Hi,I had rented an apartment in Berkeley where my landlord did not return my deposit after I left. I am now living in a different state. So how can I sue her in small claim court without having to fly to CA?

Submitted by s.ucla2010 on

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Question: 

Hi, I had rented an apartment in Berkeley where my landlord did not return my deposit after I left. I am now living in a different state. So how can I sue her in small claim court without having to fly to CA? I do not want to spend too much money flying there because my entire deposit is less than 1000$.

Selected Answer: 

To file a claim in small

Submitted by elizabethcarlsen on

To file a claim in small claims court, you must file a Plaintiff’s Claim form in person at the courthouse with the court clerk. In your case, you should file the claim form in Alameda County. Since you must file the claim in person, it will be necessary to fly to California to submit the claim in person. In addition, you will need to return to attend the hearing before the judge who is assigned to your case. Typically a court hearing is scheduled 20 to 70 days after you submit your claim. At the hearing, you can ask the court to reimburse you for travel expenses if your claim is successful, however, the court may not grant the request. Therefore, you may have to weigh the amount of money you hope to have returned to you versus how much you will spend in travel costs. For additional information, visit http://www.alameda.courts.ca.gov/pages.aspx/small-claims.

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To file a claim in small

Submitted by elizabethcarlsen on

To file a claim in small claims court, you must file a Plaintiff’s Claim form in person at the courthouse with the court clerk. In your case, you should file the claim form in Alameda County. Since you must file the claim in person, it will be necessary to fly to California to submit the claim in person. In addition, you will need to return to attend the hearing before the judge who is assigned to your case. Typically a court hearing is scheduled 20 to 70 days after you submit your claim. At the hearing, you can ask the court to reimburse you for travel expenses if your claim is successful, however, the court may not grant the request. Therefore, you may have to weigh the amount of money you hope to have returned to you versus how much you will spend in travel costs. For additional information, visit http://www.alameda.courts.ca.gov/pages.aspx/small-claims.