Notice of Lis Pendens

A notice of lis pendens is a notice to the whole world of the pendency of an action involving
the title to or possession of real property and a warning that those who acquire an interest in the
property do so at their own risk and that they gamble on the result of the litigation over it.1

Annotation of the Notice of Lis Pendens

Rule 13, Section 14 of the Rules of Court provides:

Section 14. Notice of lis pendens. — In an action affecting the title or the
right of possession of real property, the plaintiff and the defendant, when
affirmative relief is claimed in his answer, may record in the office of the registry of
deeds of the province in which the property is situated notice of the pendency of the
action. Said notice shall contain the names of the parties and the object of the action
or defense, and a description of the property in that province affected thereby. Only
from the time of filing such notice for record shall a purchaser, or encumbrancer of
the property affected thereby, be deemed to have constructive notice of the
pendency of the action, and only of its pendency against the parties designated by
their real names.

The notice of lis pendens hereinabove mentioned may be cancelled only

upon order of the court, after proper showing that the notice is for the purpose of
molesting the adverse party, or that it is not necessary to protect the rights of the
rights of the party who caused it to be recorded.

Section 76 of Presidential Decree No. 1529, or the Property Registration Decree, also
provides:

Section 76. Notice of lis pendens. No action to recover possession of real

estate, or to quiet title thereto, or to remove clouds upon the title thereof, or for
partition, or other proceedings of any kind in court directly affecting the title to land
or the use or occupation thereof or the buildings thereon, and no judgment, and no
proceeding to vacate or reverse any judgment, shall have any effect upon registered
land as against persons other than the parties thereto, unless a memorandum or
notice stating the institution of such action or proceeding and the court wherein the
same is pending, as well as the date of the institution thereof, together with a
reference to the number of the certificate of title, and an adequate description of the
land affected and the registered owner thereof, shall have been filed and registered.

In accordance with the provisions of law cited above, the procedure to have a notice of lis
pendens annotated on the title of a property is as follows:

1. The Plaintiff or Defendant applies for the annotation of the notice to be recorded in the
office of the Registry of Deeds of the province in which the property is situated.

1Jesus Is Lord Christian School Foundation, Inc. vs. Municipality (now City) of Pasig, Metro Manila, G.R. No. 152230, August 9,
2005.
 2. The Register of Deeds processes the application for the annotation of the notice of lis
pendens, which must state the following:
(a) The specific action or proceeding instituted;
(b) The court wherein the action or proceeding is pending;
(c) The date when the said action or proceeding was instituted; and,
(d) Reference to the number of the certificate of title, adequate description of the land
affected, and the registered owner of the property.

3. Upon determination that the application is complete, it is ministerial upon the Register of
Deeds to cause the annotation of the notice of lis pendens.

When Annotation is Proper

In the case of Magdalena Homeowners Association, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals, the Supreme
Court held that a notice of lis pendens is appropriate in the following: (a) an action to recover
possession of real estate; (b) an action to quiet title thereto; (c) an action to remove clouds thereon;
(d) an action for partition; and (e) any other proceedings of any kind in Court directly affecting the
title to the land or the use or occupation thereof or the buildings thereon.

In Atlantic Erectors, Inc. vs. Herbal Cove Realty Corp., the Court further explained that
resorting to lis pendens is not necessarily confined to cases that involve title to or possession of real
property but also applies to suits seeking to establish a right to, or an equitable estate or interest in,
a specific real property; or to enforce a lien, a charge or an encumbrance against it. The Supreme
Court clarified however that the doctrine of lis pendens has no application to a proceeding in which
the only object sought is the recovery of a money judgment, though the title or right of possession
to property be incidentally affected. It is essential that the property be directly affected such as
when the relief sought in the action or suit includes the recovery of possession, or the enforcement
of a lien, or an adjudication between conflicting claims of title, possession, or the right of possession
to specific property, or requiring its transfer or sale. Even if a party initially avails of a notice of lis
pendens upon the filing of a case in court, such notice is rendered nugatory if the case turns out to
be a purely personal action. In such event, the notice of lis pendens becomes functus officio.