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Also, the matters contained in the following were written in accordance with the law, rules, and jurisprudence prevailing at the time of writing and posting, and do not include any future developments on the subject matter under discussion.
AT A GLANCE:
A notice of lis pendens is an annotation made on a certificate of title pursuant to Section 76 of Presidential Decree No. 1529 and Section 19, Rule 13 of the Rules of Court, to notify third persons that the property is the subject of a pending court proceeding. It functions as a legal warning to protect the rights of the party who instituted or is defending the action, ensuring that the court’s eventual decision will remain binding and enforceable against subsequent purchasers or encumbrancers.
What is a notice of lis pendens?
A notice of lis pendens is an annotation made on a certificate of title pursuant to Section 76 of Presidential Decree No. 1529 and Section 19, Rule 13 of the Rules of Court, to notify third persons that the property is the subject of a pending court proceeding. It functions as a legal warning to protect the rights of the party who instituted or is defending the action, ensuring that the court’s eventual decision will remain binding and enforceable against subsequent purchasers or encumbrancers.
Under Section 76 of Presidential Decree No. 1529, 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.
Under Section 19, Rule 13 of the Rules of Court, 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 or her answer, may record in the office of the registry of deeds of the province in which the property is situated a 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.
Purpose of notice of lis pendens
The court in the case of Dueñas v. Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company, G.R. No. 209463, November 29, 2022, stated that the purpose of lis pendens are the following:
- to protect the rights of the party causing the registration of the lis pendens, and
- to advise third persons who purchase or contract on the subject property that they do so at their peril and subject to the result of the pending litigation.
When does a notice of lis pendens apply?
Section 76 of Presidential Decree No. 1529 provides that the notice of lis pendens may be filed when an action or proceedings is pending in court that directly affects the title to, or use or possession of, real property, such as:
- Actions to recover possession of real property;
- Quieting of title cases;
- Removal of clouds or doubts on title;
- Partition cases;
- Other proceedings that directly affect ownership, title, or use of the land or buildings thereon.
Effect of filing a notice of lis pendens
Filing of a notice of lis pendens has a two-fold effect as outlined in the above-mentioned case of Dueñas v. Metropolitan Bank. First, the notice of lis pendens keeps the subject matter of the litigation within the power of the court until the entry of the final judgment to prevent the defeat of the final judgment by successive alienations. Second, it binds a purchaser, bona fide or not, of the land subject of the litigation to the judgment or decree that the court will promulgate subsequently. However, the filing of a notice of lis pendens does not create a right or lien that previously did not exist.
Moreover, the court in the same case stated that without a notice of lis pendens, a third party who acquires the property after relying only on the certificate of title is a purchaser in good faith. Against such third party, the supposed rights of a litigant cannot prevail, because the former is not bound by the property owner’s undertakings not annotated in the transfer certificate of title.
Cancellation of lis pendens
Section 77 of Presidential Decree No. 1529 provides that, before final judgment, a notice of lis pendens may be canceled 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 party who caused it to be registered. It may also be canceled by the Register of Deeds upon verified petition of the party who caused the registration thereof.
Moreover, at any time after final judgment in favor of the defendant, or other disposition of the action such as to terminate finally all rights of the plaintiff in and to the land and/or buildings involved, in any case in which a memorandum or notice of lis pendens has been registered as provided in the preceding section, the notice of lis pendens shall be deemed canceled upon the registration of a certificate of the clerk of court in which the action or proceeding was pending stating the manner of disposal thereof.
The court in Duenas v. Metrobank stated that the notice is but an incident in an action, an extrajudicial one, to be sure. It does not affect the merits thereof. It is intended merely to constructively advise, or warn, all people who deal with the property that they so deal with it at their own risk, and whatever rights they may acquire in the property in any voluntary transaction are subject to the results of the action, and may well be inferior and subordinate to those which may be finally determined and laid down therein.
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Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices specializes in business law and labor law consulting. For inquiries regarding legal services, you may reach us at info@alburolaw.com, or dial us at (02)7745-4391/ 09175772207/ 09778050020.
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