Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Under Summation

The actual term for what the pro tem has done is submission, meaning that the parties have provided all evidence and testimony, and that the pro tem will review the evidence and then make his or her ruling. For a small claims case this usually occurs within a day or two, although certain statutes do impose a deadline on the judge that is either 90 or 180 days. You should receive your judgment well prior to that.

In small claims court, if you win, the defendant may appeal an adverse judgment. If the court issues a judgment against you, you may not appeal that judgment. The losing defendant has 30 days from judgment to file their notice of appeal.

Once a judgment is issued in your favor, under the small claims statutes, enforcement is automatically stayed for 35 days. After the 35 days has lapsed, and if no appeal is taken, you can begin the enforcement of judgment process. You have all the tools available that a litigant in municipal or superior court would have, including levying on bank accounts, garnishing wages, liens on personal and real property, etc. You will probably want to talk to counsel about helping to enforce the judgment, as the process can be somewhat complex.

Best of luck.

Now the inevitable caveat:

The foregoing information is provided as an accommodation only, and does not constitute specific legal advice or a biding legal opinion based on a comprehensive review of all relevant facts, nor can provision of such information be construed as creating an attorney-client relationship.