N.M. Stat. § 38-1-14 (2026)

In all actions in the district court of this state or in the United States district court for
the district of New Mexico affecting the title to real estate in this state, the plaintiff, at the
time of filing his petition or complaint, or at any time thereafter before judgment or
decree, may record with the county clerk of each county in which the property may be
situate a notice of the pendency of the suit containing the names of the parties thereto,
the object of the action and the description of the property so affected and concerned,
and, if the action is to foreclose a mortgage, the notice shall contain, in addition, the
date of the mortgage, the parties thereto and the time and place of recording, and must
be recorded five days before judgment, and the pendency of such action shall be only
from the time of recording the notice, and shall be constructive notice to a purchaser or
encumbrancer of the property concerned; and any person whose conveyance is
subsequently recorded shall be considered a subsequent purchaser or encumbrancer
and shall be bound by all the proceedings taken after the recording of the notice to the
same extent as if he were made a party to the said action.

   The lis pendens notice need not be acknowledged to entitle it to be recorded.

History: Laws 1873-1874, ch. 19, § 1; C.L. 1884, § 1853; C.L. 1897, § 2902; Code
1915, § 4261; C.S. 1929, § 105-1101; 1941 Comp., § 19-309; 1953 Comp., § 21-3-14;
Laws 1959, ch. 160, § 1; 1965, ch. 95, § 1.

                                     ANNOTATIONS

Party filing notice of lis pendens need not have an interest in the property. —
Where a party has standing to file a lawsuit in district court affecting the title to real
property, Section 38-1-14 NMSA 1978 allows for the filing of a notice of lis pendens in
connection with the lawsuit. Filing a notice of lis pendens is not limited to those cases in
which the adverse party claims a beneficial interest in the title to the property. High
Mesa Gen. P'ship v. Patterson, 2010-NMCA-072, 148 N.M. 863, 242 P.3d 430, cert.
quashed, 2011-NMCERT-002, 150 N.M. 617, 264 P.3d 129.

Party filing lis pendens must have a present claim to the property. — To be eligible
to record a lis pendens notice on a piece of real property, the party recording the notice
must assert a present claim to the property's title or have some other present interest in
the property. United States v. Jarvis, 499 F.3d 1196 (10th Cir. 2007).

Subdivision affects title to property. — The subdivision of property and the approval
of a subdivision plat affect the title to the property being subdivided. High Mesa Gen.
P'ship v. Patterson, 2010-NMCA-072, 148 N.M. 863, 242 P.3d 430, cert. quashed,
2011-NMCERT-002, 150 N.M. 617, 264 P.3d 129.

Notice of lis pendens filed by a party who did not have an interest in the property.
— Where the county approved plaintiff’s application for a preliminary subdivision plat of
plaintiff’s property; defendant filed an administrative appeal of the county’s decision
pursuant to Rule 1-074 NMRA and a notice of lis pendens; and defendant had no
interest in the property, the notice of lis pendens was properly filed, and defendant did
not have an obligation to obtain a stay under Rule 1-074 NMRA prior to filing the notice
of lis pendens. High Mesa Gen. P'ship v. Patterson, 2010-NMCA-072, 148 N.M. 863,
242 P.3d 430, cert. quashed, 2011-NMCERT-002, 150 N.M. 617, 264 P.3d 129.
Effect of voluntary release of notice of lis pendens. — Where a party chooses not to
exercise the right to give notice to subsequent purchasers through a notice of lis
pendens, either by not recording a notice during litigation or by releasing the notice prior
to the conclusion of the litigation, further purchasers are deemed to be without
constructive notice of the pending claims involving the property. Kokoricha v. Estate of
Donald I. Keiner, 2010-NMCA-053, 148 N.M. 322, 236 P.3d 41.

Effect of voluntary release of notice of lis pendens. — Where plaintiffs purchased
property that was the subject of ongoing probate litigation in which the decedent’s
estate sought to set aside a deed from the decedent to the decedent’s nephew; the
estate did not file a notice of lis pendens when the litigation was commenced; after two
years of litigation, the estate filed a notice of lis pendens; prior to the conclusion of the
litigation, the estate voluntarily released the lis pendens; and plaintiffs purchased the
property after the lis pendens had been released, but prior to the conclusion of the
litigation, there was no active notice on record providing plaintiffs with constructive
notice of the pending probate litigation involving title to the property. Kokoricha v. Estate
of Donald I. Keiner, 2010-NMCA-053, 148 N.M. 322, 236 P.3d 41.

Rights relate to date of filing notice. — If judgment is in favor of the one filing the lis
pendens notice, the rights of that party relate back to the date of the notice. Title Guar.
& Ins. Co. v. Campbell, 1987-NMCA-107, 106 N.M. 272, 742 P.2d 8.

Duration of lis pendens. — A lis pendens continues until expiration of the time to
appeal or until final disposition of the case by the appellate court. Salas v. Bolagh,
1987-NMCA-138, 106 N.M. 613, 747 P.2d 259.

