LIS PENDENS

lis pendens (lis pen-d<<schwa>>nz). [Latin] 1. A pending lawsuit. 2. The jurisdiction, power, or control acquired by a court over property while a legal action is pending. 3. A notice, recorded in the chain of title to real property, required or permitted in some jurisdictions to warn all persons that certain property is the subject matter of litigation, and that any interests acquired during the pendency of the suit are subject to its outcome. — Also termed (in sense 3) notice of lis pendens; notice of pendency. Cf. PENDENTE LITE. [Cases: Lis Pendens  1, 12.1. C.J.S. Lis Pendens §§ 2–7.]
[Blacks Law 8th]