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Maine · TitleMaine lis pendens: the recorded attachment or clerk's certificate that binds later buyers

Maine handles lis pendens through recording at the registry of deeds. No action in which the title to real estate is involved is effectual against a person who isn't a party and has no actual notice of it until either an attachment of the real estate is made and recorded in the registry of deeds for the county or district where the real estate lies, or a certificate is recorded there giving the names of the parties, the date of the complaint and its filing, and a description of the real estate in litigation as described in the complaint, certified by the clerk of courts for the county where the complaint is pending (14 M.R.S. §4455). Until one of those is on record, a buyer without actual notice takes free of the lawsuit.

What the statutes set

  1. Rule (§4455)

    A title action doesn't bind non-parties without actual notice until recorded.

  2. Attachment (§4455(1))

    An attachment of the real estate recorded in the registry of deeds.

  3. Certificate (§4455(2))

    Parties, complaint dates and property, certified by the clerk of courts.

  4. Where (§4455)

    The registry of deeds for the county or district where the land lies.

What the TC does when a Maine listing has a recorded lawsuit

  • Get the recorded certificate or attachment and the docket number from the title commitment.
  • Tell the buyer's attorney right away – a recorded action binds the buyer.
  • Track the recorded dismissal or discharge as a closing condition.

Questions about Maine lis pendens

How is a lis pendens filed in Maine?

By recording in the registry of deeds either an attachment of the real estate or a certificate of the action certified by the clerk of courts (14 M.R.S. §4455).

Is a Maine buyer bound by an unrecorded lawsuit?

Not unless the buyer is a party or has actual notice of it (14 M.R.S. §4455).

Related guides

Track the recorded discharge of the lawsuit as a closing condition on the deal in ClosingCode.

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Source: 14 M.R.S. §4455 (legislature.maine.gov), read October 31, 2026.

General information, not legal advice. ClosingCode is software; it is not a law firm or brokerage. This guide is not a substitute for the advice or services of an attorney.