Montana Notice of Lis Pendens
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FAQ
The homeowner can enter into a contract to sell the property, but the claim of the person who has filed the lis pendens has to be paid or settled before title can pass free and clear to the buyer. If the house closes, the buyer would ultimately have to accept the outcome of the pending litigation.
The lis pendens can be removed once the lawsuit is settled and the court has ruled on an outcome. It might also be resolved on its own if an agreement is reached between the title owner and whoever filed the complaint. If the claim was wrongfully filed, the lis pendens will be expunged.
Lenders are usually unwilling to finance a mortgage until the lis pendens has been removed from the title. In addition, while a property can still be sold while there is a lis pendens, title companies will not insure the property, and that alone should be a deterrent to purchasing.
A Lis Pendens is filed with the County Recorder in the county where the piece of property that the law suit involves is located. When any document is recorded with the County Recorder, it puts the world on notice of its contents.
A lis pendens may be removed through a motion to expunge. A motion to expunge may be granted if the underlying lawsuit or other court action does not contain a real property claim that has probable validity. The motion will be granted it if is more likely than not that the underlying lawsuit or claim will fail.
A lis pendens is an official, public notice that a property has a pending lawsuit or claim attached to it. Lis pendens can only be filed if a claim is related specifically to the property; however, it specifies that the owner of the property must assume any litigation associated with it.
The doctrine of lis pendens literally means pending suit, and lis pendens notices are the machinery whereby a party with an unrecorded or unperfected claim to real property can put third persons interested in the property on notice of the claim or interest.