Updated: April 14, 2025
Published: August 8, 2022
What is a Judgment (Lis Pendens)?
Often just referred to as a Lis Pendens, the term literally translates from its original Latin as ‘Pending Litigation’ and refers to burdens (i.e. legal or financial obligations, restrictions, or limitations that affect how the property can be used, enjoyed, or transferred) being registered against property.
Why might someone search for a Judgment/Lis Pendens?
In the broadest of terms, Lis Pendens searches relate to two principal purposes as follows:
Due Diligence: Businesses, lenders, or individuals may wish to establish ownership of real estate property as part of asset tracing efforts. Such searches could also be required as part of divorce proceedings or other financial/legal obligations or settlements. Other uses for a Lis Pendens search can include the locating of individuals for the purpose of serving legal notices.
Property Transactions: By registering a Judgment (Lis Pendens), it primarily serves to notify potential buyers or interested parties that there is an ongoing or potential legal dispute concerning a property. These disputes often involve issues such as ownership claims, boundary disagreements, easements (rights of way), rights of residence, restrictive covenants, suspected fraud, divorce proceedings, or other legal matters.
For professionals acting on behalf of a buyer, it’s crucial to ensure that the client is not unknowingly inheriting legal complications, and that the title is free from encumbrances before finalising a transaction. In short, the presence of a Lis Pendens can complicate property registration and ultimately impact the ability to secure an initial mortgage.
What details are recorded on the Lis Pendens register?
Entries are generally registered against the party whose real estate (property, rights, interests) is intended to be affected—typically an individual or a legal entity such as a company. While the address of the affected party is often included, it may not always be provided.
Additional details commonly recorded include the case title, the court and record number, the date the legal action was initiated, the details of the lodging solicitor or individual, and the date the entry was officially registered.
How and what to search for on the Lis Pendens register?
For due diligence matters, we simply search against the bearer of the name.
For property transactions (conveyancing property, interests or rights), searches are typically carried out against both the seller and the purchaser. The reason why the purchasers are also checked is that this is part of the lender’s “Review of Security” and may influence mortgage approval or other financing decisions.
Are addresses required to be provided as part of the searching instruction?
The short answer is that addresses are not required.
Ultimately, the Lis Pendens Register is a register of names/ parties against whom a Lis Pendens judgment has been recorded. As such, any searches are strictly confined to the names (irrespective of address) provided in the searching instruction.
What will the Ellis & Ellis certified Lis Pendens result show me?
Specifically, the Ellis & Ellis search will be against the bearers of the names provided against all Incumbrances (on real estate only) held by the Registry of Judgments for ‘…Lispendens, Recognizances, Crown Bonds, Judgments at the suit of the Crown, Statutes, Inquisitions, and Acceptances of Office, registered, re-registered or redocketed…’.
For those conducting searches for a due diligence purpose, ‘hits’ or matching entries to the bearer of a name will show up in the results. This will show all of the relevant recorded details on the register, along with a separate ‘Status’ field.
Ideally, for the purchasing solicitor/conveyancer, any search result will be clear.
So how might one consider/ treat a ‘hit’ on the register?
For those conducting due diligence searches, this could form a ‘toe hold’ which could prompt follow-on searches in the Land Registry, Registry of Deeds, Proceedings, Petitions, or Insolvency registers. A degree of triangulation might be required to establish if this bearer of the name is your person of interest or not.
For property transactions, at this point, it will still be unclear as to whether the bearer of a name is the seller or your client. This is primarily a by-product of how the application form for the registration of a Lis Pendens seeks information. Ultimately, however, the onus passes onto the selling solicitor/conveyancer to show or provide acceptable declarations that this is not their client who bears a similar name.
For Property Transactions, how long does a Judgment/Lis Pendens last?
The authority granted by a Lis Pendens to register a lien or burden on a property folio naturally expires after five years. During this period, the entry may be marked as satisfied, vacated, or cancelled—either by court order, consent of the parties, or through a Notice of Motion.
However, unless specifically annulled or formally removed, the Lis Pendens entry will remain on the register indefinitely. As a result, it may continue to appear in property searches, regardless of how old the entry is.
Use a trusted law search provider
Given the serious ramifications set out above of either not conducting a search at all, or worse, conducting an inadequate or erroneous Lis Pendens search; it is imperative that purchasing solicitors/ conveyancers use a trusted law search provider such as Ellis & Ellis.
With our blend of a quick and easy-to-use ordering platform, over 135 years of professional know-how, and a quality after-sales experience, we provide clients with a superior searching service.
For added peace of mind, Ellis & Ellis provide Professional Indemnity Cover in excess of €10 million.
Why not join the thousands of users who trust Ellis & Ellis Law Searchers to deliver them a competitive edge?
If you found this information helpful, explore our other search services, including:
- Judgment (Debt/Money) Searches
- Bankruptcy searches
- Insolvency Searches
- Folio Searches
- Company Searches