Dear Atty. Shalie,

My son was able to pay a piece of land from one of his friends. He was able to have the title of the said property transferred to his name. However, during the processing of the transfer of title, he learned from the Registry of Deeds that there are various encumbrances attached to the title, the last of which annotation is the pending criminal case for bouncing checks, filed by a creditor against the previous owner. Upon inquiry, the previous owner said that he already paid his obligation in a Compromise Agreement, when the case was brought on appeal to the Regional Trial Court. They told us that there should no longer be an issue if we wanted to have the annotation removed. We are worried that after we introduce improvements to the lot, we would be met with numerous problems attached to thereto because of the encumbrances. We do not know how and where to begin, in order to have the said encumbrance to the title removed.

Grace

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Dear Grace,

It appears that there is a notice of lis pendens registered to the title of the property sold to your son, which is a notice to all that the property is subject of a controversy in court. The doctrine of lis pendens is founded upon reasons of public policy and necessity, the purpose of which is to keep the property in litigation within the power of the court until the litigation is terminated, and to prevent the defeat of the judgment or decree by subsequent alienation. “Before final judgment, a notice of lis pendens may be canceled upon order of the court, after showing that the notice is for the purpose of molesting the adverse party or that it is not necessary to protect the rights of the party who caused it to be registered.” The notice of lis pendens shall be deemed canceled upon the registration of a certificate of the clerk of court, in which the action or proceeding was pending, stating the manner of disposal thereof.

Since your son is not a party to the case annotated in the title, even if he had already secured the transfer of the title in his name, he should be able to secure the assistance and cooperation of the previous owner to file the necessary motion before the court, where the case is pending. If as claimed by the previous owner, they have already satisfied their obligation, that might have any effect on the disposition of the lot, then they could easily secure a resolution and a certification from the court where the case was filed, to prove that the case has been terminated or settled. At any rate, the Registry of Deeds would be able to provide your son with the list of the required documentation and records, and the process that should be followed, relevant to the cancelation of the annotation on the title.

Atty. Shalie Obinque