Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Can't say about your specific case, but in general, county departments can have and use a so-called "police power" that allows, among other things, enforcement of ordinances and codes by fines. As to the need to go to court, think in terms of a sheriff giving you a traffic ticket. These are usually paid without a trip to court, although officially a ticket is a "summons" that orders you to appear in court if you want, but gives you the alternative of paying without protest. It seems to me that at some point the county must have (or should have) given you the equivalent of a "ticket" wherein you were ordered to appear before, maybe not a court, but some kind of adjudicative body such as the Planning Commission or Zoning Board of Appeals or the like. The Government Code gives enforcement powers to various city and county boards and agencies that private citizens and corporations don't have, including the power to levy fines without necessarily having a court involved in the decision to fine and the enforcement thereof. I'm pretty sure you were entitled to a hearing before imposition of the fine, however, but it would have been before some so-called "administrative tribunal" rather than a court. Look back at the fine print on the original notice(s) you received in the mail or tacked onto your building.........maybe there will be a notice to appear or some discussion of your pre-fine appeal rights.