Originally Posted by
eja_ bottecchia
Not if you are the Plaintiff in California and, I suspect, not in most jurisdictions either; SC court rules are pretty uniform across the country.
A small claims appeal is a "trial de novo" or "new trial." This means that the case is decided by a new judge from the beginning so you have to present your case all over again. Because this case is in the civil division of the superior court (and not in small claims court), you (and the other side) are allowed to bring a lawyer to represent you in the new trial.
Only a defendant can file an appeal of a small claims judgment. If you are the plaintiff, however, and the defendant cross-complained (counter-sued you) by filing a Defendant's Claim in response to your Plaintiff's Claim and you lose, you can appeal. Since a small claims appeal is a brand-new trial, the entire case is decided from scratch.
Applying this to this situation, if the op is in California, and files an action in small claims court, Look can appeal any judgment he might obtain, and Look would have a right to counsel, and the opportunity to present experts at that point.
Obviously, all that is way more expensive than paying a $ 5,000 judgment. But in products cases, manufacturers often spend more in defense fees than the cost to settle in order to defend the product.