Professional Membership
Bankruptcy | Case Law | Lis Pendens
LIS PENDENS
Orange County v. Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank Corp. Ltd., 52 F.3d 821 (9th Cir. 1995)
Standard for expunging lis pendens.
Cal. Lis pendens statute requires the trial court to expunge the lis pendens if the “claimant
has not established by a preponderance of the evidence the probable validity of the real property
claim.” Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §405.32 (1992). “Probable validity” meaning that “it is more likely
than not that the claimant will obtain a judgment against the defendant on the claim.” Id §405.3.
Thus, like the statute at issue in Dementus, the California lis pendens statute requires the court to
evaluate the merits of the underlying claim. Both the appellant in Dementus and the Partnership
here argue that it had submitted sufficient evidence to establish the probably validity of its claim.
224