CANCELLATION OF NOTICE OF LIS PENDENS

Dear PAO,

My brother is 78 years old. He owns a parcel of land in the province which was the subject of a certain
case in 2014 which was filed by John. A judgment was issued against John in 2016. My brother is having
a hard time selling his land because his prospective buyer backs out whenever the latter sees the
“Notice of Lis Pendens” that is annotated at the back of the Torrens Title. Whenever there is a
prospective buyer, John, who caused the annotation, would brag that he owns the land and the notice is
his proof. Is he correct?

Tyrell

Dear Tyrell,

The Supreme Court in the case of People of the Philippines vs. RTC of Manila and Bataclan et al. (G.R.
No. 81541, October 4, 1989, Ponente: Associate Justice Abraham Sarmiento) gives an enlightening
explanation about Lis Pendens, thus:

“Lis Pendens is a Latin term which literally means a pending suit or a pending litigation while a Notice of
Lis Pendens is an announcement to the whole world that a particular real property is in litigation,
serving as a warning that one who acquires an interest over the said property does so at his own risk, or
that he gambles on the result of the litigation over the said property. It is but a signal to the intending
buyer or mortgagee to take care or beware and to investigate the prospect or non-prospect of the
litigation succeeding before he forks down his money.”

Notice of Lis Pendens is a remedy under Section 76 of Presidential Decree (PD) 1529, which states:

“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.”

Correlative thereto, Section 77 of same law states:

“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.
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 cancelled 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.”

Applying the above cited provisions of law in your situation, the claim of John that the Notice of Lis
Pendens is proof of his ownership of your brother’s land has no legal basis. The Notice of Lis pendens is
a mere warning that the property is subject of litigation and it is not a lien. The Notice of Lis Pendens
may be cancelled on the ground that a judgment was rendered against the party who caused the
annotation in consonance with the decision of the Supreme Court in Fernandez vs. CA (GR No. 115813,
October 16, 2000, Ponente: Associate Justice Leonardo A. Quisumbing).