Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Venue for breach of contract

I moved out of an apartment early due to excessively noisey neighbors (I complained twice to management but they did nothing). I refused to pay the move out penalty ($1700) so management sent it to a collections attorney. I am now being sued for the penalty, plus lawyer fees up to $1000. The debt collection lawyer filed the suit on behalf of the Plaintiff (the property management company) in civil court. Why would this have been filed in civil verus small claims court, where the costs are so much higher? Is this legitimate? Is it possible to request that the venue be moved to small claims court given the small amounts involved? If so, how would I go about making this request?


Asked on 6/26/09, 7:11 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

David Gibbs The Gibbs Law Firm, APC

Re: Venue for breach of contract

The plaintiff suing a person for an amount of money, $7,500 or less has the option of filing the lawsuit in Small Claims Court OR Superior Court, limited jurisidiction. There is no means of requiring them to kick the case down to Small Claims Court. Sadly, you have just experienced the "Collection Attorney's Full Employment Act." Essentially, the collection attorney cannot represent the creditor at a Small Claims Court hearing, and as such, cannot therefore collect any attorneys fees for said hearing. Further, a Plaintiff in Small Claims Court cannot appeal an adverse decision, where in Superior Court, they can. Finally, civil legal procedure is generally not something the average lay person can learn and be proficient in in the course of defending oneself. Superior Court greatly favors (not intentionally, just as a result of the procedural rules) parties who are represented by an attorney. The management company gets a huge advantage if you defend this un-represented.

In short, all you can do at this point to avoid the additional fees that are going to be associated with a Superior Court action is to call the attorney handling it, and negotiate a settlement. Otherwise, you need to gear-up to defend the action on its merits.

*Due to the limitations of the LawGuru Forums, The Gibbs Law Firm, APC's (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided is general and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.

Read more
Answered on 6/26/09, 7:27 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Landlord & Tenants questions and answers in California