Legal Definitions - lis alibi pendens

Lis alibi pendens is a Latin legal term that literally translates to "a lawsuit pending elsewhere." In practical terms, it refers to a situation where the exact same legal dispute, involving the same parties and the same core issues, is already being litigated in a different court.

Historically, and sometimes still today, lis alibi pendens can be raised as a preliminary defense or argument to a court. The purpose of this argument is to ask a court to halt or dismiss a new lawsuit because an identical case is already underway in another jurisdiction. This prevents parties from having to defend themselves in multiple courts for the same issue, avoids conflicting judgments, and promotes judicial efficiency.

• Imagine a software development company, "Tech Solutions Inc.," based in California, sues its client, "Global Enterprises Ltd.," based in New York, in a California state court for unpaid fees on a large project. Simultaneously, Global Enterprises Ltd. files a lawsuit against Tech Solutions Inc. in a New York federal court, claiming breach of contract and poor performance on that very same software project. In this scenario, either Tech Solutions Inc. or Global Enterprises Ltd. could raise the argument of lis alibi pendens in one of the courts, asking that court to pause or dismiss the case because an identical dispute is already pending in the other jurisdiction.

• Consider a divorced couple, Sarah and Mark, who have a child. Sarah moves with the child from Texas to Florida, while Mark remains in Texas. Sarah files a petition in a Florida court to modify the existing custody order, seeking sole custody. Unaware of Sarah's filing, Mark simultaneously files a petition in a Texas court to enforce the original custody order and prevent the child from being moved permanently to Florida. Here, both the Texas and Florida courts are dealing with the same parties (Sarah and Mark) and the same core issue (child custody and modification of the custody order). One of the parties could invoke lis alibi pendens to argue that one court should defer to the other, typically the court where the first action was properly filed, to avoid conflicting rulings on the child's future.

• Suppose two neighboring property owners, Mr. Henderson and Ms. Chen, are in a dispute over the exact boundary line between their properties. Mr. Henderson files a lawsuit in the county court where his property is located, seeking a declaration of the boundary and damages for encroachment. A week later, Ms. Chen, believing her property falls under a different jurisdiction due to a recent annexation, files her own lawsuit in a neighboring county's court, also seeking a declaration of the boundary and claiming Mr. Henderson is encroaching. Both lawsuits involve the same parties and the identical subject matter—the disputed property line. One of the parties could argue lis alibi pendens to consolidate the dispute into a single court, preventing the possibility of two different courts issuing contradictory judgments about where the boundary lies.