Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Virginia

Basically, no, but it is an issue without much of a distinction.

There is really very little benefit to being in small claim court rather than general district court. It is slightly more informal, but General District Court is already fairly informal. And the court cannot ignore the basic rules of evidence and due process in any event.

However, in small claims court there are no attorneys allowed. So if a company or person wants to have an attorney, they have to "remove" the case from small claims court to general district court no matter what.

And in Virginia a corporation or LLC *MUST* be represented by an attorney. So a corporation or LLC *MUST* move the case to general district court.

So if one files in small claims court it is just a waste of time because there will be a couple months' delay while the case gets moved over to general district court.