What is a lis pendens?
A lis pendens is a legal notice filed with the county recorder to record that a lawsuit affecting the title to a property is in progress, such as a foreclosure action.
When a foreclosure suit begins in Ohio, the plaintiff's attorney files a lis pendens (Latin for "suit pending") in the county recorder's office where the property is located. This notice serves as a public record that a lawsuit directly affects the property's title. In Cuyahoga County and surrounding areas where Cleveland Metro foreclosure cases proceed, the lis pendens appears on the property's title history and effectively clouds the title by signaling to future buyers, lenders, or title companies that the property's ownership is contested.
The filing clouds title because no lender will finance a purchase, and no title insurance company will issue a policy, when a foreclosure action remains unresolved. The property becomes difficult or impossible to sell or refinance until the litigation ends. The notice protects the creditor's interest by ensuring that any prospective transferee or lienor knows of the pending claim against the property.
Once the foreclosure case concludes-whether through judgment for the lender, dismissal, settlement, or discharge-the lis pendens must be released or removed from the title record. The court issues a judgment or order of dismissal, and the attorney typically files a discharge or cancellation with the recorder's office. Only after this release does the title clear, allowing the property to be sold, financed, or otherwise transferred free from the cloud created by the pending suit. Proper removal is critical, as an inadvertently retained lis pendens can cloud title indefinitely.
Real estate title law professionals in the Cleveland area handle these filings and discharges as standard foreclosure procedures.