Lis Pendens

Latin: a dispute or matter which is the subject of ongoing or pending litigation.

See certificate of pending litigation.

A notice which is usually publicized by placing the notice against the relevant title of the real property for which an interest is being alleged in litigation, to the effect that some estate or interest in the real property is claimed by the party bringing the action.

The lis pendens notice itself does not create an interest or a charge against title, but is simply a notice that some estate or interest is claimed by the party bringing the action.

A lis pendens would not attract a successful claim for slander of title.

Lawyers often simply refer to certificates of pending litigation as lis pendens, short for a formal registered Notice of Lis Pendens or, for those jurisdictions that shun Latin terms, a certificate of pending litigation.

Politicians will sometimes refuse to discuss a matter or an issue which is lis pendens - a matter of dispute and which is before a court awaiting it's decision - because they do not want their comments to be perceived as an attempt to influence a court of law; to avoid the appearance that the executive or legislative branch would interfere with the independence of the judicial branch of government while a matter of public interest is in litigation.