I'm an ADA who has been receiving calls from a lender regarding a lis pendens filed by our office in 2002 under Art. 59. We dismissed (with prejudice) the civil action sometime in 2003, but the lis pendens was apparently never released. I don't do much in the area of forfeitures so I'm wondering if the State needs to release the lis pendens, or if the dismissal should have been sufficient. Does anyone know how to release the lis pendens? Thanks.

You need to file a Release in the County Clerk's office. The dismissal does not appear in the Deed Records. So unless it references the civil case number on its face, title examiners have no way of knowing that it's no longer valid. (Even if they do locate the case, most will not know how to interpret the dismissal anyway.)

The Release of Lis Pendens is nothing complicated: "Now Comes the State of Texas and hereby releases its lis pendens against that certain tract of real property described as (legal decription) filed in connection with State v. _______, Cause No. ______ in the _______ Court." The Release is filed with your County Clerk in the Deed Records. Call or email me if you need further help.