Why Plaintiffs Should Think Twice Before Recording A Lis Pendens

In Goens v. Blood, the United States District Court of the Southern District of California recently held that commercial tenants cannot record lis pendens where they fail to sufficiently allege a real property claim under California's lis pendens statute, as opposed to lawsuits that are essentially fraud actions seeking monetary damages with constructive trust allegations appended.

On June 1, 2018, Joshua Goens entered into a lease agreement for a commercial property located at 5909 Mission Gorge Road in San Diego, California. Victoria L. Blood and Vondell M. Forrester (the "Trustees"), as co-trustees, owned this property and two other properties (the "Subject Properties") on Mission Gorge Road.