Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Re: small claims response

You can respond in writing to a Small Claims "Claim of Plaintiff", the document that qualifies as the plaintiff's Complaint in the Small Claims court, and ask the clerk of the court to put your letter, documents, etc. in the file.

But the clerk may refuse.

Moreover, it more likely than not that the judge (or other person hearing the case) will not consider your response. The Rules of Evidence, though applied very loosely (if at all) in Small Claims court, still entitle you to cross examine witnesses against you. It is impossible for your plaintiff to cross examine your letter. It is also impossible for the judge to ask you questions about your letter.

You are supposed to appear in person in Small Claims. You should make the necessary arrangements. And before you do, make sure you write to the court (better yet, go there in person), and advise them of the situation and ask them to put a note in the file that any request by the plaintiff to postpone the hearing should be denied, because after a certain date, you are gone from California.

If you don't appear, you risk having a judgment entered against you.

You might consider consulting the Small Claims Advisor, a court-sponsored "help line" for small claims litigants. Or perhaps a tenant attorney to ascertain if there are any affirmative steps that you can take now to protect yourself.

For example, you could file your own case against the landlord, in "regular" court, and then move the landlord's Small Claims case into "regular" court. This would theoretically cause your landlord to think twice about proceeding. Of course, this would likely require you to obtain an attorney, and it could also get expensive. On the other hand, a well-drafted attorneys' fees provision in the rental agreement could shift the risk of paying attorney's fees to the landlord.

All sorts of issues to consider.

Good luck.

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