South Carolina · TitleSouth Carolina lis pendens: filing, the 60-day service rule and cancellation

In a South Carolina action affecting title to real property, the plaintiff may file a notice of the pendency of the action with the clerk of each county where the property lies, up to twenty days before filing the complaint or at any time afterward; a defendant seeking affirmative relief affecting real estate may file one with its answer. The notice names the parties, states the object of the action and describes the property in that county; in a mortgage foreclosure it must be filed twenty days before judgment (S.C. Code §15-11-10). From the time of filing only, the pending action is constructive notice to purchasers and encumbrancers, and anyone whose conveyance or encumbrance is executed or recorded afterward is bound by later proceedings as if a party (§15-11-20). The notice has no effect unless followed by the first publication of the summons, or personal service on a defendant, within sixty days after filing (§15-11-30). After the action is settled, discontinued or abated, the court may order the notice cancelled, and the person who filed it may cancel it without a court order after settlement, discontinuance, abatement or dismissal by submitting a written notice of cancellation (§15-11-40).