Revised Code of Washington

Wash. Rev. Code § 4.28.325 (2026)

Lis pendens in actions in United States district courts affecting title to real estate

✓ current as of May 2026

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In an action in a United States district court for any district in the state of Washington affecting the title to real property in the state of Washington, the plaintiff, at the time of filing the complaint, or at any time afterwards, or a defendant, when he or she sets up an affirmative cause of action in his or her answer, or at any time afterward, if the same be intended to affect real property, may file with the auditor of each county in which the property is situated a notice of the pendency of the action, containing the names of the parties, the object of the action and a description of the real property in that county affected thereby. From the time of the filing only shall the pendency of the action be constructive notice to a purchaser or encumbrancer of the property affected thereby, and every person whose conveyance or encumbrance is subsequently executed or subsequently recorded shall be deemed a subsequent purchaser or encumbrancer, and shall be bound by all proceedings taken after the filing of such notice to the same extent as if he or she were a party to the action. For the purpose of this section an action shall be deemed to be pending from the time of filing such notice: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That such notice shall be of no avail unless it shall be followed by the first publication of the summons, or by personal service thereof on a defendant within sixty days after such filing. And the court in which the said action was commenced may, in its discretion, at any time after the action shall be settled, discontinued, or abated, on application of any person aggrieved and on good cause shown and on such notice as shall be directed or approved by the court, order the notice authorized in this section to be canceled, in whole or in part, by the county auditor of any county in whose office the same may have been filed or recorded, and such cancellation shall be evidenced by the recording of the court order.

[ 2011 c 336 s 103; 1999 c 233 s 4; 1963 c 137 s 1.]

Notes:

Effective date—1999 c 233: See note following RCW 4.28.320.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 7 cases, 2002–2020 · leading case: Jean Rey v. Michel Rey, 666 F. App'x 675 (9th Cir. 2016).

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Jean Rey v. Michel Rey, 666 F. App'x 675 (9th Cir. 2016). “” Wash. Rev. Code § 4.28.325 . If a lis pendens is improperly filed, the court in which the underlying “action was commenced may .”

Merriman v. Cokeley, 215 P.3d 241 (Wash. Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 2× “[6] The Cokeleys also offered to agree that the Merrimans had acquired title to a concrete pad and a fire pit, which are not at issue here.”

Merriman v. Cokeley, 152 Wash. App. 115 (Wash. Ct. App. 2009). “In this context, a ‘lis pendens” is “a notice of the pendency of the [legal] action, containing the names of the parties, the object of the action and a description of the real property in that county affected thereby.”

Rayner v. Neff, 43 P.3d 35 (Wash. Ct. App. 2002). “RCW 4.28.325 governs lis pendens filed in actions in the United States district courts.”

Omari Tahir v. Margaret Delany (9th Cir. 2018). “See Wash. Rev. Code § 4.28.325 ; Sch. Dist. No.”

Ibbotson v. Riel (Bankr. E.D. Wash. 2020). “Although that may have been true regarding the involuntary bankruptcy petition at issue in Professional Investment Properties, the same conclusion does not obtain in this context because RCW 4.”

Neil Rose v. Richard Ruggerio, 377 F. App'x 608 (9th Cir. 2010). “See Wash. Rev. Code § 4.28.325 (providing that a court may cancel a lis pendens upon a showing of good cause).”

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