Virginia · TitleVirginia lis pendens: the four permitted cases, recording, and release after dismissal or payment

A Virginia lis pendens binds a later bona fide purchaser for value without actual notice only from the time a memorandum – giving the case title, its general object, the court, the amount claimed, a property description and the owner whose estate is affected – is recorded and indexed in the circuit court clerk's office where the property lies. A memorandum may be filed only if the action seeks to establish the filer's interest in the property, to sell it to enforce a tax lien or a docketed judgment lien, to partition it, or to enforce a zoning ordinance; a zoning lis pendens expires after 180 days (Code §8.01-268). If the lis pendens or the case is dismissed, or the case ends in the defendant's favor, the court's order directs its release, and the clerk records the order once the time for appeal has passed; if the debt behind the case is paid, the creditor must give the clerk a release for recording within 10 days after payment (§8.01-269).