Legal Question in Business Law in California

Using more than one name is not illegal per se, but if it intentionally or negligently misleads someone in some way to their detriment then it is fraud. To some extent everyone uses more than one name for various purposes. My full legal name includes two middle names. I never sing my name that way, and almost never use it. Very few people ever use their middle name, except maybe the initial. Many asian people in this country do not use their full asian names, preferring an americanized first name for most purposes. It really is a matter of what you use the names for and the results that has.

You already said there was an "issue" -- they are taking you to court on it. You obviously created a problem of some kind that affected them. If sued, you'll have to defend that case with whatever evidence, facts and law may apply. You could attempt to negotiate and resolve the problem before spending substantial money on legal defense. If serious about getting legal help in this, feel free to contact me.

Being sued doesn't mean the plaintiff's case is any good, or that you'll lose, but it does mean you must defend.

The two most common definitions of fraud are in the Civil Code. Section 1572 covers actual fraud and 1573 covers "constructive" fraud. Generally speaking, fraud requires an intent to deceive, although there are exceptions. There are other requirements for winning damages in a suit for fraud; these include the purported victim having relied on a misrepresentation or concealment of a fact by the defendant, and that the reliance was reasonable, and that damages were proveably caused by such reasonable reliance on the misrepresentation or concealment.

In your case (or cases), it is apparently going to be very difficult for the plaintiffs to establish all the elements of civil fraud of any kind.

A complete picture of your legal situation would have to also include an inquiry by your lawyer into why these associates of yours have turned against you. There may be other issues in the relationship in addition to an apparently baseless allegation of fraud based on use of a second name of which they were aware.