§ 1-119. Notice void unless action prosecuted. - North Carolina Statutes

§1‑119.  Notice void unless action prosecuted.

(a)        The notice of lispendens is of no avail unless it is followed by the first publication of noticeof the summons or by an affidavit therefor pursuant to Rule 4 (j)(1)c of theRules of Civil Procedure or by personal service on the defendant within 60 daysafter the cross‑indexing.

(b)        When an action iscommenced by the issuance of summons and permission is granted to file thecomplaint within 20 days, pursuant to Rule 3 of the Rules of Civil Procedure,if the complaint is not filed within the time fixed by the order of the clerk,the notice of lis pendens shall become inoperative and of no effect. The clerkmay on his own motion and shall on the ex parte application of any interestedparty cancel such notice of lis pendens by appropriate entry on the records,which entry shall recite the failure of the plaintiff to file his complaintwithin the time allowed. Such applications for cancellation, when made in acounty other than that in which the action was instituted, shall include acertificate over the hand and seal of the clerk of the county in which theaction was instituted that the plaintiff did not file his complaint within thetime allowed. The fees of the clerk may be recovered against the plaintiff andhis surety. (C.C.P., s. 90; Code, s. 229; Rev., s. 461; 1919, c.31; C.S., s. 503; 1967, c. 954, s. 3.)