A) Latin term for a lawsuit pending which may refer to any pending lawsuit. It may also refer to a written notice concerning a dispute over title and ownership interest of real property and is usually filed in the county land records office where the property is located. It functions to alert potential purchasers of the property of another potential ownership interest and makes the property less attractive to a buyer. (B) It is a general rule, that Lis pendens is a general notice of an equity to all the world. When a defendant is arrested pending a former suit or action, in which he was held to bail, he will not, in general, be held to bail, if the second suit be for the same cause of action. But under special circumstances, he may be held to bail twice, and of these circumstances the court will judge. When such a second action is commenced, the first ought to be discontinued and the costs paid; but, it seems, it is sufficient if they are paid before the replication of nul tiel record to a plea of autre action pendant. in the second suit.