Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

We formed a neighborhood action network and the leader states we can file in small claims court jointly against a landlord who owns an apartment in our neighborhood for public nuisance. We banded together because we were told an individual can't sue for public nuisance. If we win we each will receive 5,000 (the amount we are suing for). Yet, what I read of small claims in Ca. we each can't receive 5,000 as the small claims limit is 10,000 and there is 32 of us (8 are tenants of the building)..


Asked on 2/06/17, 11:45 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

You can't sue as a group in small claims period. Each individual must sue for themselves in a separate action, because no one person can represent anyone else in court unless they are a licensed attorney, but licensed attorneys cannot represent people other than themselves in small claims court. So each person must sue and appear on their own behalf. You also can't sue in small claims for a pubic nuisance because the main remedy for public nuisance is an injunction, which small claims courts cannot issue. Lastly you have bad advice that an individual cannot sue for a public nuisance. An individual can sue for a public nuisance if they are personally affected by it in some way more and/or different than the public as a whole. That requires, however, essentially the same proof of direct personal harm as a private nuisance. You need a better informed leader, or a lawyer, if you want to proceed with any legal action.

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Answered on 2/07/17, 9:00 am


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