Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Unless it is a small claim ($7500 or under) you will probably want to have a lawyer file the lawsuit. That's what we do. A lawsuit starts when somebody pays the clerk of the court a filing fee; and hands her a filled-out summons, a complaint, and some other required papers. The clerk then rubber-stamps the documents as Filed, and you would then have a process serving company serve the defendants with copies.

Mr. Stone has given you a correct answer. I just write to add that if you are dealing with a real estate transaction and failure to disclose, you are involved in a specialized area of the law. Not a good one to represent yourself unless your damages are $7,500 or less, in which case you must represent yourself in Small Claims court.

You don't have to represent yourself in Small Claims court when it is $7,500 or less. You can still file with or without an attorney in a limited civil action in the Superior Court.