7.18 Notice of Lis Pendens

• Library: Real Estate Practice Deskbook (2019 Ed.)

H. (§7.18) Notice of Lis Pendens

The plaintiff's counsel in a quiet title action should record a notice of lis pendens upon filing of suit. Section 527.260, RSMo 2016. A notice of lis pendens is filed in the county in which any of the real estate is situated, and it is a written notice that litigation is pending. Id. The purpose of recording a notice of lis pendens when a quiet title suit is filed is that a transferee of the property is bound by the judgment rendered in that action. Miller v. Heisler, 187 S.W.2d 485 (Mo. App. W.D. 1945). But a lis pendens notice affects only the property that is the subject of the pending action and not other property owned by any of the parties. State ex rel. State Highway Comm'n v. Harris, 417 S.W.2d 29, 32 (Mo. App. S.D. 1967). Further, as long as the notice of lis pendens has a reasonable relation to the pending litigation, it cannot subsequently be the basis for a claim of slander of title. Houska v. Frederick, 447 S.W.2d 514, 518–19 (Mo. 1969).

The notice...