Any person who has a claim to the property described in the complaint may appear in the proceeding. Whether or not the person is named as a defendant in the complaint, the person shall appear as a defendant.
§ 762.050.Appearance of Any Person Claiming Property Described In Complaint
Title 10. Actions In Particular Cases · Chapter 4. Quiet Title · Article 3. Defendants · Enacted 1980 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 762.050 lets anyone with a claim to the property described in a quiet title complaint appear in the proceeding, and treats that person as a defendant in the action regardless of whether the plaintiff named that person as a defendant.
Full Text of § 762.050
Plain-English Summary
This section gives any interested claimant a right to be heard, even a claimant the plaintiff never named. Anyone who has a claim to the property described in the complaint may appear in the case.
Once that person appears, the statute treats them as a defendant, whether or not the complaint listed them by name. That matters because it puts a self-inserted claimant on the same procedural footing as a named defendant — bound by the same answer requirements under § 761.030, and entitled to the same participation rights.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone who wasn't named as a defendant still join a quiet title case?
Yes. Section 762.050 lets anyone with a claim to the property described in the complaint appear in the proceeding.
What's the procedural status of a claimant who appears this way?
The person appears as a defendant, with the same rights and obligations as any other defendant, regardless of whether the complaint named them.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1980, Ch. 44, Sec. 15.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: appearing in quiet title action california without being named