Upon the withdrawal of a notice of pendency of action pursuant to Section 405.50 or upon recordation of a certified copy of an order expunging a notice of pendency of action pursuant to this title, no person except a nonfictitious party to the action at the time of recording of the notice of withdrawal or order, who thereafter becomes, by conveyance recorded prior to the recording of a certified copy of the judgment or decree issued in the action, a purchaser, transferee, mortgagee, or other encumbrancer for a valuable consideration of any interest in the real property subject to the action, shall be deemed to have actual knowledge of the action or any of the matters contained, claimed, or alleged therein, or of any of the matters related to the action, irrespective of whether that person possessed actual knowledge of the action or matter and irrespective of when or how the knowledge was obtained. It is the intent of the Legislature that this section shall provide for the absolute and complete free transferability of real property after the expungement or withdrawal of a notice of pendency of action.
§ 405.61.No Purchaser, Transferee, Mortgagee Or Other Encumbrancer Deemed to Have Actual Knowledge
Title 4.5. Recording Notice of Certain Actions · Chapter 5. Effect of Withdrawal or Expungement of Notice · Enacted 1992 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 405.61 provides that, after withdrawal or expungement, no later purchaser, transferee, mortgagee, or other encumbrancer for value -- other than a nonfictitious party as of the recording date -- is deemed to have had actual knowledge of the action, regardless of what they knew, so that real property becomes freely transferable again.
Full Text of § 405.61
Plain-English Summary
Section 405.61 goes further than § 405.60's notice rule -- it protects buyers even against a claim of actual knowledge. Once a notice is withdrawn under § 405.50, or a certified copy of an expungement order is recorded, a later purchaser, transferee, mortgagee, or other encumbrancer who takes an interest for value, by a conveyance recorded before a certified copy of the judgment or decree, is not deemed to have had actual knowledge of the action or its underlying matters -- no matter what that person knew and no matter how or when they learned of it.
The only people excluded from this protection are nonfictitious parties to the action itself, as of the time the notice of withdrawal or expungement order was recorded. Everyone else gets a clean slate. The statute states its own purpose in plain terms: the Legislature intends this section to restore complete, unencumbered transferability to real property once a notice of pendency has been withdrawn or expunged.
Frequently Asked Questions
After a lis pendens is withdrawn or expunged, can a buyer still be charged with knowledge of the old lawsuit?
Under § 405.61, no -- a later purchaser, transferee, mortgagee, or other encumbrancer for value is not deemed to have actual knowledge of the action, regardless of what they knew or how they learned of it.
Who is excluded from the protection Section 405.61 gives to later buyers?
Only a nonfictitious party to the action itself, as of the time the notice of withdrawal or expungement order was recorded, falls outside this protection.
Why did the Legislature write Section 405.61 this broadly?
The statute states its own intent: to provide for the absolute and complete free transferability of real property after a notice of pendency of action has been withdrawn or expunged.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1992, Ch. 883, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 1993.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: buying property after lis pendens removedpurchaser after lis pendens expunged