Where purchaser of real estate withheld his deed from registration and
recordation until after suit was filed to cancel the conveyance to his vendor for fraud
and notice of lis pendens is filed, the purchaser was a subsequent purchaser and
charged with notice of the fact that his grantor's title was attacked in the suit. Wilson v.
Robinson, 1916-NMSC-010, 21 N.M. 422, 155 P. 732.

Vendor's implied lien was properly held paramount to the mortgage lien of an
intervener where vendor had filed (now recorded) notice of lis pendens in county clerk's
office in July, 1942, without actual knowledge of the intervener's claim to an equitable
lien dating back to Jan., 1942, intervener's mortgage not having been executed until
Oct., 1942, and filed for record in Dec., 1942. Logan v. Emro Chem. Corp., 1944-
NMSC-044, 48 N.M. 368, 151 P.2d 329.

Notice held ineffective. — Contractor filed suit to enforce lien on apparatus, equipment
and plants of mining company and to recover balance due under contract. On same day
that suit was filed, he endeavored to file (now record) a notice of the pendency of such
suit under this section. About ten months later, on the mining company being
adjudicated bankrupt, the contractor's claim was allowed against the estate of the
bankrupt mining company, but his lien was denied on the ground that since his suit in
the state court did not affect title to real estate, the lis pendens was not properly filed
(now recorded) and did not constitute constructive notice to trustee in bankruptcy of the
alleged lien. Sweeney v. Medler, 78 F.2d 148 (10th Cir. 1935).

Filing in anticipation of money judgment is prohibited. — The filing of a notice of lis
pendens in anticipation of a money judgment is prohibited. Hill v. Department of Air
Force, 884 F.2d 1321 (10th Cir. 1989).

Filing of lis pendens cannot support slander of title action. — The filing of a lis
pendens is absolutely privileged and cannot support an action for slander of title.
Superior Constr., Inc. v. Linnerooth, 1986-NMSC-008, 103 N.M. 716, 712 P.2d 1378.

Law reviews. — For article, "Attachment in New Mexico - Part II," see 2 Nat.
Resources J. 75 (1962).

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 51 Am. Jur. 2d Lis Pendens §§ 11, 23.

Statute requiring filing of formal notice of lis pendens in certain classes of cases as
affecting common-law doctrine of lis pendens in other cases, 10 A.L.R. 306.

Lis pendens; protection during time allowed for appeal, writ of error, or motion for new
trial, 10 A.L.R. 415.

Sufficiency of notice or knowledge of pendency of action against covenantee or his privy
in order to bind the covenantor by judgment, 34 A.L.R. 1429.

Title of stranger to litigation who purchased at judicial sale before appeal or pending
appeal without supersedeas as affected by reversal of decree directing sale, 155 A.L.R.
1252.

Will contest, necessity of filing notice of lis pendens in, 159 A.L.R. 386.

Original notice of lis pendens as defective upon renewal of litigation within permissive
period after dismissal, reversal or nonsuit, 164 A.L.R. 515.

Duration of operation of lis pendens as ground upon diligent prosecution of suit, 8
A.L.R.2d 986.

New or successive notice of lis pendens in same or new action after loss or cancellation
of original notice, 52 A.L.R.2d 1308.

Lis pendens in suit to compel stock transfer, 48 A.L.R.4th 731.

Lis pendens as applicable to suit for separation or dissolution of marriage, 65 A.L.R.4th
522.

54 C.J.S. Lis Pendens §§ 18, 35.
38-1-15. [Pendency of suit; time within which process must be
served; cancellation of lis pendens notice.]
    For the purpose of the preceding section [38-1-14 NMSA 1978], it is considered that
an action is pending from the time of filing such notice; provided, that such notice shall
be of no value, unless it is followed by the service of such citations or process of
citation, or by notice by publication to the defendant, as provided by law, within sixty
days after such filing. And the court in which said action was commenced, may in its
discretion, at any time after the action shall be settled, discontinue or revoke on
application of any person injured, and for good cause shown, and under such notice as
may be directed or approved by the court, order the notice authorized by the preceding
section to be canceled by the county clerk of any county in whose office the same may
have been filed, and such cancellation shall be made by an indorsement to that effect
upon the filed notice which shall refer to the order.

History: Laws 1873-1874, ch. 19, § 2; C.L. 1884, § 1854; C.L. 1897, § 2903; Code
1915, § 4262; C.S. 1929, § 105-1102; 1941 Comp., § 19-310; 1953 Comp., § 21-3-15.

                                      ANNOTATIONS

Bracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and is not
part of the law.

Compiler's notes. — Although this section speaks of filing a lis pendens notice, the
1959 amendment to 38-1-14 NMSA 1978 substituted references to recording for
references to filing.

Continuation of lis pendens after cancellation. — Regardless of the validity of a
cancellation of a lis pendens established by a suit, the lis pendens continues until
expiration of the time for appeal of the cancellation or until final disposition of the case
by the appellate court. Salas v. Bolagh, 1987-NMCA-138, 106 N.M. 613, 747 P.2d 259.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — New or successive notice of lis pendens
in same or new action after loss or cancellation of original notice, 52 A.L.R.2d 1308.

Lis pendens: grounds for cancellation prior to termination of underlying action, absent
claim of delay, 49 A.L.R.4th 242.