“A lis pendens is a vehicle for permitting an individual, involved in an action which affects title, to put subsequent purchasers on notice of pending claims involving the property.” (Kokoricha v. Estate of Keiner (2010) 148 N.M. 322, 326 citing Salas v. Bolagh (1987) 106 N.M. 613, 615.)
“A lis pendens provides constructive notice of the suit in the absence of a party's actual knowledge of the litigation.” (Kokoricha v. Estate of Keiner (2010) 148 N.M. 322, 326 citing Title Guar. Ins. Co. v. Campbell (1987) 106 N.M. 272, 277.)
“[A] notice of lis pendens filed in an action continues ‘until expiration of the time for appeal or until final disposition of the case by the appellate court.’” (State v. Rodriguez, 300 P.3d 133, 139 (N.M. Ct. App. 2013) [finding “court-ordered cancellation of the lis pendens was premature and in error under existing New Mexico case law.”]; quoting Kokoricha v. Estate of Keiner, 2010–NMCA–053, ¶ 18, 148 N.M. 322, 236 P.3d 41; Salas v. Bolagh (1987) 106 N.M. 613, 615.)
“In New Mexico, the lis pendens statutes, Sections 38-1-14 to -15, replaced the common-law doctrine. These statutes provide the specific mechanism of a recorded notice of suit,which a plaintiff in an action affecting title to real property must use if he wishes to ensure that subsequent purchasers of that property have constructive notice of the pending claims.” (Kokoricha v. Estate of Keiner (2010) 148 N.M. 322, 327 citing Section 38-1-14.)
“The effect of the statute is that where a party chooses not to exercise his right to give notice to subsequent purchasers through a notice of lis pendens, either by not recording a notice during the litigation or by releasing the notice prior to the conclusion of the litigation, future purchasers are deemed to be without constructive notice of the pending claims involving the property.” (Id.)
“[U]nder the New Mexico statute, notices of lis pendens do not give special protection where the ultimate recovery, [...] is a money judgment.” (Title Guar. and Ins. Co. v. Campbell (1987) 106 N.M. 272, 277 citing NMSA 1978, § 38-1-14; Tate v. Sanders (1912) 245 Mo. 186, 149 S.W. 485 (1912); cf. In re Lafayette Houses, City of New York (1961) 220 N.Y.S.2d 109.)
“Where review of a decision concerns questions of law centering on a notice lis pendens, “[courts of appeal] review [those] questions of law de novo.... [and] [i]f no material issues of fact are in dispute and an appeal presents only a question of law, [reviewing courts] apply de novo review.’” (Kokoricha v. Estate of Keiner (2010) 148 N.M. 322, 325 [examining “[whether] the notice of lis pendens in effect at the time the [appellants] purchased the [p]roperty.])
“By its express terms, a notice of lis pendens serves to give notice to any third parties contemplating acquiring an interest in the property in question that title to the property is subject to ongoing litigation.” (D'Antonio v. Crowder (2009) 2011 NMCA 16, 4 citing Title Guar. Ins. Co. v. Campbell (1987) 106 N.M. 272, 277 [stating that “a notice of lis pendens provides constructive notice to subsequent purchasers and encumbrancers of litigation affecting the title to real property.”])
“The notice is intended to preserve the property rights in existence at the time the litigation commences, but does not create new or additional property rights.” (D'Antonio v. Crowder (2009) 2011 NMCA 16, 4 citing United States v. Jarvis (2007) 499 F.3d 1196, 1203 [10th Cir.]interpreting the New Mexico lis pendens statute].)
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