Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Re: Venue for breach of contract

The plaintiff suing a person for an amount of money, $7,500 or less has the option of filing the lawsuit in Small Claims Court OR Superior Court, limited jurisidiction. There is no means of requiring them to kick the case down to Small Claims Court. Sadly, you have just experienced the "Collection Attorney's Full Employment Act." Essentially, the collection attorney cannot represent the creditor at a Small Claims Court hearing, and as such, cannot therefore collect any attorneys fees for said hearing. Further, a Plaintiff in Small Claims Court cannot appeal an adverse decision, where in Superior Court, they can. Finally, civil legal procedure is generally not something the average lay person can learn and be proficient in in the course of defending oneself. Superior Court greatly favors (not intentionally, just as a result of the procedural rules) parties who are represented by an attorney. The management company gets a huge advantage if you defend this un-represented.

In short, all you can do at this point to avoid the additional fees that are going to be associated with a Superior Court action is to call the attorney handling it, and negotiate a settlement. Otherwise, you need to gear-up to defend the action on its merits.

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