Connecticut · TitleConnecticut lis pendens: recording the notice, getting it discharged and when it expires

In a Connecticut action intended to affect real property, the plaintiff – or a defendant asserting an affirmative claim – may record a notice of lis pendens in the town clerk's office of each town where the property lies, giving the parties, the nature and object of the action, the court and return day, the date of process and a description of the property (C.G.S. §52-325(a)). From recording only, the notice is notice of the pending action to anyone later acquiring an interest, who is bound by the proceedings as if a party; the notice is of no avail unless service of process is completed within the time provided by law (§52-325(a)). The owner can apply to the superior court for a hearing on whether the notice should be discharged, with at least seven days' notice to the plaintiff (§52-325a), and any interested party can move to discharge a notice that was never effective or has become of no effect (§52-325d). A notice expires fifteen years after recording unless it is rerecorded within the last five years of that period with notice served on the owner, and a rerecorded notice lasts no more than ten years; an expired notice is not constructive notice (§52-325e).