civil court lawsuits

Lawsuits in which the amount of claimed damages is $10,000 or less can be filed in a small claims court in California.

Each county may have several small claims courts serving different areas of the county.

These courts are designed to process cases expeditiously and at low cost.

Thus the parties in the case represent themselves in small claims court and can't have attorneys presenting their cases for them.

The cases are decided by a judge, not a jury.

If the person who files a small claims case loses, they cannot appeal.

But the person being sued can appeal the case to superior court

Sample small claims complaint (pdf)

Sample small claims appeal form (pdf)