The Ohio rule in two sentences
Ohio’s lis pendens statute is short. R.C. 2703.26 says:
When a complaint is filed, the action is pending so as to charge a third person with notice of its pendency. While pending, no interest can be acquired by third persons in the subject of the action, as against the plaintiff’s title.
In plain terms, once someone files a lawsuit about a specific piece of real estate, the whole world is treated as knowing about it. Anyone who buys the house, takes a mortgage on it or gets a lien on it while the case is open takes that interest subject to whatever the court decides. They can’t later claim they didn’t know.
“Lis pendens” is Latin for “a suit pending.” It describes a legal effect, not a separate lien.
When the notice starts and where it reaches
The timing is simple. In the county where the case is filed, notice begins when the complaint is filed. Ohio doesn’t require a separate recorded notice in that county for R.C. 2703.26 to work.
Property in more than one county is different. Under R.C. 2703.27, if part of the land is in another county, a certified copy of the judgment must be recorded with that county’s recorder before it gives notice to third parties there. In the county where the judgment is rendered, it operates as notice without being recorded.
Foreclosure cases also tie into this rule. R.C. 2329.191 requires the lender to file a final judicial report that updates the state of the title from the preliminary report through the date of lis pendens, so the court knows every interest that existed when the case began.
Lawsuits that create a lis pendens
Not every lawsuit against you affects your house. The rule applies when the real estate itself is the subject of the action. Common examples on Northeast Ohio homes:
- Mortgage foreclosure, where R.C. 2323.07 has the court order the house sold;
- Tax foreclosure brought by the treasurer or a tax certificate holder;
- Partition between co-owners or heirs, covered in the partition action guide;
- Quiet title or boundary disputes, covered in the quiet title guide;
- Mechanic’s lien foreclosure by a contractor;
- Divorce cases that ask the court to divide the marital home.
A lawsuit just for money, like an unpaid credit card, doesn’t create a lis pendens on your house. That creditor needs a judgment and a certificate of judgment first, which is a different process explained in the judgment lien guide.
How a lis pendens affects a sale or refinance
The practical effect is that nobody wants to buy into a lawsuit. A buyer’s title company will find the pending case on the clerk’s docket and list it as an exception it won’t insure over. A lender won’t refinance a house with an open foreclosure unless the new loan pays off the plaintiff.
That doesn’t mean you can’t sell. It means the sale has to resolve the case:
| Case type | How a sale can clear it |
|---|---|
| Mortgage foreclosure | The lender is paid in full at closing, or agrees to a short payoff, then dismisses the case |
| Tax foreclosure | All taxes, penalties and costs are paid, and the case is dismissed |
| Partition | All owners sign the deed and agree on the split, or the court approves the sale |
| Quiet title or boundary dispute | The parties settle and the case is dismissed, or the court rules |
Until one of those happens, a buyer who closes anyway takes the house subject to the plaintiff’s claim, which is exactly what R.C. 2703.26 says.
How the lis pendens ends
The notice lasts as long as the case does. It ends when the case ends:
- the plaintiff voluntarily dismisses the case, for example after a payoff;
- the court enters a final judgment and, in a foreclosure, the sale is confirmed;
- the parties settle and file a dismissal entry.
After a dismissal, ask for a copy of the journal entry. The title company will want it to show the case is closed before it removes the exception.
If you’re the owner being sued
A lis pendens can’t be ignored away, but you do have a role in the case that created it. Ohio Civil Rule 12(A) gives a defendant 28 days after service of the summons and complaint to answer. Answering keeps you informed of every hearing and lets you challenge the claim.
If you think the case has no basis, or it was filed against the wrong property, talk to a lawyer about asking the court to dismiss it. If the claim is valid, resolving it, by paying, settling or selling, is usually the fastest way to free up the title.
Keep the case number handy. The title company, a buyer’s lender and any new lender will all ask for it.
How to check for one
Search the clerk of courts’ docket in the county where the property sits, under every owner’s name:
- Summit County: the Clerk of Courts at clerkweb.summitoh.net. The Summit Sheriff’s FAQ notes the Clerk’s records search by name or case number, so if you only know the address, look up the owner’s name on the Fiscal Office’s parcel records first.
- Stark County: the Clerk’s online case docket, which also shows title work filed in pending foreclosures.
The full list of records to search is in how to check for liens on your property.
If a foreclosure is the pending case on your house, our page on selling a house in foreclosure explains how a sale clears it, and you can ask us for a written offer to see whether a sale would pay off the plaintiff.
