The Formula Inc. v. Superior Court

In this case we decide that the California us pendens statutes, Code of Civil Procedure sections 405 to 405.61, do not authorize recording a notice of litigation that is pending in the courts of another state. The Formula Inc., a Florida corporation, filed an action in Florida alleging a right to compel construction and sale to it of condominium units located in Mono County, California. The Formula then recorded a notice of the Florida action, purportedly under section 405.20, in the office of the recorder of Mono County. Real parties in interest iStar Financial Inc. (iStar), a Maryland corporation, and SFI Mammoth Holdings LLC (SFI), a Delaware limited liability corporation, successfully applied to the Superior Court of Mono County for an order expunging the recorded notice, purportedly under section 405.30. The Formula petitioned this court to overturn the expungement order on the ground, inter aha, that, under section 405.30, expungement is only available by application “to the court in which the action is pending.”

We issued the alternative writ to address the novel questions of application of the California lis pendens statutes to out-of-state litigation. We…