§ 1050.Action Against One Person to Determine Adverse Claim and Against Two Or More to Compel One to Satisfy Debt Due Other

This section describes two distinct actions bundled into one statute. The first lets a person sue another to resolve an adverse claim: the defendant asserts a claim against the plaintiff, for money or property, based on an alleged obligation, and the plaintiff can bring an action to have that claim determined by the court.

The second is narrower and specific to sureties. When a plaintiff is bound as a surety for a debt owed between two other people, the plaintiff can bring an action against both of them to compel the one who truly owes the debt to satisfy it, rather than leaving the surety exposed to pay it.

Both versions share a common purpose: letting a party force resolution of a claim or obligation rather than sitting exposed to it indefinitely. The surety scenario in particular anticipates the kind of relief later developed more broadly through interpleader-type remedies elsewhere in the code.