A “notice of lis pendens” is a memorandum which is filed at a Registry District to alert persons examining title to a specific piece of land that the land or the building thereon is the subject of pending litigation in some court, G.L. c. 185, § 86. The statute refers to the filing of a memorandum “like that described in” G.L. c. 184, § 15, and also requires that the memorandum contain a reference to the certificate of title number and the book and page where the certificate of title is maintained in the book of registrations.
G.L. c. 184, § 15 in turn sets forth certain requirements as to what information must be contained in the memorandum. This includes: the names of the parties to the proceeding, the court in which it is pending, the date of the complaint, the town where the property is located, and a description of the property sufficiently accurate for identification. A notice of lis pendens may be accepted for registration only if it contains the required information and bears the endorsement of a justice of the court in which the action is pending on a finding by that justice that the subject matter of the action constitutes a claim of a right to title to real property or the use or occupation thereof or the building thereon. In some instances, the signature of the justice making the required finding is endorsed directly on the memorandum of lis pendens; in other cases, the signature of the judge is endorsed on a separate finding appended to the memorandum. In some courts, an original of the judge’s endorsement is provided for registration; in other courts, a copy of the endorsed finding, certified by the court clerk, issues. All are acceptable for registration, but a memorandum without an endorsed finding should not be registered.
The notice of lis pendens also must be accompanied by an affidavit stating that the plaintiff or plaintiff’s attorney has, by certified mail, served notice of the court’s allowance of the motion for judicial endorsement on all parties to the action. This affidavit should accompany the endorsed notice of lis pendens when it is registered.
The memorandum of lis pendens may be dissolved by one of several methods:
- The filing of a notice of voluntary dissolution duly executed by the party who executed (or on whose behalf was executed) the memorandum of lis pendens, by that party’s successor in interest, or by an attorney of record for either of those parties; or
- The filing of an attested copy of an allowed special motion to dismiss, or of any order or judgment dismissing, the underlying action, or of an order dissolving the memorandum of lis pendens, in each such case without a timely appeal having been filed (or, if an appeal had been filed, by final resolution of all appeals upholding the allowance, order or judgment). A clerk’s certificate from the trial court will be necessary to establish the absence of a timely appeal or the favorable resolution of any appeal, and should be registered along with the attested copy of the allowance, order, or judgment; or
- The filing of a clerk’s certificate from the court in which the action is pending that the action has been fully and finally concluded by notice of voluntary dismissal, stipulation of dismissal or agreement for judgment.
Once dissolved, the lis pendens will not be carried forward to subsequent certificates.