Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

small claims court-can defendant recoup legal fees if we lose

We are trying to take the seller of our condo to small claims court over an HOA assessment that he knew about but didn't disclose the bids/estimates. Our question is, if we take him to small claims court and he uses an attorney (or other professional) to prepare his case (i.e. his realtor) can he turn around and sue us for that cost if the judge decides in his favor? The issue is touchy because technically he mentioned that an assessment might come along, but the decision to move forward with the assessment was made a week before we closed on the property and bids were received from contractors well before we even went into contract. Do we have a chance in small claims court? The assessed amount was twice what we were expecting and we thought the assessment wasn't going to happen until next year. The seller had bid amounts but didn't disclose them - is he liable?


Asked on 10/10/07, 12:16 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Anthony Roach Law Office of Anthony A. Roach

Re: small claims court-can defendant recoup legal fees if we lose

It sounds like you have no chance at all. Your best odds are to play craps in Vegas.

If the defendant wins, he can claim costs, but not attorney's fees. In civil law, there is a difference between costs and attorney's fees. In small claims, due to the nature of the proceedings, these costs are minimal to nonexistent.

A small claims action that you lose cannot give rise to a subsequent action for malicious prosecution. That is an upside.

Very truly yours,

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Answered on 10/10/07, 3:11 pm


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