(a) Immediately upon filing the complaint, the plaintiff shall record a notice of the pendency of the action in the office of the county recorder of each county in which any real property described in the complaint is located.
§ 872.250.Recordation of Notice of Pendency of Action; Supplemental Notice
Title 10.5. Partition of Real and Personal Property · Chapter 2. Commencement of Action · Article 1. Complaint and Lis Pendens · Enacted 1976 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 872.250 requires the plaintiff to record a notice of pendency of action -- a lis pendens -- immediately upon filing the complaint in each county where the real property sits, with the court able to order recordation and stay the case if it isn't done, and notice to the world running from the recording date.
Full Text of § 872.250
(b) If, thereafter, partition of other real property is sought in the same action, the plaintiff or other person seeking such relief shall immediately record a supplemental notice.
(c) If the notice is not recorded, the court, upon its own motion or upon the motion of any party at any time, shall order the plaintiff or person seeking partition of the property, or another party on behalf of the plaintiff or other person, to record the notice and shall stay the action until the notice is recorded. The expense of recordation shall be allowed to the party incurring it.
(d) From the time of filing the notice for record, all persons shall be deemed to have notice of the pendency of the action as to the property described in the notice.
Plain-English Summary
Filing a partition complaint isn't enough by itself to protect the property from being sold or encumbered to an outsider while the case is pending. This section requires the plaintiff to record a notice of pendency of the action -- commonly called a lis pendens -- in the county recorder's office of every county where any of the real property described in the complaint is located, and to do so immediately upon filing.
If partition of additional real property gets added to the case later, subdivision (b) requires an immediate supplemental notice for that property too. Subdivision (c) backstops the whole requirement: if the notice isn't recorded, the court can act on its own motion or any party's motion, order the plaintiff or another party on the plaintiff's behalf to record it, and stay the action until that happens, with the cost of recording charged to whoever incurs it.
Subdivision (d) sets the practical payoff: from the moment the notice is recorded, everyone is deemed to have notice of the pending action as to the property described in it. That constructive notice is what keeps a buyer or lender from later claiming ignorance of the lawsuit and taking the property free of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the plaintiff have to record a lis pendens in a partition action?
Immediately upon filing the complaint, in the county recorder's office of every county where the real property described in the complaint is located.
What happens if the plaintiff never records the notice?
The court, on its own motion or any party's motion, can order the plaintiff or someone on the plaintiff's behalf to record it and stay the action until that's done.
What does recording the notice accomplish?
From the time it's recorded, everyone is deemed to have notice of the pending action as to the property described, which protects the plaintiff against later purchasers or lenders claiming they didn't know about the lawsuit.
What if the case is later expanded to cover more real property?
Subdivision (b) requires an immediate supplemental notice covering that additional property.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1976, Ch. 73.
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: lis pendens partition action californianotice of pendency of partition action