1) Anyone named as a party needs to be appear or else he/she will lose by "default"--like forfeiting a ball game by not appearing.2) However, the person must be properly served (have the court papers delivered to him/her in the proper legal way) to be a party to a case; if not served, he or she has not been sued even if named in the papers and does not neeed to appear.3) Generally, you represent yourself when suing in small claims court, since given how much you are suing for, the cost of any attorney would typically eat up most, if not all, of what you hope to get.