Word
lis
US/ˈɫɪs/
UK/lˈɪs/
Definition
n. a legal case that is currently being decided in court. It is a formal word used by lawyers to say that a lawsuit is still active.
n. a pending legal action or suit. Often used in the context of 'lis pendens', a formal notice that a property is subject to a legal dispute.
Examples
“The property cannot be sold while the lis is active.”
“The attorney filed a notice of lis pendens to warn potential buyers that the land ownership was being contested in court.”
“The doctrine of lis pendens ensures that the court's eventual judgment remains effective by preventing the defendant from transferring the disputed asset to a third party during the proceedings.”
Examples
simple
“The property cannot be sold while the lis is active.”
contextual
“The attorney filed a notice of lis pendens to warn potential buyers that the land ownership was being contested in court.”
complex
“The doctrine of lis pendens ensures that the court's eventual judgment remains effective by preventing the defendant from transferring the disputed asset to a third party during the proceedings.”
Usage
Typically appears in the Latin phrase 'lis pendens'; the plural form is 'lites'.
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin lis (“quarrel, lawsuit”).
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/lis