Lis Pendens

LIS PENDENS

Orange County v. Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank Corp. Ltd., 52 F.3d 821 (9th Cir. 1995)

Standard for expunging lis pendens.

Cal. Lis pendens statute requires the trial court to expunge the lis pendens if the “claimant

has not established by a preponderance of the evidence the probable validity of the real property

claim.” Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §405.32 (1992). “Probable validity” meaning that “it is more likely

than not that the claimant will obtain a judgment against the defendant on the claim.” Id §405.3.

Thus, like the statute at issue in Dementus, the California lis pendens statute requires the court to

evaluate the merits of the underlying claim. Both the appellant in Dementus and the Partnership

here argue that it had submitted sufficient evidence to establish the probably validity of its claim.

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