The High Court has ordered the removal of a lis pendens registered against a property at 35 Ivy Court, County Cork, after finding that the proceedings behind it had not progressed meaningfully in more than three years.
Mr Justice Garrett Simons made the order on 11 July 2022 under section 123 of the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009. The application was brought by Conor Sheeran, who said he had been appointed receiver over the property under a mortgage and deed of charge. The receiver said the lis pendens had frustrated a sale.
The notice arose from separate proceedings issued by Patrick Buckley in April 2019 against Anthony Buckley and Sharon Mullarkey. Those proceedings seek, among other relief, a declaration that Patrick Buckley is entitled to claim rights of possession in three properties. The High Court judgment concerned only the claim relating to 35 Ivy Court, registered as Folio 18240L in the Land Registry.
The court said the summons may never have been served on either defendant. No appearances had been entered, no application for judgment in default had been made, and it did not appear that a statement of claim had been delivered. The judge said that, even if the summons had been served, no further steps had been taken to progress the case.
The judgment noted that a lis pendens places potential purchasers on notice of proceedings affecting a property and can hinder dealings with it. A person who registers one is subject to an enhanced obligation to pursue the proceedings with expedition. The judge found that Patrick Buckley had not met that obligation and that no excuse for the delay had been offered.
The court was satisfied that the lis pendens should be vacated. It ordered that the notice be removed from the register, resulting in cancellation of the corresponding entry. The judgment says the plaintiff’s solicitor can arrange cancellation by lodging a certificate; no separate order to the Property Registration Authority was necessary. The parties were given liberty to apply if difficulties arose.
The order did not dismiss or otherwise determine the underlying possession claim: the judgment states that vacating a lis pendens does not affect the pleadings, which remain between the parties. The judge’s provisional view was that Sheeran, having succeeded, was entitled to costs against Patrick Buckley. Either party could file a short submission seeking a different costs order within 14 days.