Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) section 872.520 - Names and Nature of Interest Unknown

Code of Civil Procedure section 872.520 requires the plaintiff in a partition lawsuit to declare any unknown property interests in the complaint. Following this statute protects the plaintiff from claims of misjoinder, while also protecting those existing “unknown” interests from unwarranted defaults. Oftentimes, this information is found later in discovery, and the plaintiff can amend the complaint accordingly.

Code of Civil Procedure section 872.520 states

(a) If the name of a person described in Section 872.510 is not known to the plaintiff, the plaintiff shall so state in the complaint and shall name as parties all persons unknown in the manner provided in Section 872.550.

(b) If the ownership or the share or quantity of the interest of a person described in Section 872.510 is unknown, uncertain, or contingent, the plaintiff shall so state in the complaint. If the lack of knowledge, uncertainty, or contingency is caused by a transfer to an unborn or unascertained person or class member, or by a transfer in the form of a contingent remainder, vested remainder subject to defeasance, executory interest, or similar disposition, the plaintiff shall also state in the complaint, so far as is known to the plaintiff, the name, age, and legal disability (if any) of the person in being who would be entitled to ownership of the interest had the contingency upon which the right of such person depends occurred prior to the commencement of the action.

(c) The court shall upon its own motion or upon motion of any party make such orders for joinder of additional parties and for appointment of guardians ad litem pursuant to Sections 372, 373, and 373.5 as are necessary or proper.

(Amended by Stats. 1976, c. 73, p. 110, § 6.)

What Is an Example?

“Shawn” and “Julie” are an unmarried couple who bought a house in Los Angeles together as tenants in common. They move into the home and start living together.

Unfortunately, the couple’s relationship deteriorates, and they break up. Julie wants to sell the house and move on, while Shawn wants to keep the house. Julie sues Shawn for partition by sale.

Before initiating her lawsuit, Julie learns that Shawn gave part of his ownership interest to a third-party family member. Shawn refuses to say who he gave part of his interest to, and Julie investigates but cannot figure it out for herself. Here, Julie must indicate these facts in her complaint pursuant to CCP § 872.520.

Therein, she must state that there is an unknown person with interest in the property. She must also state in the complaint that this unknown person’s share of the interest is unknown to her as of the time of filing. With this, Julie has complied with CCP § 872.520. Julie can now use discovery to find out who the mystery third-party is. Alternatively, Shawn may move to add the third-party to the complaint on his own motion.

Law Revision Commission Comments (CCP § 872.520)

1976 Addition

Section 872.520 is derived from the last portion of former Section 753. Subdivision (a) incorporates the requirement, formerly found in Section 756, that “all persons unknown” be joined. Subdivision (b) adds the requirement of an indication of possible additional parties, and subdivision (c) provides for joinder of such parties and protection of their interests.

Assembly Committee Comments

Section 872.520 is one of many partition statutes without an official comment from the Legislature. This makes sense, though, because the Legislature more or less endorsed an overall adoption of the Law Revision Commission suggestions when it passed the new partition statutes in 1976.

Indeed, the introduction to Assembly Bill 1671 (the bill that contained the new partition laws) states that the Revision Commission’s recommendations “reflect the intent of the Assembly Committee… in approving the various provisions of Assembly Bill 1671.” Thus, it’s fair to assume that the Legislature’s intent with Section 872.520 was substantially in line with that of the Law Revision Commission.

As to the comment’s substance, it merely provides the derivation for section 872.520. They key takeaways from the statute are that first, subsection (a) is mandatory, not permissive. “The word ‘shall’ is mandatory.” (County of Orange v. Bezaire (2004) 117 Cal.App.4th 121, 129.) Here, the statute explains that if the plaintiff is aware of an interest in the property (they know their former co-owner deed their interest to a family member, for instance) then they must name the unknown party and interest.

The other interesting note is that subsection (c) provides for any party to make a motion for joinder to the court. So if the defendant is aware of a life estate on the property, for instance, they can move to join the life tenant despite their statute as a defendant. Alternatively, the court may do so on its own motion (this is further evidence of the broad equitable powers courts have in partition actions, generally).

Client Reviews
★★★★★
“We were in need of a real estate attorney. Eli Underwood provided excellent legal advice and services. He explained everything well and followed through with all important issues that needed attention. We found him to be reliable, courteous, patient and extremely professional. We highly recommend Mr. Underwood without any reservations.” I.S.
★★★★★
"I own a real estate investment company that operates across multiple states (California, Washington, Oregon, Montana, and more), whenever I run into an issue that needs legal attention, Eli is my first call. I've been working with him for years. He is an amazing attorney and I highly recommend him." Thank you for your help Sir!" T.W.
★★★★★
"Mr. Underwood is a fantastic Lawyer with extraordinary ethics. He responds quickly, which is rare these days, and he is very knowledgeable in his craft. It was a pleasure working with him and we will definitely use his services in the future if needed. Thank you for your help Sir!" M.O.
★★★★★
"Eli took our case and controlled every hurdle put before us. I one time commented to him that he must love his job because it seemed that he was always available. When talking about my case to anyone I always bring up where, I believe, the other parties Lawyer tried to take advantage of my wife and me. Eli stopped him in his tracks. On top of it being easy to work with Eli, it was a pleasure to have had him represent us. We were in good hands." E.T
★★★★★
"We were in need of an attorney with considerable knowledge of real estate law and the legal issues related to property ownership. Eli Underwood went above and beyond our expectations. In keeping us abreast of our suit, his communication skills were outstanding. This talent was especially demonstrated when dealing with the apposing counsel. We feel this gave us a tremendous advantage over the opposing party that resulted in us reaching a successful outcome. I would highly recommend Eli Underwood as we found him to be an exceptional attorney." P.B.
★★★★★
"In our need for legal services we found Eli to be well informed and on top of our case and our needs. Our's was not an ordinary case as it was a case with many facets. It was a very convoluted case. There were multiple owners involved in a property dispute where one of the owners sued the rest of the owners with a Partition Suit. Needless to say Eli was instrumental in helping us resolve our differences and gained us a profitable sale all with good end results for all. If you hire Eli Underwood you will not be disappointed!" M.A.