Can I sue two people in small claims court at the same time

[whit-for-brains]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California
Can I sue two people in small claims court at the same time

I share a back fence with 2 houses behind me. I want to take them both to small claims court to help pay for the new good-neighbor fence. Is it possible to have both defendants appear at the same hearing at the same time?

Thanks.

 

[dcatz]

Is it possible to have both defendants appear at the same hearing at the same time?

Yes.

Having said that, unless you’re suing for the breach of a tripartite written agreement to share the cost of the fence, which was made before the structure was built and which they now recant, your case doesn’t sound that strong. Whether interpreted to mean that you want them to share the cost of a fence that you already built or that you want the court to order them to contribute to the cost of a fence that you want to build, you might want to review Calif. Civil Code sect. 841:
Coterminous owners are mutually bound equally to maintain:
1. The boundaries and monuments between them;
2. The fences between them, unless one of them chooses to let his
land lie without fencing; in which case, if he afterwards incloses
it, he must refund to the other a just proportion of the value, at
that time, of any division fence made by the latter.

If they both say that they don’t want or care about the fence, you’ll have a problem.